“ I Can Ride Again”
Anita Eriksson on Recovering with her Rover
Original article appeared in the March, 2013 edition of KFAnytt, Sweden
My name is Anita Eriksson and I will soon be happily retired. Over the years, my husband, Lasse, and I have spent many hours and ridden many miles on both pedal cycles on motorcycles. For years, our motorcycles were our greatest interest. We had probably driven 40,000 miles and I have sat as a passenger in 30,000 of them. In the summer of 2009, we made a trip to the Baltics with some Danish friends- it was our last motorcycle ride. We parted from our friends in Karlshamn and went up to Kosta where we rested. My memory gets fuzzy here- one hour and seven miles of our trip are lost to me.
Our trip ended in a crash barrier near Malilla. Lasse was thrown out by the road and broke eight ribs, his collarbone, a big toe and a little finger. I had bad luck- I was thrown into the woods and sustained severe wounds: a broken left hand, torn shoulder ligaments, and a broken left leg. An ambulance carried me to a nearby hospital, where the doctors did a tremendous job of piecing together my leg with steel plates. I spent months in a hospital bed and then in wheelchair. Unfortunately, my injured leg developed an infection of the bone. I finally faced the difficult choice of whether to either try the so-called“ leg extension”( cut away the broken and hope for growth) or amputation. After talking with an expert at Uppsala University, however, it was clear that amputation was my only option.
And so in February 2010, the doctors amputated my left leg about 15 cm below the knee. In April, I got fitted for my first prosthesis. It was a relief be able to stand and walk again after more than eight months in a wheelchair. I had to learn to walk with a crutch which was difficult due to my shoulder injuries. When my shoulders were finally okay, I was ready to get back out and active again. Motorcycling, we had decided, was over with. So I decided I would take up pedal biking again, but there were some problems. I had seen that many bikes adapted to work with prosthesis, but with my weak shoulders I couldn’ t trust that I would manage to steer truely or to react quickly enough in different situations. I needed an unconventional solution- I decided to go with a trike.
I tested various types, but they all had two wheels in the back. This made the stearing much harder, especially with bad shoulders. Lasse, who long pondered getting a recumbent bike, then found a recumbent trike that would work perfectly. The American-made trike was available at a Swedish importer in Örnsköldsvik( www. nicebikes. se), so we went there and test drive it. Sure enough, it seemed to work great.
That is how we both ended up ordering TerraTrike Rovers. I further equipped mine with an electric motor for assistance on steep hills. We took the trikes home in May and promptly took a long ride, which unfortunately... resulted in fairly decent chafing from my prosthetic sleeve. Luckily, a knowledgeable and understanding orthopedic technician cut and warmed out the sleeve. When the chaffing healed, he taped my knee carefully so we could ride again. Now that the fit is good, and with lots of practice, I can do tours of around 20 km and it will probably be doing more. I want to use my story to show that the are unconventional solutions which can give people with injuries or limitations extra life. We now have a higher quality of life because we are able to trike around on the back roads and bike paths and enjoy our wonderful countryside. I will continue working with my doctors to get even more advanced and comfortable prosthetics that will work with my Rover. In the mean time, I am very happy to be enjoying the great outdoors once again.