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General Category => General Banter => Topic started by: wild bill on October 29, 2012, 01:38:09 PM
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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
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Hope you recover quickly.
"Volume Depletion" as the the cause of the accident? Please, you f'd up - no sympathy here!
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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
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No worries Bill, you are not the first dumb-ass to ride hungover.
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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.
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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 8)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Oh, and I can vouch for Tim's generic statement about riding hungover. ;)
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Shoulda, coulda, woulda, doesn't change anything. Hope your recovery goes well Bill, and hope to ride with you again soon. 8)
Mike
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Shoulda, coulda, woulda, doesn't change anything.
Of course not, but there is a lesson to be derived for everyone else going forward....no?
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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?
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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.
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Are you f'in serious bringing in 'defend a fellow soldier here' as an argument. You just lost all my respect.
Tim
.. some nonsense
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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.
Sorry, it wasn't obvious to me until I did some digging into the heart meds. Only trying to help by spreading potential information. Sorry to have offended you.
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Hey guys, who is there so much nastiness going on here anyway? Is it that time of the year, or just that time of the month?!
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I think we are all more or less in agreement; what is being discussed is how all of us need to face facts.
Through the ageing process, we are all experiencing differences in things like reaction time and stamina… but our immense egos (many of us) are probably having trouble coming to terms with it. It’s very easy for us to dismiss our impairments when we desperately want to get out and ride. Bill’s story is a warning that it can happen to ANYONE.
And denial is a stinky cologne.
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Never ment to be nasty, I just feel bad for the guy. We all know when we throw a leg over these things we are putting ourselves in harms way.
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I have notice as I have gotten older I have gotten a little slower. I think this is because my ego is getting low. I know this for a fact because the last time I bought a new helmet I went from a large to a medium. Is there a pill or some drug I can take to get my ego level back up where it should be. I want to be really fast again.
Does Viagra for for this.
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I have notice as I have gotten older I have gotten a little slower. I think this is because my ego is getting low. I know this for a fact because the last time I bought a new helmet I went from a large to a medium. Is there a pill or some drug I can take to get my ego level back up where it should be. I want to be really fast again.
Does Viagra for for this.
;D
I like to think egotistical behavior is replaced with wisdom as we age.
And from the stories you tell me about you and Mike on sleds... you both are pretty good at ignoring wisdom. LOL
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From my point of view, the frank discussion of my accident is doing exactly what I wanted it to do : initiate conversation. Nothing anyone says or does at this point can change what happened to me. I crashed a beautiful bike REALLY HARD & have been suffering the consequences of that crash ever since. In some way, I know I'll never forget the lessons of that crash. I haven't taken any of your responses too personally, yet (LOL!), but they have added to my knowledge base. Especially the one from "Aprilian" re: the acronym "I'm Safe." I will forever be using that on my own rides in the future & encouraging others to use it, too.
Just remember, "there but for the grace of God go I." This means what happened to me could happen to any of you. Trust me, it's not an experience that anyone should want to have happen to them. It's much more fun & exciting to actually ride a motorcycle. Crashing sucks!
I have learned or re-learned 3 concrete lessons from this particular accident: 1) Read & heed the disclaimers/warnings that accompany any newly-prescribed drug. Ask your doctor any questions, before leaving his office, so that you truly understand how that new drug could/will affect you. 2) All The Gear, All The Time (ATGATT). I know it's been said before, but it bears constant repeating. As a result of my being fully-suited for riding, my injuries were seriously minimized compared to what they would have been w/o all the gear, all the time. 3) Stay hydrated. When my doctor tells me that at any given moment, 80% of Americans are dehydrated,[/b] I'd say that's a serious problem. Few of us drink as much water as we should, or as often as we should be drinking it. Since my accident, I'm w/i sight of a water bottle, and I use it regularly.
I know going forward I'll be a wiser, smarter & safer rider. However, I'll still be "Wild Bill !!!" 8)
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Vince - Viagra just gives me a stiff neck.... ;)
Bill was doing the most important thing right at the point of the crash - ATGATT...... :)
I for one am extremely pleased to hear of his excellent prognosis after coming upon his crash roughly 5 minutes or so after it happened. It was extremely troubling to see a friend in potentially a fatal condition. Thank God this was not the case!
We all know that medication changes/additions can affect us and in different ways. What I take away from this is a keener eye for such a thing in my life. As I get older the pharmacy I need to carry with me seems to keep growing so management becomes more important.
I also will start watching my hydration more carefully. The issue with us old guys is that our "pee stops" seem to get closer together the older we get. But - better to stop a few more times to relieve one self (and to hydrate too) than to risk an "event".
Again - Bill - glad to hear you are on the mend and hope to catch you on a ride in the future!
Best regards,
Steve M.
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Glad you are recovering well Bill, keep it up! Lee told me about the crash and I sure was hoping there wouldn't be any long term issues. I'll drink extra water on rides because of this! Thanks. I bet you will be enjoying two wheels again next summer.
And "Tim" I was assuming you were being sarcastic here with Bill, not sure maybe you guys are great friends I dunno... but yeah I agree with Mike the obvious doesn't need to be pointed out!
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Being a senior member in mind & body I find this discussion very valuble. I too wish I could be as fast as in the dim past but with all the extra experience of the added decades. That said I know the reality of aging has slowed me and with the meds I take having the same pitfalls as you discovered-I get faint if I stand up too quickly. A few things I try to do on the long rides is have a snack at the meeting spot,carry water in my bags to stay hydrated,and take rest stops with greater frequency as the day progresses. I certainly notice that with fatigue my timing goes off,lines get ragged,I use brakes more,and have to think for a moment about what road am I on?? GJ ::)
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Good to hear your getting better. I don't know you too well but it's always hard hearing of someone we know going down and ending up in the hospital.
On an unrelated note, what kind of bike did you get bill? Another wing?
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The "obvious" does need to be pointed out now and again - you and Mike both know that!
Glad you are recovering well Bill, keep it up! Lee told me about the crash and I sure was hoping there wouldn't be any long term issues. I'll drink extra water on rides because of this! Thanks. I bet you will be enjoying two wheels again next summer.
And "Tim" I was assuming you were being sarcastic here with Bill, not sure maybe you guys are great friends I dunno... but yeah I agree with Mike the obvious doesn't need to be pointed out!
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. . . airlift me to Regions Hospital, one of the top trauma hospitals in the country. The care I received there substantiates that, too.
Been there, done that. Unfortunately. But they are a great bunch.
I am glad you are doing better. It sounds like a dreadful accident.
It's weird having a hole in your memory and not remembering the accident, isn't it? One of the doctors in my trauma team visited a couple of days into my stay and explained, "You don't get to witness your own demise." :)