it feels feels like its been a year since my last post, because so much has been going on. well, we had a nice summer but then we made the fateful decision to go on one last bike trip before fall classes started and i would be too busy. we went up to lake roberts and the gila mountains and cliff dwellings. we even got our hatch chili cheeseburgers and despite th downpours that made us think we were in oregon and the power outages at our hotel and all surrounding businesses, it was a nice weekend, until we were about an hour from home. some of you have already heard the accident story, but for those who haven't, i'll give you all the details. so you don't have to read this entire thing though i will give away the ending to say that we are doing very well, and are so extremely lucky that we will walk away from this wreck almost as good as new. i finally have some pictures. its hard to get pic of jeffs gear since they cut most of it off him. the bike is still in storage, so pictures of it and the tire later. (sorry, some of them might be a little graphic, but i keep getting requests). As i told the old man trying to cut in line at the pharmacy - he may look ok on the outside, but he has 11 broken bones, 3 surgical incisions, a missing organ, a damaged lung, not to mention all the road rash, bruises and muscle/tissue damage so, sorry - your sores on your leg don't mean you can cut in front of him. i was tired and stressed and cranky...sorry old man.
last pic of the conni in the downpour during a poweroutage
we were on interstate 25 17 miles north of las cruces nm and going approx 75 mph when the back tire felt a little squishy, and suddenly felt much worse. jeff tried to break & slow down but each time he did the back end would creep up to one side. he managed to keep the bike upright and going straight for about half a minute, but eventually had to lay it down on the left side. we skid for about 200 feet. i got up and made it from the left lane to the center ditch to see that miraculously there were no cars coming, though the semi truck that we had just passed was stopped just a little in front of us along with a few other cars - i was so afraid we would get hit. i got over to jeff and the bike in the right lane. he was awake, but in pain. my first aid training kicked in and i am proud to say when it really counted i did great in a crisis situation (i kinda wondered) i found jeffs cell on the road (gound thru his jeans pocket & it still worked) and gave 911 instructions to an old man, but his wife and another guy already called on their cell phones. i got the trucker to get his hazard triangles and they managed to block off jeffs lane of traffic until the border patrol got there to control traffic. an off duty fireman/emt and the state police got there & they all were taking care off jeff until emts arrived. they ambulanced him to las cruces er and then helicoptered him to the el paso trauma er. his first helicopter ride and he only remembers a little of it. he had lacerated his spleen into 3 pieces and the internal bleeding could have been fatal. he also had a collapsed left lung which was making it painful to breathe. that night they used a catheter to collapse the artery to the spleen, which kills it off. kind of an interesting technique that is natural and prevents infection & makes for quicker recovery. the next 24 hr was crucial, and i just couldn't bring myself to call anyone until the next day. they had put in a chest tube in the el paso er for the bleeding and the lung was ok though it takes a few weeks to get back to normal. he had broken 7 ribs on the left side and the left shoulder blade, chipped the left ulna bone (at the knobby end by your wrist) and his right metacarple and falange (pinky and bone below the pinky in the palm). the doped him up and kept him in icu for a few days. tuesday (this happened on sun) they did surgery to pin his right hand. wed they moved him out of icu and thurs removed the chest tube. sunday, they kicked him out with very few instructions, barely-there home-nurses but ok therapy. there were a few nurses that were good, some ok, and a couple incompetent. i met 1 ortho dr who was great but didn't end up being jeffs dr. the spleen dr was great but saw him only for an elevator ride up 1 floor. apparently jeffs general dr tyroch is wonderful and we get to see him tomorrow for jeffs follow up. i briefly met one dr doing rounds, but not sure if its the same guy. hope so because he got jeff what he needed ("get him scheduled for surgery or give the man some water!"). seemed very nice but very well respected...sent the residents scurrying!
last pic of the conni in the downpour during a poweroutage
we were on interstate 25 17 miles north of las cruces nm and going approx 75 mph when the back tire felt a little squishy, and suddenly felt much worse. jeff tried to break & slow down but each time he did the back end would creep up to one side. he managed to keep the bike upright and going straight for about half a minute, but eventually had to lay it down on the left side. we skid for about 200 feet. i got up and made it from the left lane to the center ditch to see that miraculously there were no cars coming, though the semi truck that we had just passed was stopped just a little in front of us along with a few other cars - i was so afraid we would get hit. i got over to jeff and the bike in the right lane. he was awake, but in pain. my first aid training kicked in and i am proud to say when it really counted i did great in a crisis situation (i kinda wondered) i found jeffs cell on the road (gound thru his jeans pocket & it still worked) and gave 911 instructions to an old man, but his wife and another guy already called on their cell phones. i got the trucker to get his hazard triangles and they managed to block off jeffs lane of traffic until the border patrol got there to control traffic. an off duty fireman/emt and the state police got there & they all were taking care off jeff until emts arrived. they ambulanced him to las cruces er and then helicoptered him to the el paso trauma er. his first helicopter ride and he only remembers a little of it. he had lacerated his spleen into 3 pieces and the internal bleeding could have been fatal. he also had a collapsed left lung which was making it painful to breathe. that night they used a catheter to collapse the artery to the spleen, which kills it off. kind of an interesting technique that is natural and prevents infection & makes for quicker recovery. the next 24 hr was crucial, and i just couldn't bring myself to call anyone until the next day. they had put in a chest tube in the el paso er for the bleeding and the lung was ok though it takes a few weeks to get back to normal. he had broken 7 ribs on the left side and the left shoulder blade, chipped the left ulna bone (at the knobby end by your wrist) and his right metacarple and falange (pinky and bone below the pinky in the palm). the doped him up and kept him in icu for a few days. tuesday (this happened on sun) they did surgery to pin his right hand. wed they moved him out of icu and thurs removed the chest tube. sunday, they kicked him out with very few instructions, barely-there home-nurses but ok therapy. there were a few nurses that were good, some ok, and a couple incompetent. i met 1 ortho dr who was great but didn't end up being jeffs dr. the spleen dr was great but saw him only for an elevator ride up 1 floor. apparently jeffs general dr tyroch is wonderful and we get to see him tomorrow for jeffs follow up. i briefly met one dr doing rounds, but not sure if its the same guy. hope so because he got jeff what he needed ("get him scheduled for surgery or give the man some water!"). seemed very nice but very well respected...sent the residents scurrying!
right arm & surgical incision at 1 week
left arm road rash looking good.
me - they wouldn't let me in jeffs ambulance but took me in my own to a las cruces er, saying i needed to get checked out, which was true given the situation & we're in shock. though they really didn't check out anything at all except my arm & hand that i told them hurt. granted they did get me out of there quickly knowing i wanted to get down to jeff. lucia & frank came and took me to elp (THANK YOU!!!!!). they had put on a partial cast for dislocating my 2 left middle fingers which chipped the bones in a few places. I got a full but short cast later, which comes off tuesday. hard to believe its been a month already, then i get a splint and have lots of presumably painful PT to look forward to. I am still bruised up and in a bit of pain on the left side where we hit first, but thanks to jeffs driving skills and good gear that we always wear, i am otherwise ok. we are pretty pleased that all our gear did its job and worked pretty well. jeff got road rash on only the tops of his wrists where the gloves and cuff seperated, and i only had some cuts on my hand where the glove wripped (but not even bad enough for the lc er to wash or put bandaids on...i didnt even bother asking...saving it up for jeffs nurses, i guess) 
work and friends and neighbors were all a great source of help (THANKS LISA AJ JOHN WANDA RALPH KALIE JERRY NONA & SPARKY!!!) with taking care of Foster & rides & groceries and food and flowers and cards and pool cleaning and just being there. jeffs sister nancy was going to come for a visit anyway so she moved it up to help out, but then called to say she was on crutches (just our luck, though no surgery needed has to be her good luck). my mom was able to move her trip up so came and helped us the first 2 weeks at home. though we are both independent and figured things out on our own, i don't know how we would have managed without her! (THANK YOU!!!)
jeff wanted the bike out of storage ASAP so a couple friends drove the subaru & trailer up to lc to get it. but just our luck, the subaru died about 1 mile from the tow yard. i wouldn't call them back because i thought they had stolen stuff off the bike (turns out i had the camera with me the entire time...sorry repo guys for all my bad thoughts). since it was the straw that broke my camels back, courtney called her dad & after a couple hours fighting with the hitch towed the bike to his shop yard. jeffs going to get the tire next week & in a couple weeks get the bike home. did i mention it was a pretty awful week? (THANKS COURTNEY, KEVIN & MR BRUMMAL!) once jeff was home he called the tow guys to take the subaru to a mechanic they trusted who charged us an arm & leg to replace the less-than-one-year-old melted alternator and some computer sensor. we drove up to lc a week later and mom drove it home. i had kinda hoped someone would just steal the thing while it was abandoned and tried to sell it to the guy who gave us a jump. it was kinda for sale and weve had some offers but now without a bike, jeff will probably keep it for a while. i think i wont be on a motorcycle again for sometime. i think i was in shock at first with enough other stuff to worry about, but now i get a little freaked out in the car in some interstate situations, especially if the asphalt is textured or slippery and you can feel the tires pulling. i think jeff will be back on a bike before me. hes already talking about fixing up the conni. maybe i can talk him into dirt bikes or a jeep or something a little safer for a while. im surprised he hasn't mentioned getting a ural w/ side car, yet.
jeffs recovery was so much quicker once he came home. it will be long and slow and painful, but everyday is a little better. jeff is actually able to do more than i thought and actually can do more than me in some cases, since my hand is basically useful only as dead weight...i don't know why they bothered to cast around the thumb and first finger...useless. its taken me eons to type out this blog one handed so you have to forgive my text brevity and spelling/grammar errors. last weekend he was able to lift up his left arm & that has rapidly improved. then the nurse messed with his chest tube incision, so we have good days and bad days.
sorry if i didnt get a chance to update you personally. so many people & honestly i am so tired still. thanks for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. i will try to keep you posted on our recovery.
jeffs helmet is ground down all the way around
ambers helmet - we are very pro helmet - i dont think wed be here without them!
ambers gear looks pretty good, though well used - so wear your gear!
ambers helmet - we are very pro helmet - i dont think wed be here without them!ambers gear looks pretty good, though well used - so wear your gear!
1 comments:
OMG!!!! I'm glad you are both alright....I do worry when I read about riding...Here's to a quick and full recovery!
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