What it feels like to break your face

Dax is a former University of Nebraska swimmer. Currently, he is a student at Southeast Missouri State University and an avid cyclist.

I love cycling, always have, and plan on making a career by implementing cycling into outdoor adventure programming. I have been cycling for over 12 years now, having been to 47 states and Canada looking for great trail systems to ride. Safety and caution are two of the biggest factors that I consider when riding. Just ask any one of my friends and they will tell you that I never wreck.

Well, this all changed two weeks ago on a Saturday night around 8 o'clock in the evening. While out on a training ride for the Steamboat Classic Triathlon, I decided to finish my session by using the LaCroix Trail to get back to my house on the north end of town; I thought it might be safer than the streets. Well, this was a decision that I would come to regret. As I hopped onto the trail on the south end of town near Shawnee Park, I noticed that my front headlight was becoming a little dim. So I decided to turn off my front and rear lights. I know to some people this sounds strange, but I could still make out the edges of the trail and knew the trail well enough to proceed without light.

Another reason also led to me turning off my lights--this may make more sense to those who think that I am just plain foolish. If you have ever been on the south end of the trail in the evening or at night you have probably felt a little uncomfortable about going under the Highway 74 underpass. This is exactly how I felt and decided that if a person could see my head and taillights, then they could prepare for me. I chose the stealth mode and wound up not getting mugged but crashing face first into another rider.

As my face exploded into a fury of blood, I was still conscience enough to help the other riders figure out where to go for help. One rider went for help while the other stayed with me. I was thankful he stayed, I needed a voice to hear. As I knelt down along the trail I knew my face was a little rearranged. My nose was off to the right side of my face, my bottom jaw was off to the left, and when I grabbed my front teeth I noticed that my palate was just kind of floating around. Of course, my hands, legs, arms, my friend's jersey, and the trail were covered in a heap of blood...so the site was not pretty. I commend the guy that stayed with me for having a strong gut.

As the EMS arrived I felt a little dizzy, from the loss of blood. But they did a fantastic job of taking care of me and keeping me sane throughout the whole ordeal. Once I arrived at the hospital I was met by a great team that made sure I was as comfortable as possible. However, if you break you nose as badly as I did, you will find that lying down for an MRI is nearly impossible without throwing-up from the blood going to the stomach. The nursing staff also did an excellent job of putting me up for the night, and the whole stay for that matter.

I had never had a surgery. With my face broken all over the place I had to go, if I ever wanted to eat with a normal jaw again. For my surgery I was fortunate to get the service of Dr. Coonce and his team who did a fantastic job of building me a new face. My left cheekbone has now been replaced with some awesome titanium. My nose is straight again. But I cannot tell you how my jaw works until I get my wires cut. The liquid diet does get old after a while, but if that means having a good jaw alignment, then bring on the soups and smoothies.

The best part of the story is that I do not have health insurance and have not had any for the past 4 years (except for the week that I was visiting Canada). So, now I will be paying on these beautiful bills until the day I die; but if that means getting a new face, so be it.