minor setback

[tmbg]

Well, not much progress has been made on the RV lately, and I don't know how much progress WILL be made for a little while.

Last saturday (9/29), I wrecked my bike pretty good. I was out on a country road riding with a buddy of mine, and over the crest of a hill a 15mph turn snuck up on me. Tried to make the turn without running wide, and dragged the right rearset. The bike came out from under me, and I slid on my belly feet first off the road. My gear kept me from getting torn up, but as I exited the road and went under the guard rail, the right side of my ribcage hit a guard rail post. I spun down the hill and landed up against a barbed wire fence, in a pretty good amount of pain. My buddy stopped and called the ambulance.

The paramedics told me they were pretty sure my ribs were broken, which is what it felt like to me. They cut my jacket and shirt off me and put me on a board. They brought in a helicopter to take me out, and it was a 17 minute flight from the boonies to downtown Atlanta. It was quite uncomfortable, because I didn't have a lot of motion in my right arm, and there weren't a lot of places I could put it that didn't hurt like unholy hell. The copter was an A-Star, and my feet were crammed up against the left front canopy, my head was in the crotch of the flight nurse, and there was a right rear seat flight nurse plus the right seat pilot. A lot of folks in a relatively small bird, especially with me flat on my back.

Approaching the hospital, I had the sensation that we were landing, and I was anticipating the touchdown, silently willing the pilot to make it soft as possible, but it seemed like it took forever to happen. When he finally did set it down, it was as gentle as I could hope. They carefully pried me out of the tiny helicopter and put me on a gurney. Then they wheeled me into the ER.

It was just like they depict it on TV, the bit where you're being wheeled down the hallway and you see all these faces and hear talking and weird things are going on, and then they bring you into the ER where there's lights and machines and people running around yelling things like 'trauma' and 'stat'. They cut the rest of my clothes off and wrenched me around a whole lot. I was lucid the whole time, making jokes with the staff. At no point during the whole ordeal was I unaware of what was going on.

After they were finishing up with me in the ER, the flight nurse came and said goodbye to me. I had told him as they were loading me up that I was a pilot, and as he said goodbye he laughed and said that I could log it as three tenths "Pilot InCapacitated".

Leaving the ER, they wheeled me down to get a CT scan to make sure I didn't have any internal injuries that would require immediate surgery. I was DYING of thirst, my mouth was dry and I was sure I was going to swallow my own tongue. They wouldn't give me anything to drink, saying that I was being hydrated intravenously and, if I needed surgery, wouldn't be allowed anything to eat or drink.

The CT scan was a miserable experience, having to be transferred off the gurney to the table, with my arm KILLING ME. They had to strap it up at a VERY painful angle to get it to clear the machine, and then I had to sit there on that board going in and out of the machine over and over and over, in terrible pain and feeling like I was going to swallow my tongue.

Anyway, they finally got me in a room, and eventually told me that the scans showed I'd broken a rib and my shoulderblade. There's not much they can do for either of those, so I'm just sorta dealing with it.

I was in the hospital four days, they released me Tuesday afternoon. I'm getting better; I've weaned myself off the drugs they gave me, and I even got to do some flying yesterday. I can mostly fly fine, all though it's awkward running the throttle quadrant, and I have to tune radios with my left hand. I can run trim and flaps with my right hand reasonably well. My buddy flew with me, and we took turns practicing dead stick 180 landings to a called spot, and we both did remarkably well.

Anyway, sorry this got rambly. I'm hoping to get back into the project soon, maybe I can shoot with my left hand. It'll probably be two or three months before my right arm is fully useful again.

[captain_john]

Ian,

Wicked bummer of a story. Here's hoping you feel better soon and be careful on those bikes!

CJ

[cjensen]

My goodness! Glad you are going to be okay Ian! Man, stories like that scare the begeezus out of me...

Well wishes for a speedy recovery!

[1:1_Scale]

Wow, what a story Good to hear that you'll be OK though. I lost a friend in a motorcycle accident about 6 weeks ago. He got a little wide in a corner and got high-sided off the bike into a fence. The irony is he was a skydiver with over 8000 jumps and was leaving the DZ for the day.

[jimpappas]

Get better man!

[svanarts]

That sucks. I know how you feel, been there myself. Hurts to breathe, hurts to laugh, just plain hurts. Glad you're feeling better and got flying again. Loved the "Pilot Incopacitated" remark from the flight nurse.

[JohnR]

Ian, sorry to hear about your accident but glad you are the one telling it. I hope you get better soon and can get back to the airplane building.

I'm sure glad you had your gear on! Sometimes it is a pain wearing the gear but you never know when you will need it.

[clreding]

Ian
Oh man I feel for you, something very simmilar (cold shiver) happened to me about 15 years ago. My problem was my "friends" kept coming by to tell jokes just to see me writhe in pain. For some reason i could never stop laughing once i started no matter how much it hurt.

I am hoping and praying that you recoperate quickly and comfortably

Craig

[dons]

That's one heck of an ordeal that you went through Ian. That fact you remember everything and can write about it is a sign it could have been a whole lot worse, very glad it wasn't. Let yourself heal. Take the chance to read ahead in the instructions so you don't totally leave the project behind.

[cnpeters]

Ouch! That's why some of us in medicine call them "donorcycles". So glad no critical injuries, and I wish you a most speedy recovery. If you need any good dope, hit Thomas up. He dispenses the good stuff all day in his ER .

[Spike]

Good to hear that you will make it through.

Be careful with the flying and make sure your legal when you do it.