My BIG Motorcycle Crash!!!

[wild bill]

If you're a "Facebook Friend" of mine, you've probably seen a version of this story already. Sorry about that.
The following is the most up-to-date version.


Hola,

For those of you who haven't heard, I had a bad motorcycle accident this year on the 19th of August. I fainted while riding my new (to me) 2010 Honda GL1800 GoldWing motorcycle & drove off the road into a ditch. According to witnesses, the crash was horrific!

Thankfully, I was wearing safety gear, including padded pants & jacket, sturdy boots, good gloves & a full-face helmet. Thanks to the friends I was riding with & our proximity to Star Prairie, WI, emergency medical help was quickly on the scene. Once stabilized, I was rushed via ambulance to a hospital in New Richmond, WI, where a Med-Evac chopper was waiting to airlift me to Regions Hospital, one of the top trauma hospitals in the country. The care I received there substantiates that, too.

After 8 days in Regions (2 in the ICU!), I came home w/2 broken ribs in my back on the right side, a broken right hand @ the base of my pinkie (there was a steel rod in the bone in my palm to the pinkie finger that was removed 9/25/12), an old injury in my back, vertebra T7, that was "awakened" after 15 years to remind me it's still there (!) & a slight concussion that resulted in some short term memory loss.

I spent 2 weeks recuperating @ home before returning to work September 10th, 2012, on a restricted & shortened schedule. Now I'm working full time with few restrictions.

A full & complete recovery is expected.

The doctors consensus of the cause of my accident is "volume depletion," or dehydration, which was made worse due to my recently beginning to take blood pressure medicine 10 days before the accident.

Please remember to keep yourselves hydrated while you're out & about, no matter what you're doing, but especially if you're operating a motor vehicle!

My accident could have been much, much, worse & certainly would have been w/o my protective gear @ clothing. Please be sure to wear your own safety gear while riding any 2-wheel vehicle, but especially a motorcycle!

Above all, enjoy your life & be careful out there.

Wild Bill

[Tim...]

Hope you recover quickly.

"Volume Depletion" as the the cause of the accident?  Please, you f'd up - no sympathy here!

[wild bill]

Tim,

Thank you! I'm happy to report that I'm recovering nicely. I even have a new bike sitting in my garage, waiting for me to ride it for the first time...next Spring! However, I'm not looking for sympathy here. The only reason to share my story is to help others learn from my mistake. You are correct. I f-ed up! Trust me, I will NEVER MAKE THAT EXACT MISTAKE AGAIN, Tim. I only hope that others heed my words & stay hydrated, wear all the gear all the time & be careful out there. That's all....

BTW, "volume depletion," or "dehydration," is why I fainted at the controls, which led to my crash. Like you said, my mistake...

Wild Bill   

[Tim...]

No worries Bill, you are not the first dumb-ass to ride hungover.

[vince]

A lot of friends there watch this happen. An unknown happens does not mean you made a mistake. But he does know how to avoid it next time.

[wild bill]

Oh, Tim, I'd actually feel a lot less dumb if I could blame this accident on being hungover. Regrettably, I honestly can't offer that as an excuse!
After an exhausting series of medical tests on my lungs, my heart, my respitory system, & my brain, the consensus is that I'm in much better than average physical condition for a man my age & there is no medical cause to my fainting, other than dehydration in conjuction w/new to me blood-pressure medicine. According to my doctor, under the circumstances that caused my fainting, I couldn't possibly have stayed awake!
The rest, as they say, is now history.   

Wild Bill 

[Vander]

Glad your okay, Bill.   

There are so many components to riding safely, aren't there?
Thank you for being bold and sharing your story.  Your willingness to expose your vulnerability and admit your error in judgement as a safety reminder to the motorcycle online community is admirable.

Even the pros mess up and tumble from time to time, don't they?
And on a long enough timeline, the best of the best will crash.

Alot of folks out there may learn to consider personal health and wellness part of the gear checklist.

[Lglrider]

As someone who saw the crash happen from the moment Bill left the road to the moment he landed, I can tell you ... he was very much unconscious.  There was no control, no reaction and no defensive wounds.  He did not regain consciousness until about five minutes after 911 was called.  There are times, though few, when a situation is beyond the rider's control.  This, unfortunately, was one of those times. 

I agree Vander ... personal health and wellness should be part of any rider's checklist before heading out on two wheels.  I wasn't on two wheels the weekend of Bill's crash for that very reason. 

[pkpk]

While it might well be true the actual event was out of Bill's control, there is a message in when one starts on new medication.  Heart and blood meds are usually dicey in that they can react with certain foods or simply don't work well with some people.  Usually one needs an adjustment period to stabilize the system with these sorts of meds and maybe shorter (or no) rides is the ticket for awhile.  I am not a Dr.,  or play one on TV, but I am married to a medical professional who chases me around with a pooper scooper.

[pkpk]

Oh, and I can vouch for Tim's generic statement about riding hungover. 

[Mike Duluth]

Shoulda, coulda, woulda, doesn't change anything. Hope your recovery goes well Bill, and hope to ride with you again soon.
Mike

[pkpk]

Shoulda, coulda, woulda, doesn't change anything.

Of course not, but there is a lesson to be derived for everyone else going forward....no?

[Aprilian]

I saw this on ADV Rider and put it into my phone.
I'M SAFE
During flight training, I learned the mantra I'M SAFE, to be repeated before every engine start:
I Illness
M Medication
S Stress
A Alcohol
F Fatigue
E Emotion
Any yes answers? Scrub the flight.

While we may not scrub the ride, it is helpful to think through the list and be aware of any signals. 

Bill, best wishes for a full recovery.   You mentioned short term memory loss after the accident, do you remember if you were feeling any different during your ride?  Were there symptoms that you just chalked up to something else, i.e. tiredness?

[Mike Duluth]

Shoulda, coulda, woulda, doesn't change anything.

Of course not, but there is a lesson to be derived for everyone else going forward....no?

We all no why these things happen for the most part, I just think no one needs it shoved in there face. When I screw up, I hate it when someone always wants to point out the abvious. I think everyone hates it if ya think about it.

[Tim...]

Are you f'in serious bringing in 'defend a fellow soldier here' as an argument.  You just lost all my respect.

Tim

.. some nonsense