Marcel and I are now 2 days in hospital in Vienna and we are both getting mobile. I walked on cruches yesterday and Marcel got out of bed today after the doctors removed the drainage tubes out of his operated hip. Marcel has a new nickname: ROBIN HOOD. Judge yourself from the foto:

I have a non displaced tybia fracture and have a plaster up to the upper leg. My leg can be left in plaster for at least 6 weeks and then slowly reeducation can start. The alternative is a relatively harmless operation with which I can walk in a couple of days..

On Monday I will probably be operated to get a titanium nail in the bone. Advantage of the operation is that I can put full weight on the leg after a few days and not loose my mobility in the knee and ankle joint. Also my leg muscles will not fade away. I washed my head and shaved which was nice after nearly a week. Below you can get a feel of the Vienna hospital room with Marcel and myself in the background.

The bad news on Marcel is that the hip joint has only got blood wessels and therefore blood circulation is poor. Marcel has a 20% chance that the hip joint will recover and blood circulation will pick up. He has to move around with cruches for 3 month without putting any weight on  his leg. Afterwards he has to slowly build up and is expected to walk properly after another 3 month and then he can start training again to play some sports.

Even if it is necessary to place an artificial hip joint, technology is now advanced enough that he can play sports again. In fact the stress on the hip joint in the Enduro and Rally Sport is relatively small when one doesn't fall off the Bike so that his big hobby is not jeopardized.

Ragi, 23-06-2007