More bad news from the neighborhood

[wantin150]

Got a call on Tuesday night about 11 from my next door neighbor. Seems that my neighbor across the street was leaving an "establishment" and was involved in a motorcycle accident. He does not usually wear a helmet. I went to the trauma unit to be with the family and was there when they got the news. He currently has two shunts in his head and tore his brain stem. They were leaving him in a drug induced "coma" but did do a skin [censored] test on him yesterday with positive results. He opens his eyes and responds to pain. No one will really know the outcome until we see it.

Please do not turn this into a helmet/DUI debate. There is no proof of DUI yet and a helmet is a personal choice. It does appear that this was a single vehicle accident. I visited the site that night and found a painted "Hat" in the road. I suspect that his hat flew off and he reacted to try to catch it, went off the road, over corrected, and laid it down.

Thoughts and prayers for his wife and three children.

 

[saberz]

I wish his family the best in his time of need. I hope he turns for the better and is able to make a good recovery.

 

[macdole99]

best wishes for a speedy and full recovery to him. my thoughts and prayers to his family

 

[sciphi]

My thoughts and best wishes to him and his family. Hope he can be woken up soon and recover fully!

 

[bepperb]

I always worry so much about other drivers, but here in WI over 3/4 of motorcycle accidents are single vehicle accidents.

It's scary stuff. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

prayers are with him, too.

This story is all too similar to a guy I know. Months in ICU, but he came out of it. Had to be a miracle, he was thought to be dead by the nurses and doctors. He's almost at 100% now save for one hand.

 

[Nick R]

My regards and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Best wishes for your friend and his family.

 

[BrianWC]

Wow, I didn't know it was even possible to tear your brain stem! Prayers and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

 

[Gary Allan]

I feel for this guy. While I've ridden (what used to be called) trail bikes in my youth, I've yet to own a motorcycle as an adult. A long time friend of mine worked shock trauma at Lehigh Hospital and could always predict the Friday night motorcycle vs. 100 year old oak tree episode waiting to happen. There was usually a Yahoo! aspect to it ..but the relating of the injuries kinda sticks with you.

 

[oilyriser]

If the skull rotates faster than the brain can keep up inside, you can shear the connections. A decade or so ago, interrogators in Israel became famous for killing prisoners by shaking their heads back and forth. Mad parents have killed their babies by similar shaking. I'm not sure a helmet gives good protection from this, if it gets hit in the wrong spot with enough speed.

 

[BrianWC]

Yeah, I researched it online. I'll refrain from posting more about it and think we just need to be positive right now.

 

[wantin150]

I too have researched and it is not pretty. A complete tear is an internal decapitation. We won't know if a helmet may not have prevented the tear but my logic is that motorcycle safety gear is designed to slide. IF the helmet would have slide on pavement, "maybe" the rapid motion would have been prevented. Goes back to the old sealbelt argument. When your time is up, your time is up.

He is still improving so we shall see. Regardless of the immediate outcome, I see long term rehab in the future.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. We are all keeping our fingers crossed. I should know more tonight.

 

[Captain_Klink]

caused by severe hyper extension of the neck : snapping the head back with sudden violent force - a helmet will really do very little - should be illegal to get on a motor bike with ANY blood alcohol content, for the protection of the rider. Need to outlaw any alcohol with motor vehicle combination, period.

 

[saberz]

I wanted to ride at one point, but in May of 2003 my friend(I was friends with his younger brother who was my age, but eventually we became friends as well) was riding with his buddies and was going around a turn, his bike hit some loose gravel and he hit a guard rail. They flew him into a hospital via helicopter but by then he had passed away.

It's hard to this day walking into his mechanic's shop, because every time I walked in he would be working on a car or sitting at his desk. Now his brother is the head mechanic and to this day if certain songs come on he has to change em. It's tough and that's why I hope this guy makes it through. I say a little prayer and wish other bikers that I see on the road the best and a safe ride because of what happened.

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: Captain_Klink
Need to outlaw any alcohol with motor vehicle combination, period.


We are practically there now with some states having such low levels as law that you can't even have a social drink and wait an hour to hit the road and you're considered DUI/DWI.

 

[oilboy123]

Hope he comes out of it OK. I did a superman in about 1983 on a CB550 Honda. Came back the next morning to pick up my front tooth. I was wearing a helmet, but did not have the chin guard portion.
I rode a little 175CC Kawasaki enduro a little bit off road. Have not been on a motorcycle since about 1986. Don't plan on it anymore. Even if you are a great rider there is always someone ready to take you out, intentionally or not.

Of course I take my chances on a road bicycle and my mountain bike some.

 

[Samilcar]

The OP very clearly stated that he wanted this thread to remain focused on thoughts and prayers for his badly injured friend, and not devolve into a "motorcycles R bad" argument.

 

[HarleyGuy]

Originally Posted By: Samilcar
The OP very clearly stated that he wanted this thread to remain focused on thoughts and prayers for his badly injured friend, and not devolve into a "motorcycles R bad" argument.


+1.

Best wishes & prayers for a full recovery.

 

[wantin150]

Latest update:

Dan is making progress. He is breathing on his own (with an oxygen assist) and is responding to commands. This is very positive. He even tries to help the nurses turn him side to side. He is aware and will hold up the appropriate number of fingers when asked.

Now, on a side note, another acquaintance of mine was out on his rather powerful custom bike and misjudged a curve at 115 mph. He split his bike in two. He is actually up and hobbling around and takes full responsibility for the stupidity which nearly took his life. He has a LOT of pain in his leg but escaped relatively unharmed. This guy had MANY years of mtc experience but one moment of inattention nearly killed him. Goes to show that you never know.

And we all know that bikes can be bad. It is a risk we take.