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My next door neighbor had an accident

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Texas T

Texas T

LD Rider
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Location
Sun Lakes & Show Low, Arizona
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Brian
It's been about two weeks now. I was in the back yard cutting logs and I heard him leave on his H-D. About 4 days later a text went out to our local neighborhood group saying that Bill had had a heart attack while riding and had an accident. From what I understand the bike isn't too bad off but he wound up with a small fracture in the right hand, four fractures of the lower right leg and ankle, lots of road rash, and a bruise on the brain. If not for his helmet he'd probably be dead at this point. As with many accidents of this nature he doesn't remember the accident. He woke up in the ICU after the initial surgery.

The doctors say he had a heart attack based upon the enzymes in his blood, but they don't know why. He has no blockages and everything looks normal. He's currently in a civilian rehab facility but a rep from the VA is supposed to meet with him tomorrow so I don't know if they are going to move him to a military facility or let him stay there. I'll see him again on Wednesday afternoon and take all his mail to him and I should get the full story then.

Here's the helmet. This was the only safety gear he was wearing.

PXL_20240101_173147224.jpg


PXL_20240101_173131364.jpg
 
That helmet did it's job. That takes a pretty good whack to do that kind of damage.
 
Extreme stress or trauma can elevate those same enzymes (according to my cardiologist) so he may have NOT had a heart attack.
 
Wow. That helmet definitely did its job. Wild story.
 
Hanging on the wall in my garage are the shredded remnants of the riding pants I was wearing when I had my accident in 2021. Everything I was wearing - jacket, gloves, pants, boots - was destroyed. Well, except my helmet which miraculously wasn't scratched. Anyhoo, all that gear did its job.
 
I guess the question now is, will he get back on? You had an event that caused you to go down. Not sure many could get past that worry and ride again.
 
LaserDave said:
I guess the question now is, will he get back on? You had an event that caused you to go down. Not sure many could get past that worry and ride again.
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Well, I have my answer to that --- if you're not comfortable doing it, or it isn't fun anymore, don't do it. I nearly quit after my '21 accident. Eventually, I kept the bike & kept riding, but it really hasn't been the same. Once again I'm wrestling with whether or not to sell the VStrom this coming spring. One thing I'm sure of --- I'd never try to talk someone else into going back to riding if it isn't something they want to do. If you're scared of your bike, you're a danger to yourself.
 
LaserDave said:
I guess the question now is, will he get back on? You had an event that caused you to go down. Not sure many could get past that worry and ride again.
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He will not be riding any longer. I think he's 72 now and he told me today that he just doesn't think clearly enough to feel safe on the bike any longer. He had his leather wallet in his front pocket and it is tore up to the point where it damaged some of his credit cards tucked inside. I didn't see them, but he said his clothes were pretty tore up in addition to being cut away from his body. He said his boots were in good shape. There's some visible road rash on his arms but he said his back got the worst of it, and looking at the back side of the helmet that makes sense.

Currently, he has an external rod and two pins in the right leg; one pin near the knee and the other near the ankle. He texted me a little bit ago and said they are waiting for some of the swelling to go down and then they are going to open up the leg again but he didn't have details.

Earlier today he was hoping to get out of rehab within two weeks and get back home but the VA is going to need to provide some equipment for him at home and home health care at least some of the time. He has two sisters in the Phoenix area but both have their own medical issues so they won't be of much help. All the rest of his family is in MN (he's a snowbird).

I too am still thinking about selling my Wing. I barely rode it last year and with my wife forbidden by her docs to ride, it's not enjoyable for me to go off by myself knowing that she's sitting at home pouting because she can't go herself. Plus, I think about how she would take care of herself if I wasn't here to do so if something bad happened to me. That could happen anytime, anywhere, anyhow but the risks increase once I throw a leg over the seat.
 
Wow! Glad he survived and relatively unscathed given the circumstance, especially at that age. That helmet clearly took a hard impact!

Reminds of a guy in our Houston riding club many moons ago that had an aneurysm while riding with his girl friend on the bike. He died instantly. Fortunately they were in the contra flow lane that was walled off from adjacent traffic so the incident was fully contained and no other vehicles were involved. She (the passenger) only suffered minor road rash. Though she did suffer PTSD from the incident.
 
The accident was Dec 18th. He's coming home from Rehab tomorrow... 90+ days later, and about 35 pounds lighter, and with his leg still wrapped and in a boot. The VA will be at the house at 2 pm to assess his needs for home care, wound care, etc. I found his jacket on the washer; his sister must have dropped it off, but I forgot to take a photo of it. They cut it off of him, but you can see some of the shredded portions.
 
woodsguy said:
As our generation quits riding I doubt there's as many young riders to take our place. Glad your neighbor made it home!
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There's a few of us. Probably quite a number more, but they don't ride the same way we do. Groms seem to be popular with the younger crowd and they tend to ride then around town rather than all over.
 
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