Hello all,
Let me start by giving you an overview of how this bad situation became worse. 2 weeks ago I was riding in Sedona, AZ and ended up sticking my leg into an agave cactus. I got two in my foot and one in the side of my calf (near the skin). After some shots of tequila, I got the two out of my foot but couldn't get the one out of my calf. My logic was that I would wait a while until it worked itself out. A couple days later, I went on a ride again. On the biggest climb of the ride, I felt a sharp pain. I kept riding, but had a continuous pain in my leg, almost like a muscle cramp, so I turned around. I went to the doctor the following morning and they opened it up and felt around with forceps. They could not feel anything and referred me to a general surgeon. I went to the general surgeon and they took an ultrasound to locate the thorn. At that point, I was told it was about 1cm deep into my muscle. They numbed my leg and cut it open and couldn't find the thorn. After two hours, it was determined that to retrieve the thorn, it would be more damaging to the muscle by cutting deeper, than to leave it in. (by this point, it was about 2cm into the muscle.) so now I have a deep incision and a thorn still in my leg. At the moment, I cannot walk, but the doc said I should be able to ride in about 2 or 3 weeks, but it will be sore.
My question is: has anybody had a similar injury or surgery? And any advise on recovering and training once I can ride again? I am signed up for the dawn till dusk 12hr race in Gallup, NM on April 9th and was told I would be able to race. Thanks in advance and get some riding in for me!
Edit: I spelled advice incorrectly in the title because I am still on percocet
Let me start by giving you an overview of how this bad situation became worse. 2 weeks ago I was riding in Sedona, AZ and ended up sticking my leg into an agave cactus. I got two in my foot and one in the side of my calf (near the skin). After some shots of tequila, I got the two out of my foot but couldn't get the one out of my calf. My logic was that I would wait a while until it worked itself out. A couple days later, I went on a ride again. On the biggest climb of the ride, I felt a sharp pain. I kept riding, but had a continuous pain in my leg, almost like a muscle cramp, so I turned around. I went to the doctor the following morning and they opened it up and felt around with forceps. They could not feel anything and referred me to a general surgeon. I went to the general surgeon and they took an ultrasound to locate the thorn. At that point, I was told it was about 1cm deep into my muscle. They numbed my leg and cut it open and couldn't find the thorn. After two hours, it was determined that to retrieve the thorn, it would be more damaging to the muscle by cutting deeper, than to leave it in. (by this point, it was about 2cm into the muscle.) so now I have a deep incision and a thorn still in my leg. At the moment, I cannot walk, but the doc said I should be able to ride in about 2 or 3 weeks, but it will be sore.
My question is: has anybody had a similar injury or surgery? And any advise on recovering and training once I can ride again? I am signed up for the dawn till dusk 12hr race in Gallup, NM on April 9th and was told I would be able to race. Thanks in advance and get some riding in for me!
Edit: I spelled advice incorrectly in the title because I am still on percocet
