Gary - Had a Weekend Incident

[75wingman]

now evryone turn to hymn number 345, alls well that ends well.......... . count your blessings, gary.

[Law Dawg (ret)]

Thomas you have a PM.

[motowriter]

Originally Posted by Bandit66

I remember that it is a rule in the desert that you always slow down to a snail pace when you reach the top of a hill. Why? because there could always be somebody (a truck maybe) driving on the left side to avoid an obstacle or... an obstacle on your side. There is no way to stop on dirt. I flew 20 feet with a fully loaded long Toy Land Cruiser because of a tiny (maybe a foot high) sand dune, Gary hit a deep hole. The 'in doubt, gas it' does not work very well in any of these case. Let's all learn from this. It is not limited to hill top or off road. Poor or short visibility: just break as hard as it is safe before entering the area and proceed with caution. Blind turns, off-ramps at night, not worth the gamble.

Excellent analysis and reminder, Eric! I do tend to be very cautious at blind rises. You just don't know what you'll encounter out there, whether a sharp turn or another vehicle. On my first desert trek a few weeks ago I took it pretty slowly in terrain like this:



But the road I crashed on was flat. Can you see the ditch ahead, from ~100 feet away?



More pix later... yeah, I know, I keep promising a story and pix. I'll get to it!

[motowriter]

Originally Posted by Aiki boy

I fell off a roof on the 4th of July 3 years ago, no I was not drinking Shattered rt. distal radius with 12 screws and 2 plates, along with 3 bones busted in my rt. ankle. You should have seen the look I gave the orderly at the hospital when he gave me a set of crutches which I thought was pretty obvious that I couldn't use with a busted wrist. Luckily they put enough morphine in me to keep me from giving the crutches back in an inappropriate way. Another thing in common, I'm an ornery patient too.

Again heal up quick

Ouch!! Dude!!!! Call me lucky, in comparison! Thanks for the positive thoughts, Tom. Now that you mention it, they had me on morphine Sunday night. And I'm wondering why I can't remember anything??

[Sbyllek]

Can't wait til you replace that avatar photo Gary!

[motowriter]

Originally Posted by Sbyllek

Good to read updates from both of you guys...
Glad Gary has been released and is now in the healing process.
So glad it wasn't much worse.

Keep us posted on your healing Gary...
Donna let us know if we can help...even from 3 hours away.


And Gary...a ride in a medical helicopter while strapped to a backboard is not a lot of fun...

If you want to remember a helicopter ride, there are much easier ways to do it!!

P.S. Cali Jen (if I remember correctly ) recommended finding a way to thank the EMS workers who came to your aid...and someone else mentioned thanking the citizens who initially cared for you...
I wholeheartedly second this idea...as an EMS worker, I know they are thanked precious few times and it really makes a difference when someone stops to say thanx...whether it be in person, with a card...cookies...a box of chocolates...a letter of appreciation to the administration...it really boosts morale and recharges a person in a great way.

Thanks for your words of support, Kelly! Yeah, I'd never been in a helicopter before Sunday. Interestingly, one of the handful of memory snapshots I retained was asking one of the emergency crew why I had to be airlifted. I'll need to verify, but I think they initially put me in an ambulance, and drove me to a helicopter. I know Fallon has a medical center with an emergency room. I rode past it on my way east Sunday. Why do you think they arranged for the flight to Reno? I have to imagine that my comment to them was based on the concern for how much the heli ride was going to end up costing (still have to see what Progressive is going to cover). Don't get me wrong: I appreciate the urgent medical attention, but in retrospect it seems a bit over the top to medivac someone for a broken wrist.

Maybe you can lend some insight, Kelly...

[SupraSabre]

Some how I missed this thread...sorry to hear about the mishap Gary. Heal fast.

[dstevens58]

Originally Posted by Gary

I appreciate the urgent medical attention, but in retrospect it seems a bit over the top to medivac someone for a broken wrist.

The broken wrist could have been obvious, the helicopter trip could have been for precautions for those unseen conditions. I think Dave/Scarman can attest to that. I believe he was up and about for a bit after his accident and then collapsed because of a spleen situation/internal bleeding.

Also, field EMS personnel have to take in accounts of the level of trauma a medical center can handle. Reno was probably better equipped to take care of the possible trauma a motorcycle accident can incur.

Better safe than sorry. Many comments have been made in the Central Valley here that the difference between a homicide and assault can be made by a great Trauma Team. Valley Medical Center/University Medical Center Trauma Team rocks!!

[Sbyllek]

Originally Posted by dstevens58

The broken wrist could have been obvious, the helicopter trip could have been for precautions for those unseen conditions.
...

Also, field EMS personnel have to take in accounts of the level of trauma a medical center can handle. Reno was probably better equipped to take care of the possible trauma a motorcycle accident can incur.
...

+1

It is likely Fallon doesn't have a trauma center and I know Reno does.
With your sketchy memory of the accident (indication of a probable loss of consciousness) and the nature of your accident, they would want to make sure you were receiving the best level of care for the potential of less obvious injuries.

Loss of consciousness alone would justify a trauma team activation (another reason you were registered under a "code name" at the hospital (007)) and you must be at a trauma center for that kind of care.

I would be surprised if your insurance doesn't cover the helicopter ride as your incident certainly justified one...they don't look at the final outcome of your injuries to determine whether or not they will pay...they look at the criteria the EMS personnel were using to determine the need for an air ambulance.
(But may I suggest a flight membership to avoid this (God-forbid) in the future...Reno has some good programs )


As for the ambulance ride to the helicopter...the helicopter probably couldn't land close enough to you so the ambulance was used to get you to the nearest LZ (Landing Zone)...

Hope that helps!

And good to see your injuries aren't slowing you down any!!

[FishWitch]

If any of you have looked at a map Fallon isn't exactly a booming metropolis. It's pretty common to have any accident victim airlifted out of that area.

Gary is very lucky to have had witnesses come to his aid so quickly. There are places in Nevada where he may have never been found. Like skiing it isn't a good idea to head out alone to remote areas. The bad thing is you can't feasibly tell someone your planned route either as we all know that "Oh there's a cool road!" mentality. Most phones these days have a GPS function but out in the boonies the phones aren't always working.

Moral of this story is: Don't ride alone.

Alien abduction is also a possibility out there in the middle of no where!

Just glad to hear all is well on the other side of the hill!