| Author | Message | ||
     Hexangler |
My friend David H. bought a Harley chopper three months ago. Two weeks ago, he proceeded to get into a head on collision with someone in a big car turning left in front of him. He was doing about 35mph, and really blew up his right lower leg in the accident. Tibia shatter in 6 complex fragments, fibula fractured in to three separate pieces. He just got out of the hospital last week, so I've been volunteering time moving his belongings to a storage facility while he recovers at his sisters house near me. (I like to think that he wasn't riding very defensively and I could have avoided the crash. But it makes me cautious to ride in cross traffic in the city for a while...) The doctors put a titanium plate along the back of the tibia from knee joint to ankle. His fibula is still in pieces, and they are just letting it float in there for now. Fortunately, he survived, but now he is maimed for life. Be careful out there... | ||
| Rocketsprink |
hope your friend makes a full recovery. as full as possible anyway (Message edited by rocketsprink on February 05, 2009) (Message edited by rocketsprink on February 05, 2009) | ||
| Cruisin |
The husband of a friend was out riding last summer - just gotten the green light from the doc after a hernia operation. Just did the oil change and first ride out. A 10 year old on an ATV came out of the woods without even slowing. He managed to recover after a few months of rehab, but it wasn't pretty. My friend was just starting to ride. She decided to quit. He isn't replacing his bike. Ride as defensively as you can, but you just cannot prevent everything. Thanks for the reminder Hex. A local club has started an annual "event" for enthusiasts to get out and mingle in the spring, but also to raise awareness to others on the road that the motorcycles that have been "sleeping" are now back out on the road, and that they need to pay attention! | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
Luckily, I've never been down and only had one REALLY close call. Riding in downtown Omaha I pulled up to a red light with a small compact car in front of me, and a delivery in the left turn lane beside us both. When the light turned green the compact car in front of me slowly accelerated and was clipped on the front bumper by a full size truck running his red light. I have no doubt the way I accelerate when I get a green light, that I would have been in the middle of that truck's grill. Neither I or the compact car had any way of seeing the truck coming due to the delivery van blocking the view in that direction. Since that incident I've been vigilant in all directions for traffic, ESPECIALLY during light changes. I've heard a lot of riders say that a green light is only your queue to look both directions, THEN cross the intersection. | ||
| Scotty_j |
Regard EVERY vehicle on the road as if the driver were drunk, on a cellphone, eating a cheeseburger, texting, applying make up, reading a book, smoking a joint, arguing with their passenger, and reading a book, and you still won't be safe. Because you can't see the one who is doing all of the above and is right behind you. | ||
| Firebolt32 |
Hope your buddy recovers as well as possible. I've heard a lot of riders say that a green light is only your queue to look both directions, THEN cross the intersection. That's exactly what I do. Red lights mean nothing where I live. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Hex - give your friend my best. In July, I shattered my L femur, and my R tib/fib got a compound fracture. Femur and tib both got titanium rods down the center, no casts, and they had me up supporting my own weight (painfully, but supporting it) 4 weeks later. My fib was left to float since it's not "structural". They x-rayed me in December and no fractures remained...anywhere. I've been riding again since late October. Your friend may have some residuals, but with proper therapy and a good workout routine it can be very minimal. Best thing for it is for him to KEEP MOVING. Sitting makes it worse. Ibuprofen is your friend. But keep active and rebuild the muscle tone. My rule on the road is, pay enough attention for you, the other guy, and the guy behind him. It gets tiring...but it also gets you home. At intersections, I ignore the other driver - I look at the front wheel of their cage. If it's rolling *at all*, I assume they're pulling in front of me. If it's not rolling, I still cover the brake and make sure I have a lane or a shoulder to use if I need it. Keep your friend's spirits up, and encourage (but don't push) him to keep riding if that's his passion. | ||
| Preybird1 |
My friend was riding her harley and there was a water main break which left a 6'x 8' hole in the asphalt..Now 8 other people before her were injured by this...She hit it a 30mph and suffered fractured everything, She broke here back in 6 spots and her neck in 3 places she was crippled by there definition. She refused to believe that and now 9 months later she is walking with a Cain but walking. Her medical bills are 1.2 million and the city wont pay for the bills because its above the capped amount they can pay for liability. There is a huge lawsuit going on right now about it. Hope your friend gets 100% | ||
| Teddagreek |
Hope your bud heals up fast... Sounds like traction is in his future... Intersections suck... (Message edited by teddagreek on February 06, 2009) | ||
| Iamike |
PK- Sounds like Omaha is just like Des Moines. When I used to work downtown hardly a day went by that I didn't see a t-boner at an intersection. Most times when the light turned red there would always be at least one car blast through. But then there would always be someone that as soon as their's turned green they would just take off, usually without looking. It would even be worse during the state tournements because all the out-of-towners that didn't understand the one way streets. I don't care much for red light cameras but there are times that I'd like to see them set up for periods of time at certain intersections just to nab those jerks. | ||
| Hexangler |
Thanks all for the encouraging words. David appreciated them. | ||
| Iamike |
Hex, Keep us informed on his progress. The doctors can do amazing things but he sounds like he is in tough shape. | ||
| Spatten1 |
That's horrible. I broke those bones only in 1 place each, and was in bed for 6 weeks. Tell whomever is watching over him to watch for shortness of breath. I got a fatty embolism from the bone marrow and nearly died. It went undiagnosed by the first doctor. He's in for a long recover, PT in the pool etc. I hope that they get the leg put together as straight as possble. Tough deal. | ||
| Diablobrian |
Been there done that, most here know my story: 18 year old turned left out of a blind driveway on a 45mph road. I acted as my wife's air bag, shattered my pelvis, and had the sciatic nerve ripped out at it's root. My wife had cracked vertebra. The girl got burns from her air bag (BTW she had 300 miles TOTAL driving experience) That is not the important part of the story though. Yes, my left leg is paralyzed and yes I was "maimed for life" at 33 years old and was told I'd never walk again. The REAL story is that I do walk, with a cane, and I was planning how I was going to be back on a bike before I got out of the hospital. My wife lost the ability to read due to a bi-lateral hemmoragic stroke and consequent aphasia <sp?>, but she has pushed through and is currently finishing the final semester of her masters degree in Composition and Rhetoric (Comp/Rhet) at the University of Missouri (Columbia). It is NOT easy to come back from these things, but it is entirely possible. Your friend will need to dig deep into reserves of strength he never knew he had, but people can and do re-take their lives after exactly this kind of life changing event. Friends and family are incredibly important in the healing process. Let him know that you care. This is vital. Rally the troops and let him know you all believe in him. My kids were my greatest inspiration. I couldn't let them see me quit just because things got hard. What kind of credibility would I have the next time they wanted to give up because they weren't immediately good at something and had to actually work for it? These are my experiences and YMMV, but I hope it helps a little to know that it is possible to pull through these kind of accidents. | ||
| Iamike |
Brian- My guess is that bimbo that tried to take you out is probably still driving around with a cell phone glued to her ear or even worse TEXTING! I think that the average driver has pretty much given up on being a good driver, now they just get from point A to point B. | ||
| Diablobrian |
The girl that hit me had the radio cranking, we know that much, but the big surprise, and reason why we didn't go after her/her family in civil court is that she stood there and looked at us bleeding out on the pavement (the cops and paramedics were certain that at least one of us -Me- was not going to make it so you can imagine how it looked to her) and she claimed full responsibility for what she had done. No "I didn't see him" cop- outs or excuses. I have copies of the reports and she stood ready to take her lumps. In this day and age I have to admire that. Her parents did at least raise her right, even if they didn't do such a hot job of teaching her to drive. My wife still talks to her via email now and then because she checks in on how we are doing, so I doubt she'll make the same mistake again. She's young and will make others, but this one is a solid lesson learned, and the thought she could have killed us and orphaned our children if I hadn't (as always) insisted on full gear for the short hop of a ride we took that morning haunts her. I have no regrets at all about not driving her family into bankruptcy over a moment of in-attention that we have all been guilty of at one time or another. | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
I have no regrets at all about not driving her family into bankruptcy over a moment of in-attention that we have all been guilty of at one time or another. It takes a very big man to say something like that.  I honestly can say I do not know what I would have done in that situation. | ||
| Oldog |
It takes a very big man to say something like that. Ditto +2} | ||
| Iamike |
That's nice to hear- The 16 year-old kid that hit me about 25 years ago had been drinking and tried to drive away. His parents lived down the street and were more concerned that he might lose his license than what my condition was. If I had realized how the whole thing was going to turn out I wished I would have sued their asses into oblivion. They didn't give a whit about me. | ||
| Diablobrian |
In that situation my attitude would be quite different. I'm may be a big man (xxl) but that doesn't mean I don't wreak a little vengeance when I feel it is needed to teach a lesson in humility to someone I feel is in dire need of such a lesson. Those that place no value on their neighbors and feel no remorse for doing someone else wrong have no place in my life, except as examples to remind me and mine what we do not want to become. (Message edited by diablobrian on February 12, 2009) |
