Racer on the Mend

/ roweracing

After an eventful week, Royce has made it through all his planned surgeries and is on the long road to recovery. After initial scans at Noble’s Hospital, Isle of Man, Royce was air-lifted to Aintree University Hospital, Liverpool, to be seen by an orthopedic surgeon who diagnosed the exact injuries.

 

The operations on his legs lasted approximately seven hours, both knees being a lot worse than expected. Unfortunately, the right femur had been forced downwards, causing extensive damage to the knee cartilage. Although painful, it is far less life-threatening than the bone being pushed upwards internally. The wrist operation was also a success, but has left Royce in quite a bit of pain and almost fully bionic.

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PIC: Royce is now a certified Scouser since being laid up in Liverpool the past fortnight

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With the body needing time to repair, Royce won’t be able to start bearing weight on his legs for a couple of months and most likely be in hospital for about three. That being said, physio has already begun with doctors getting him slowly to move limbs and sit up. For those that have been through significant injuries before, it’s understood that while being painful, this type of exercise will contribute to Royce getting back to full health sooner.

 

Going forward, the plan will be to move Royce back to Noble’s Hospital on the Isle of Man to begin his physio. We are just waiting for a med-flight and bed to become available which could be any number of days. The hospital staff have been fantastic, but from here on it really is up to Royce to push himself through recovery. The Rowe family have some great friends on the IOM, so residing there for the next few months will be much homelier for Royce and Mum, Debbie.

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PIC: Team member Ali made Royce a Manx symbol medallion using the earthing-wire from the infamous lamp post

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The Triumph itself didn’t fair quite as well. The team needed an angle grinder just to get it to fit inside the crate ready to ship home. After recovering the wreck from Union Mills, telemetry on the bike shows the speed was approximately 160km/h at the point of impact with a force of minus 4.5 G’s.

 

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PIC: What’s left of the lamp post at Union Mills

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Every spectator, ambo and marshall at the scene of the crash offered to help in any way they could when Les Rowe returned to the area to collect the bike – all were extremely glad to hear Royce was recovering well from what they described as a horrendous crash to witness. Well-wishes have flooded in from all around the globe, including the competing racers Royce was dicing with at the time. The team would like to thank everyone that has offered kind words, as every little bit helps and is appreciated by the family.

 

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PIC: The rest of the Rowe Racing Team have now waved goodbye to the Isle for another year

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While there is a long road ahead, we’ll keep everyone updated on the latest improvements and movements from Royce. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, he’ll be back in Oz to spin a yarn on his 2017 Manx GP exploits.

20 thoughts on “Racer on the Mend”

  2. Holy Cow Royce! you were so lucky! I hope your father was kept well away from the angle grinder during the bikes operation. Now all you have to do is look forward to your recovery holiday with friends on the IOM but don’t forget we expect you to come home one day !!!!
    Wishing you a speedy recovery, with all my love
    Nan T xxxx

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  4. Great news that the op went well.
    I hope that you get to enjoy your stay at the iom. I guess you will be hanging around pagetts to get some entertainment.
    Good luck and speedy recovery.

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  8. So good to hear the update. I had a bike smash 3 years ago. Not as bad as yours, but bad enough. All but 2 ribs broken most in 2 or more places. Broken scapular. Punctured lungs and cut nose. It scares me to even look at bikes now. Good luck to you. I hope you recover well. X

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  12. So glad your on the mend Royce, I met your mum before the races started ,as she came into the post office I work in to post some postcards home , told her I marshalled at signpost corner and she came round watch from there, also your girlfriend, so hope all goes well with your recovery ,and hope your too long before you get to go home , Pauline DSM at signpost 😄

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  14. Best wishes for a speedy recovery..hope the family is coping also.
    Physio is unfortunately no pain no gain..my boy has had similar surgery from a 20km get off.🤕😷

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  15. Hey Royce, wow, that was a big one.
    Good to see you smiling, hope the recovery goes
    Well for you. Hang in there & don’t forget to appreciate
    Mum !!!
    Hope you make it back home for summer
    Cheers
    Boagy

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  19. I wish you all the best in your recovery and hope that you can get home as soon as you have improved somewhat, Nobles will no doubt be absolutely fabulous but there ii no place like home when you are feeling a tad down, Heal well boy lots of love to you from Andreas Isle of Man xx

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