The New Whip

Did you know: In the early automobile era, the steering wheel became known as the whip. In more modern times, various hip-hop artists noticed that the Mercedes Benz logo resembled a steering wheel which, as mentioned, was also known as the whip. So by association, the Mercedes Benz - and later, any fancy car - was called a whip.

This has been a good week overall for Tristan. He was able to find a "new" daily driver that fit his year/make/mileage/color requirements, and was also within his budgeted amount of the GoFundMe money. The car was in Portland, so we took a road-trip on Thursday to look it over and ended up bringing it home. He was very pleased with how clean and well kept the car was, and was also thrilled that he got it for $1,000 less than he had budgeted. He's now the proud owner of a 1998 BMW 740iL.

His outpatient physical therapy has been going well, and he likes the two therapists he's working with. Kyle may have been a tad overzealous initially, however, as Tristan was pretty sore after the first two sessions. They worked on some stretching and massage yesterday, and today they did more exercises - only at a less intense level. The belief is that since his leg muscles have atrophied so much, the tendons are bearing the brunt of the load, and are becoming very sore as a result. This is likely increased due to the traction that was required until his vitals were stable enough for the Ortho Team to proceed with the Medullary Nail surgery on his femur. The traction was intended to keep the bones separated until they could do the necessary drilling for the hip-to-knee rod, but also placed added strain on the tendons. The majority of his pain is in the knee area, which makes sense when you look at the traction device. A large weight is attached to the other end of the rope...

The six hour drive in my truck to retrieve the BMW didn't feel great on his leg, so it's going to be a while before he'll be back to taking road trips with his crew. He's continuing to make progress though, and is even going up and down the stairs in the house without the crutches (using the railing instead, of course).

Yesterday a couple of his friends came over to see the new car, and Tristan then spent the rest of the day with them. He even felt brave enough to try sleeping at his friend's house, which is HUGE given that he's still using the hospital bed. He said he did pretty well, and his rib didn't seem to get too angry from the change in sleeping arrangements. A great signal of physical progress, and a giant emotional win to be able to leave the house and spend quality time with his peeps.

A few weeks ago Tristan had asked about the items he was wearing during the collision, and was curious to see the motorcycle jacket and gloves he'd had on. The irony is that both the jacket and the gloves were mine, and I had given them to him when Jon and I bought our Harley's and purchased new gear. I say "irony" because the jacket was my first piece of protective gear I purchased, and it signaled the beginning - and now the end - of my riding career.

Tristan wanted to memorialize the jacket, so I placed it and the gloves in a display case along with a custom placard.

Despite the fact that I've been riding for almost 30 years without an accident, I'll never get on a bike again. Yes, I've known about the risk and dangers the entire time, and yes, I chose to take that risk. Nothing could have ever prepared me, however, for the feelings I experienced when I saw my child lying in the ICU with tubes and lines coming out of every part of his body. Or when I heard the doctors say repeatedly that it was "too soon to tell if he would make it". Or bringing him home from Harborview and listening to him whimper in pain throughout the nights, knowing I couldn't do anything to make it better.

I'm a visual and auditory learner, so sights and sounds are what impact me most. As you can imagine, the sights and sounds of this journey have cured me of any desire to ride again, and I can't even look at my motorcycle now without feeling nauseous. As soon as we receive the title (I went back to a street bike and purchased a brand new CBR600RR in December) I'll be selling the bike, and have already returned all of my riding gear to Cycle Gear. Tristan and I were able to get out for one nice ride before tragedy struck though, and I'll forever cherish these pictures.

Knowing how much I loved to ride, and also how much of a toll this has taken, Jon made the incredibly sweet gesture of offering a compromise. To continue enjoying the zippiness of a bike, and the warm fresh air of summer, he offered a convertible as a trade. We found a great Nissan 370Z and I'm eagerly awaiting some dry sunny days so I can test it out!

I'm not a huge baseball fan, but I do love this quote:

"When life throws you a curve ball, grab a bat and swing."

This has definitely been one helluva of a curve ball, but we continue to grab our bats and swing. I hope you all choose to do the same. Enjoy the weekend!