OT, However Everyone Please Read

30AnvZ28

The first thing I want to say, is for EVERYONE, to please keep an eye out on the road for motorcycle riders. If you are a rider, please wear the proper clothing and a helmet. I am not a rider, nor will I ever be...

Being on the South Carolina coast, we get the liberty of picking and choosing good days for fishing. We havent been out all year, and decided yesterday would be a good day. After preping the boat, working out bugs, bait, ice, fuel, etc... we were running around 5 hours later then normal leaving. No biggie, lets just hit the water, run around and find something to break us back into the sport. Typicially, we shut our phones off when we leave, and turn them back on when we get home... service drops around 5mi offshore, and we were going to go 26 miles or so. I had forgotten to shut my phone off, and this is one trip, where I wish I did.

Around the time we could start to see land, My phone beeped a few times telling me new emails, text messages, etc. I looked at it... 9 new voicemails. This cant be good... 9 voicemails in 6 hours and all of my friends/family knew I was going fishing? It was 5:38 when I called my voicemail. He was life flighted at 5:15

My best friend had been in a horrible accident on his motorcycle, no one has any details, nor will anyone relase any information other then he has been in an accident, and is being life-flighted to Savannah Memorial. I immediately assume the worst. I assume with it being Saturday, he went and hit the beach, which tells me he had shorts and a t-shirt on. After a few more phone calls, someone got ahold of a witness, and the story gets worse. He was in a head on collission with a car.

I arrived at the hospital around 7:15. His ex wife and son were there, along with a couple neighbors. His parents and sister had already begun the 5 hour drive from their home here. I asked how he was doing. I was given the answer by his ex wife that "They wont tell us anything other then he is still in surgery." After another 2 hours or so, we had no other information. We didnt know if he was alive, dead, life threatening, ANYTHING. I started getting on the phone and demanded that the shift doctor (not any of the surgeons, but the floor doctor...someone who isnt involved with trauma surgeries) come and talk to us. A nurse came out, and we explained to her that we have been told NOTHING... NOTHING AT ALL. She was very appologetic, and that one of the surgeous had finished his part in the surgery, and she would get him to come talk to us, instead of someone who is only recieving information.

The doctor came out and told us that for someone to be in a head on collission with a car, and suffer ABSOLUTELY NO head, brain, neck, or back injury is virturally impossible... but somehow my buddy did. The left side of his entire body was damaged, and his leg was eaten down to the bone. He was in surgery for almost 8 hours last night, and will continue to undergo surgery every other day to continue to clean out his leg. These surgerys are all before they begin reconstructing his leg, if he can keep it. They said he has a greater then 50% chance of losing his left leg, but they will continue to clean and remove infection in hopes of saving it over the next week.

I dont want to give any gory details (and those I did give were pretty nasty.). I dont know who was at fault, or who did what to cause the accident... it doesnt matter. He was on a ventilator and sedated when we finally got to see him around 2am last night. He will live, but will have months upon months of recovery ahead of him. The other lady has left the hospital. Please remember to wear your helmet, and proper clothing. Even if you dont ride, please look twice. It might be your best friend out there.

blu62vette

Best wishes to your friend, hope he is able to ride again.

Gemineye

<< <i>The first thing I want to say, is for EVERYONE, to please keep an eye out on the road for motorcycle riders. >>


.....Thank you....!!!....

Gemineye

<< <i>Best wishes to your friend, hope he is able to ride again. >>


Me too...!!

Mistercoinman

We will all pray for him

Mar327

I understand so well how you feel. As a medic, I've known a few bikers to be hurt badly in accidents, and unfortunately one of them was my husband in 1977, just 8 months after we married. I was 2 weeks pregnant and didn't even know it at the time, but could've lost him and he'd never have known he was having a son. In his case an 8 year old boy ran from between 2 parked cars onto the road directly in front of him, he veered to miss him, just grazing his ribs, and was thrown quite a distance. He had a severe concussion and alot of road rash, but his helmet, badly smashed, saved his life. The driver of the car behind him said if he hadn't hit the boy and thrown him a little, he'd have hit him with his car and it would've been awful. Until then both of us rode bikes, but after that they were sold and we didn't ride again.

I'm sure your friend's in a good trauma hospital where they will do everything medically possible to save that leg, and I pray they can. He was truly blessed not to have cranial injuries. I think you left your phone on that day because it was meant to be. Keep praying. We have a family member in crisis right now on life support and are keeping positive with prayers. Please let us know about him in days to come.

ianrussell

It's sad to read stories like this about motorbike riders, though I do wish him all the best with recovery. Sounds like he was very lucky.

EagleEye

Thanks for posting. I pray in time he will recover fully. In Arizona we have no helmet laws, which I think is really crazy. More people wear helmets riding their bike than on a motorcycle.

I saw a guy riding the other day wearing a jacket that had small airbags on the upper arms, in the front and back! These would expand on impact. He was wearing a helmet too. It was the first time I ever saw an airbag jacket.

jessecarlk

jessecarlk

On June 9, 2005, I was involved in a motorcycle accident. Unfortunately, I wasn't the one on the motorcycle. I don't want to get too much into it, but after 4 years, 4 months, and 19 days, the other person involved finally passed from his injuries. It is the worst thing that ever happened to me, and it still haunts me daily. I don't like to talk about it much, but it happened.

pennyannie

I hope all goes well for your friend.

While i wear a helmet i would rather not. I do not rag on anyone not wearing a helmet. Everyting can be deadly and dangerous from being overweight to being a coin dealer at the wrong spot at any given time.

richardshipp

Sorry to hear about your friend.

drwstr123

I'd have to sit down and put pen to paper in order to list the people I've lost by motorcycle accidents.
The one I miss the most is a beautiful young girl who was named Greta.
We choose what we do.
Speedy recovery.

ThePennyLady

I also wish your friend a very speedy and successful recovery, and pray that he is able to keep his leg. I have never been a fan of street bike riding, and feel even more so the older I get and the more I hear stories like this. My son recently witnessed a motorcyle lose control on a freeway onramp and crash late at night. The guy was thrown into the left lane of a curved transition onramp and his bike skidded across to the right side of the ramp out of the lane. My son and his friends avoided hitting the man and pulled over. My son got on the phone to call 911 while his friend attempted to cross over the lanes to reach the man laying on the freeway but just then another car came around the curve and, not seeing the man, drove over him. They too pulled over, but then another car did the same thing, and on and on. My son and his friends had to witness this over and over and will never forget what they saw, nor will they ever ride a motorcycle as a result. Needless to say, the man didn't survive.

In any event, again, I wish all the best for your friend and his family and friends, and you.

Mar327

<< <i>I also wish your friend a very speedy and successful recovery, and pray that he is able to keep his leg. I have never been a fan of street bike riding, and feel even more so the older I get and the more I hear stories like this. My son recently witnessed a motorcyle lose control on a freeway onramp and crash late at night. The guy was thrown into the left lane of a curved transition onramp and his bike skidded across to the right side of the ramp out of the lane. My son and his friends avoided hitting the man and pulled over. My son got on the phone to call 911 while his friend attempted to cross over the lanes to reach the man laying on the freeway but just then another car came around the curve and, not seeing the man, drove over him. They too pulled over, but then another car did the same thing, and on and on. My son and his friends had to witness this over and over and will never forget what they saw, nor will they ever ride a motorcycle as a result. Needless to say, the man didn't survive.

In any event, again, I wish all the best for your friend and his family and friends, and you. >>



Charmy, I feel so awful for your son. My husband witnessed a motorcycle accident about 6 weeks ago while leaving our daughter's house, and 2 people were very badly injured. All he could do was call for help and try to keep the man calm, who had 2 fractured arms AND legs, and internal injuries. By God's grace, a paramedic lived at the house where it happened and she dealt with the female who'd smashed into and went under a guardrail. 2 helicopters landed in their yard that night, it was an awful thing for him to see and deal with, but at least both lived... probably only because they both had helmets; they were really speeding when they missed a curve. In time the sharp memories of what your son witnessed will fade, but he'll never forget the event. At least he has his friends to talk to about it, that's good debriefing.

This may be OT, but 30AnvZ28, it's a good reminder to people on or off the bikes. So many have seen or experienced the kind of thing you wrote about.