Moon on a stick

Share on Facebook  Share on Twitter

BY: Melanie Alexander

Published: 21st June, 2010

After 8 weeks with my fractured pelvis I am not where I thought I would be. I had another x-ray last Wednesday and upon seeing the x-ray my heart completely sank. My consultant was happy that new bone was growing but for me I was hoping for more. How much stronger I felt did not seem to collate to how the fracture looked. It was quickly brought home again how this is not a minor injury and that it does not matter how fit I am I can't speed the process of healing.

It was a wake up call and brought my spirits tumbling down.

Over the weeks I had managed to convince myself that I was stronger than I actually was and on occasions did push the fracture beyond comfort. Three weeks ago I received this moon saddle and was straight on the turbo. Starting with 20 mins then very quickly building up to an hour. It is not very comfy and feels odd to perch on but it has enabled me to spin my legs as a regular saddle puts to much pressure directly on the fracture. A couple of these sessions were a bit ridiculous where I pushed too hard for too long and I had to leave off the bike for a couple of days after.

Having and seeing the x-ray last week has made me realise that I need to calm down. After a couple of days of completely letting myself wallow in self pity and too scared to do anything I am back swimming and using the turbo but much more cautiously now with the aim to listen to my body more during and for the 24 hours after exercise to see what effect the effort of exercising has on the healing area.

It is incredibly frustrating to hold back, my legs, although losing definition, still feel strong, I feel strong, I have barely sneezed in 8 weeks, I have a ridiculous amount of fire and right now my legs want to burn and my heart rate is screaming to be raised.

I would like to say that mentally I am dealing with the situation well but it does get me down as I miss being active and out and about and then on other days I cope much better, accept the situation and find less active things to focus on. It is very hard to forget about the fracture because although I am fairly mobile now it still has an impact on what I do; how long I stand, sit, swim and walk for is all limited and some days I ache more than others.

So for now, whilst my aspirations might seem as though I want the "moon on a stick", I'll just have to settle for a moon saddle on a seat post.