As you know, my wife is practicing for her license.  This Saturday the weather was sunny and warm.  She took advantage of the weather and left the house on a Vespa at 1:00.  She returned just before supper.  I asked her if she enjoyed her a ride and she responded yes.  But I could see from her eyes that she was holding back.  Later that evening we talked about it and she admitted that it was the best feeling ever.  She loves to ride!  She didn’t want to talk about it because I cannot ride at the moment.  In fact I do not know if I will ride this year.

The diagnostic imaging report reads as follows: there is displaced fracture of the lunate bone with approximately 5.3 MM of diastases.  There is some scierosis of both fragments and the margins are relatively scierotic.  This may be from remote trauma.  Mild degenerative changes between the scaphoid and trapezium.  Nuclear medicine correlation and orthopedic consultation recommended.  The surgeon in Cornwall told me to take painkillers for the pain and seek physiotherapy and to come back in three months so that he will remove the bone.  This approach will leave me with only 70% range of motion and strength.  It is also the least desired approach to resolving this problem.  The physiotherapist does not one to work with me because of the diagnostic imaging report so as not to make the problem worse.

It feels like a bone in my wrist needs to be snapped back into place but nobody will do it and I cannot do it myself (I have tried). At the moment I cannot move my wrist up or down which means I cannot work the throttle on my Vespa, cut vegetables for cooking, cut the grass or garden, and much more.  In fact I am still dictating to the computer which is how I am writing this blog.

So this is an example of how the best made plans can fail.  I cannot begin to describe the gut wrenching feeling that I have at the moment.  I spent all winter preparing for a wonderful summer of riding.  It got even better when we found the white Vespa for Chantal.  However she is now riding alone on the weekends while I stay home with Bailey and Porthos.  We had a vacation planned in two weeks to ride from bed and breakfast to bed and breakfasts in the Adirondacks.  I am almost certain that this will not happen.  In fact I am now researching the best way to store my bike for a year without riding it.

Today I see my doctor at 11:00 AM with a stack of papers and reports.  I am hoping that she will be able to get me into the hand clinic in Toronto that operates out of the University of Toronto and at the Toronto for General Hospital.  My research indicates that this is where I need to be to receive the  best solution and treatment for my hand.  The Toronto hand clinic specializes in hands only and from my understanding is the best such clinic in Canada.

I know that I had the previous injury and a bone in my wrist that was deteriorating.  I was planning to deal with it at an proper time.  However I cannot believe that I did so much damage by twisting my hand while changing my spark plug.

I guess Chantal will have a summer of riding and will be ready to ride along with me next summer and she will have to learn this year on her own.

My disappointment is overwhelming.  I have had thoughts of selling the Vespa, shutting down this blog and moving onto a another passion that I can do with one hand such as zipping around town in a convertible Fiat.  In fact, if we do not find the Vespa for my wife that is probably what I would have done.  But since she loves riding so much I cannot bring myself to selling my Vespa.

And so I will take the Vespa out of my mind and try to focus on work and on the hand…