A collage of superbike enthusiast Collince Dibogo at the accident scene of his motorcycle/COLLINCE DIBOGOJanuary 2022 is indeed a month well engraved in the mind of superbike enthusiast Collince Dibigo. It was the day a routine riding of his treasured BMW R1200GSA machine turned tragic.
Today, he gives a first-hand account of the crash and his moments with family and friends during recovery, the doctor's advice not to laugh for weeks.....yeah, so he could heal faster. Dibogo also has some tips for superbike lovers.
A POWERFUL MACHINE AND THE OVERTAKE
“I’ve been riding an XTZ 750 Super Tenere for about eight years now. About three months ago I bought a 2017 new BMW R1200GSA, a beautiful machine, a very powerful machine with all the electronics on it.
One afternoon I was riding down ICD (Inland Container Depot) Road in Nairobi, a road I knew well. It was busy, and I was filtering down the middle as one does.
I overtook a slow-moving trailer going about 25mph, but that was too fast to stop before hitting the truck, which pulled out of the side street in front of the trailer.
The bike at the accident scene/COLLINCE DIBIGO
The impact on the lorry/COLLINCE DIBOGOI hit the ABS brakes hard and took most of the force out of the impact, but when the front wheel hit the lorry, it ripped the handlebars sideways with such force that it pulled my left wrist straight out of its socket and hit the door of the lorry with my head, which caused a fracture on my lower right jaw (a good helmet saves life).
It was stupid and avoidable, but I count myself lucky to have learned a valuable lesson.
So many bike accidents describe a similar scenario and sure, not all are avoidable but I’ve avoided countless accidents in Kenya this way while watching less experienced riders rush past trailers without a care.
If they ever come to harm, it may or may not be their fault, but the fact is, it doesn’t matter when you’re the one on the ground bleeding.”
"HAJAKUFA AMEFAINT."
My wife was called to the scene and was with me in a few minutes after a good Samaritan took me to a first aid attendant at Scion Hospital at Kobil Imara Daima.
“What prescription and non-prescription medications do you take? What allergies do you have?” Doc asked, and I replied none.
The accident scene/COLLINCE DIBOGOImmediately after seeing the needle, I said to my wife, “Babe, I’m going."
At first, she thought I was dying, and she was like, “Please don’t go. Remember, Liam still needs you, and I need you too (Liam was then our 4-month-old baby boy)."
“Huyu hajakufa, he is alive ni kufaint amefaint (He has not died, he has just fainted),” Clava said to my wife.
Seeing a needle in a medical setting and the smell surrounding it or the pain of being injected is enough to make even the toughest of us faint.
Whilst waiting for the doctor’s referral letter and ambulance to arrive, “We kijana, tumekuletea helmet na GSA iko hapa inje inakungojea, nyama lazima tuchome leo kwa ile land ume grab sai,(We have brought you a helmet, and today we must roast meat in the land you just grabbed)" Clava, aka the Chief Priest, one of my biker friends said.
“Na ujue Tenere pia imeamka, ubuntu lazima tuende," Deno, aka lastborn/Taro/chinku/Nunju, another biker friend said.
I was then taken to Nairobi South Hospital (NSH), one of the cleanest hospitals in Nairobi and a well-equipped health facility with good doctors located in South C. Apparently, I was conscious, talking and trying to get off the bed.
The NSH team at South C was ready for my arrival and worked on me immediately. My family and friends describe the situation at the time as confusing, with little information early on.
My injuries were such that my family was told to expect the worst during the first 24 hours, but I pulled through to be well enough to have the 1-hour, 30-minute operation on the next day.
DAYS IN HOSPITAL
The family was told that my situation was potentially life-ending, and if I did survive, I would take time to recover.
“Hey Collince, please wake up and see your people," the nurse who was pushing me on a stretcher said.
Approximately four hours later, I woke up in the NSH surgery room after Dr Moses Agunda, the orthopedic and spine surgeon, fixed my wrist.
Extremely confused, with a dead hand, with my family and rider friends who had not left my side. Yes, Ben Mbasu and Clava, the chief priest, were there for me all that time.
“Dibs (how my biker friends call me), do you know me?” Ben asked.
After the surgery on my hand/COLLINCE DIBOGOI was experiencing the most pain and tenderness when chewing, laughing, or speaking. It was past midnight; we managed to chat a bit, then they took their leave.
On my discharge day, my family and biker friends showed up to see me. I was so happy. Immediately after they had left, a dentist by the name of Tobby Matundura came to inspect me.
On a hospital bed/COLLINCE DIBOGO“Open your mouth, close, and move your head left and right; the signs of a dislocated jaw can be different than those of a broken jaw. Pain is a factor, and it may become worse when you move your mouth or your body. Your jaw might appear to jut out too much, and you might notice that your teeth don’t line up as they usually do and your bite might feel strange. An abnormal bite can prevent you from closing your mouth completely, and this might cause drooling," Dr Matundura said.
“Is it possible to see a photo of him smiling?” she asked my wife.
My wife is scrolling my phone; she is unable to find any photo of me smiling; my gallery is full of bike pics; she then turns on her phone; she finds a thousand photos of us; she shows them to Matundura.
“Yes, the dislocation is not that bad; I’ll give you a doctor who will diagnose a broken jaw or dislocation, but you’ll have to do a physical exam and take relevant x-rays. A simple dislocation could be treated by an oral surgeon or dentist, but a serious fracture might require surgery and would need a specialist, such as a maxillofacial surgeon who is a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon, a head and neck surgeon,” she said.
AVOID TALKING AND LAUGHING FOR TWO TO FOUR WEEKS
I was then taken with an ambulance to Upper Hill Plaza Imaging, to be examined, and immediately we returned for the maxillofacial, which I won’t quote the name; the surgeon was ready for us.
“This is a dislocation that can be fixed; there are two ways of fixing it: one, wiring your jaw shut and elastic bands that keep your jaw closed and your bite in place, and you won’t be able to open your jaw at all for at least six to eight weeks during treatment. You’ll also be on a liquid diet through a straw to provide you with nutrition during this time while you’re unable to chew solid food."
"Two, you might require jaw surgery to repair. We cut the bone of the lower jaw to allow us to carefully move it into a new position. Move the lower jawbone either forwards or backwards into a new position. Place plates or screws to hold the adjusted jawbone in its new position. Then close the incisions in your gums with stitches."
“And what’s the cost, for both surgery and wired one?” my wife asked. “Wired is between Sh40,000 to Sh70,000 and surgery is about Sh400,000 to Sh500,00 the doctor's fee alone is around Sh100,000 to Sh150,000,” he said.
"Doc, let’s brainstorm, then come back to you," I said.
We had to call another maxillofacial Dr Atanasias Odhiambo, who examined me and gave advice as follows: “Collince, worry less; this one will heal on its own; you’ll need to follow a soft diet as you recover. You just need to avoid foods that are crunchy or chewy; avoid talking and laughing for at least two to four weeks because this is just a minor fracture."
"Avoid items such as fresh meats, raw produce, or crunchy snack foods that can cause strain and pain to your healing jaw. In fact, you should be on a liquid diet alone for now. Why would you pay a lot of money doing surgery? Now go home and rest."
And that’s how we left the hospital for home.
On the road to full recovery/COLLINCE DIBOGOCOLLINCE ADVICE TO BIKERS
Lots of accidents happen on Kenyan roads because drivers are often overwhelmed with work, fatigue… hence make bad decisions.
Back on my bike/COLLINCE DIBOGO
Back on my bike/COLLINCE DIBOGOYour mission as a biker is to help them make good decisions by riding at a speed they expect. Then move laterally across your lane to allow them to see you and assume they’re going to pull out anytime, so cover your brakes.
Lane splitting is the main advantage of riding and it’s safe if you do it carefully. The main thing is to assume no car driver knows you’re there, and they will behave accordingly.
While in motion, try to look as far ahead as is physically possible, to help you plan for a hazard rather than reacting to them.
Remember to gear up at all times because no one knows where an accident will occur. It takes practice, though, because our instinct is to check what’s right in front of us.
Keep telling yourself ‘Eyes up’ and use your peripheral vision to keep tabs on the near stuff.
Would you like us to tell your story related to this topic? If yes, please send details to [email protected]
