My 37 year old son had a motorcycle accident Thursday

[njr]

His fiancée called me Thursday at 6:30pm and I knew there had to be something wrong with Kevin. I said “Alex, what is it?” and the first thing she says is, “He’s alive!”
This stupid woman turned left right in front of him and he turned his motorcycle to the left and hit her right rear quarter panel because she hit her brakes. If she had kept going he would have missed her! Luckily there was a retired firefighter who witnessed it, and a couple of his co-workers came upon the accident, got his phone (which was still in his pocket!) and called Alex. Someone else had already called 911. The woman he hit claimed she “Just didn’t see him!” He was dressed appropriately in leather jacket, jeans, boots, gloves and a wonderful helmet. He broke his right kneecap, part of his right foot (toes), left upper arm has spiral fracture and small fracture of his left shoulder joint which will probably heal on its own. No problems with his head, pelvis or spine. Minimal “road rash!” He was damn lucky and must have had a Guardian Angel watching over him! The bike was totalled - not sure about her car, but definitely not driveable. He never lost consciousness and was able to talk to everybody. Of course quite a few expletives were hurled at the woman as she’s saying “Are you okay?” 🙄
I saw him today and he seems pretty good, his back is just sore because he can’t roll on either side or sit up unsupported (he has to lay on his back, but can raise the head of the bed)
They were so busy at the hospital (NE Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville which is closer to where accident happened) They had 4 other accident victims: 2 more serious than Kevin and 2 were DOA! So he has to wait until Monday or Tuesday to have surgery.
And the EMTs told the GA State Patrol they didn’t know if he had pelvic fractures and/or internal bleeding, so the accident scene was made a crime scene! The GSP came to the hospital and were surprised to find him alive! The woman’s insurance will have to pay for his hospitalization and surgery and I think Kevin’s will cover anything hers doesn’t cover. Alex already called her lawyer and got a recommendation for an accident attorney and they are going to sue her car insurance company for bodily injury, pain & suffering, etc.
AND, my son-in-law’s dad ended up in the ER the same night with gallstone pain. He is having his gallbladder removed probably Monday. He’s at the hospital I used to work at in the O.R. for 30+ years (now called Northside Gwinnett Medical Center - used to just be GMC, but they got bought out) It’s only 5 miles from my house. Kevin is 45 minutes away (in good traffic) which is about 30 miles.

Nancy

[jo]

Good wishes for your son and in-laws!

Jo

[chessie]

I'm so sorry to hear about your son's accident. As serious as his injuries are, they could have been much worse. It's very fortunate that there was a credible witness to let the police know exactly what happened.

Once you stop shaking, you'll be able to breathe a huge sigh of relief! I hope your son's surgery and recovery go smoothly.

Carol

[njr]

Thank you Jo & Carol for your kind thoughts!

Nancy

[mamaleh]

I just saw your posting about your son’s accident. Thank goodness it wasn’t worse. Hoping he recovers quickly and fully.

Ellen

[njr]

Thank you Ellen. At least his dominant hand/arm is fine. And his job is mostly a desk job (he could probably work from home on the computer at first) but he does have to do some walking around.

Nancy

[foxie]

Soso sorry Nancy but thank heavens he is ok!

[njr]

Thanks foxie!

No surgery today - his Hemoglobin & Hematocrit were too low and he needed a blood transfusion. They are re-scanning his body to see if he has internal bleeding.

Scans were okay!

Good news - after the transfusion he got a lot of his color back and surgery will be first thing tomorrow. Will take at least 4 hours and they may have to transfuse him during it. They might also use cell saver which removes any blood lost, cleans it and then they can return it to you. He has an unusual blood type: A-, so can only get A- or O-.
Michael & I will wait until Wednesday to visit since he’ll undoubtedly just sleep all day tomorrow. He’s in such good hands with Alex (she’s knowledgeable about medical things and is a great advocate for him!) and the hospital is a Trauma Level 1 hospital (the best) My hospital is only Level 2!

[njr]

He went into surgery at 7:30am Tuesday and didn’t get to recovery until maybe 2pm! His left humerus was what took so long - it was broken in several places and displaced (not aligned) Plates and screws for that. Then the right kneecap they only had to stitch back to the ligaments and the fracture will come together and heal on its own. They put pins (called K-wires) in his right foot little toe and the toe next to it. They also gave him another pint of blood (surgery blood loss was minimal thankfully) Michael (his dad) decided to go real early Tuesday and spend the night, then Alex will go home at some point for the night. I’ll go Wednesday early afternoon. Tuesday he’ll probably mostly sleep.
My daughter Lauren & family are in Nashville and they are having to take 3 1/2 year old Reyah to an Urgent Care as they think she has a UTI (urinary tract infection) She tells them it hurts when she pees.
And Umer’s dad had a procedure Tues (I think an ERCP - Google it) and Wednesday will have his gallbladder out.
What else can happen?!

[mamaleh]

When it rains, it pours. Hoping for better, healthier days ahead for you and your family.

Ellen

[njr]

Thanks Ellen. Kevin is getting Occupational & Physical Therapy and soon (we hope) they’ll move him to the in-patient rehab area. First they’ll have to remove the pins in his 2 toes and give him a walking boot. He’s been able to get up to use the toilet (#2 I mean) Being a guy he’s lucky he can just use the urinal to pee!
And Reyah didn’t have a UTI, just a trace of blood in her urine. She had been crawling in & out of Zarah’s crib and said she hit/hurt herself “down there.” They gave her a liquid antibiotic which she likes the taste of, so they’re just going to finish the doses.
My son-on-law’s dad had the surgery and when they touched the gallbladder it ruptured, so they may have had to open him up instead of doing it laparoscopically like usual. He also had to have a transfusion of blood! I hope he’ll be okay. He’s still in the hospital. He’s around 80 years old.

Nancy

[njr]

He is supposed to be coming home today. Even though his insurance okayed inpatient rehab, the hospital said no, that he could just do outpatient rehab! 🙄

[njr]

The hospital denied the inpatient PT because he was doing so well he was beyond what they could give him. So eventually he’ll have outpatient PT 3 times a week.
I waited so long to write because everything was up in the air for a while. So, Kevin came home on Friday. Before he left the hospital he was able to cover his right leg with a trash bag & waterproof (microfoam) tape and take a real shower and wash his hair! He was so happy! (It had been 2 weeks & 1 day!) Next thing, he will get the staples removed from his left arm and right knee on July 8th. Not sure exactly when he starts outpatient PT. After the staples are removed he gets a special knee brace that is mechanical and you start at #1 and it bends your leg for you. The pins in his toes won’t be removed until the end of July (maybe like 6 weeks after the surgery which would be the 31st of July.) Also, the outpatient PT is fairly close to their home, across from the Kroger & CVS they use. They’ve got him on 8 medications including Oxycodone 3 times a day and Gabapentin. That is for the nerves in his left arm which has been somewhat numb (some of which is due to swelling) Also 10mg Melatonin before bedtime. He’s also on a muscle relaxer and iron injections. Can’t remember what else. He had so much to tell me about how they got him the smallest adult wheelchair so it would fit through their bathroom door (which for some reason is only 23.5” wide!) Michael brought the wheelchair and other things from the hospital to their house and he removed the bathroom door because it opened inward and got in the way. He also got a wedge to put behind his pillows so he can sit up in bed. He’s eating and drinking fine and said he doesn’t have a lot of pain, just his left shoulder/upper arm even with the Oxycodone, but it’s tolerable. He also has a shower seat, a portable toilet and some kind of walker that is specifically made for one side, which he uses on his right since his right hand/arm are fine. (which is a miracle in itself)
Now, about the woman who caused the accident, he thinks she’s maybe in her 50s. She was driving a friend’s car, so first they go after the car owner’s insurance and she only has $30,000 bodily injury!! (I have $250,000 + a $1,000,000 umbrella policy!) Kevin has “under-insured insurance” so he can get $25,000 from his policy. Then the lawyer they hired will find out if this woman has a car and car insurance of her own. If so, they go after that bodily injury amount too. And they find out if she has any assets ($) They want to settle out of court. The lawyer gets 1/3 of whatever they get! ☹️

His boss even came to see him in the hospital. He has lots of PTO, plus short & long term disability. She said he could even work from home on his laptop in the beginning.

That’s all I know for now. Will keep you posted on any new developments.

P.S. My son-in-law’s dad is still in the hospital. He had a cardiac arrest at some point and they did a cardiac catheterization. He might have to have a cardiac bypass depending on what the cath shows. Luckily the hospital he’s in (where I used to work in the O.R.) has a great cardiac team. They’ve been doing bypasses since maybe 2016.

[njr]

Kevin is doing fine. Only problem is that once he gets his settlement money and recovers, he wants to buy another motorcycle! There’s no talking him out of it. Believe me, I’ve tried. 😢 And it doesn’t help that his fiancée and his dad are okay with it. Everyone else agrees with me.
My son-in-law’s dad came home on the 3rd and has to recover from the gallbladder surgery before they will do a triple bypass.

[njr]

Kevin got the staples out of his left arm and right knee on 7/8. They gave him a boot for his right foot and a fancy knee immobilizer where you start off at #1 and gradually go higher to bend your knee. He can’t start physical therapy until he get the 2 pins out of his right foot on 8/5. Then he will be able to start walking on that leg.
His dad took him to the junkyard yesterday to salvage what they could from the motorcycle (upgrades, etc.) His dad did the work. It was exhausting for Kevin to get out of bed, down the stairs and into the car and then do the reverse when they got home.
This was the 2009 Harley Davidson Crossbones:

hosting.photobucket.com/images/v319/njr/83D881EA-6C60-4030-8B09-599F0FD65B9F.jpeg

[njr]

Kevin got the pins out of his foot on 8/5 and so now he can walk! He went back to work last Friday. Luckily he has a desk job and doesn’t have to do a lot of walking around. He can’t drive yet though, so his fiancée takes him to work and picks him up.
I think they took the motorcycle back to his house - he sent me a photo and it looks like it’s in his garage!

[njr]

P.S. His insurance company gave him $14,000 for his motorcycle! (which is what he could have sold it for prior to the wreck)

And I was wrong, the junkyard took possession of the motorcycle after Kevin & his dad were able to remove whatever upgrades they could.