A chip on my shoulder

It’s been said of me before today. But never before was it meant literally. I do now have a verified chip on my actual shoulder. An X-ray this afternoon has confirmed that I did in fact break my humerus in Tuesday’s crash. Not funny. It seems the hospital to which I was taken on Tuesday didn’t have the resource or skill to properly diagnose, and released me to a guest house alone to recuperate. It continues to be quite a struggle to get in and out of bed, and putting a shirt on takes ages and a few indrawn breaths. At least now I know why. This morning I decided that the “wait and see” approach was going nowhere, at best. I made a call. I’ve cancelled my China tour (and am thankful for the gracious way that was received despite messing the group around). I’m extremely grateful for Chris’ Laos Adventure Tours who have mucked in to help get me and my bike from the village to the more established Luang Prabang. Andrew on Chris’ team gave up his entire day to help a group of locals push and shove my bike and gear onto and off from a small truck, to cart me to hospital, to help me navigate the tricky hospital process around diagnosis and payment, and to deliver me to lodgings for the night. The bike and gear is stored under his house until I work out what to do with it. Just amazing, Andrew. Thank you. I need to now book flights back to Aus and find myself an Aus surgeon, but I have a couple of questions to resolve beforehand:

1. Is this a comma or a full stop? It sounds like the shoulder will probably require 3 months recovery time, before I’d be able to ride again. I don’t think I can put the trip on a 3 month pause (the metaphorical “comma”) and then take the 6 months to complete the Laos-London leg. If that’s right, then this is the end of my road trip – a “full stop”. I need to confirm that thinking, perhaps with fresh perspective in the morning. 2. What do I do with the bike? The “Carnet” conditions require the bike comes home to Aus. When I inquired about alternatives given my current difficulties, it turns out all I can do is “surrender” it to Customs here and give up ownership. Not ideal. So if this is a “full stop” then I need to find a way to get it from Laos to Aus, and compare that cost with the value of the asset (less repairs). Not a happy pair of options. 3. Where do I plant myself post surgery? It sounds like I’ll be less mobile in my left arm for 3 months post surgery, which has implications for where I live for that time. It will probably make sense to align the geography of the surgery and the post-op accomodation.

Those three practical questions are now urgent, but the underlying “what do I do with the rest of my life” questions still lie underneath all this mess. Still unresolved. Now I guess I’ll have a recovery period to think that through, rather than the literal journey for processing a metaphorical one. Maybe a change of approach will help? Who knows. I’ll get some rest now, and perhaps that will help surface some clarity tomorrow.