LISTEN UP--I need your help and prayers
#1
04-17-2000, 12:07 AM
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Ladies and Gentlemen,
Please read all of this text, it will probably be very long but it is MOST IMPORTANT!!!! I don't know how many of you have ever seen one of my post's, but if you have ever read my signature you will notice that it says "Ride it hard and always wear your gear" I write this for a very good reason. Yesterday (4-15-2000) I was riding with my family on what was our best family ride in atleast 3 years, when the unthinkable happened.We stopped at an area where we could all ride, it had a grassy feild for those who want to take it easy and it also has a pit for those of us who like to play hard and catch a little air. My father,mother,brother,sister, and a family friend were all riding with me when we stopped in this area to take a break, during our break a few of us were taking turns riding up a good size jump for some fun, I stopped next to my father and sister to talk when we saw my mother on her trail boss 325 slowly going up the jump, we could not believe she was doing this but she was. I knew from the moment I saw her that she did not have enough speed to make it. When the quad got to the top it flipped over and threw her down to the bottom onto some Rocks, then the bad got worse, the quad flipped down right on top of her. My mother is 52 years old and wieghs about 120 pounds and has been riding for about ten years, she had never tried anything like this before and I couldn't believe my eyes as I watched this horror unfold in front of me. We ran the length of the feild like it was nothing to get to her. She was barely breathing and could not move her legs. My sister and I helped to support her body without moving it while all of us took off our jackets and shirts to rest her head and back on since she was laying on rocks. I sent my brother to get help while I helped to get her in a stable position. After I did that I left to go make sure my brother got back and had help on the way while the others tended to my mom. We had a hell of a time trying to get 911 to understand where we were even though the local ambulance is 10 miles down on the same road as our summer home, I even gave them the Latitude and Longitude coordinate off of my GPS unit but they had no clue what to do with them, I even told them to get LIFE FLIGHT going and give the coordinates to the pilot and he would find us. My brother and I both knew we might be able to get a truck back to her through a local forestry road so I sent him back with the pick up truck and a 6 foot crow bar to break the locks off so the rescue team would not lose anymore time. About ten minutes later 911 called me back and told me that they were on scene and to head back to see if I could assist even though I had not seen the ambulance come by, I figured it might have come in from a closer station that I was not aware of so I left riding my Zilla as hard as she would go hoping to see mother still breathing. When I got back the only one on scene was a local fire and rescue pickup talking to the dispatcher. It was atleast an hour before the ambulance could get back there and once there he stablized her and then did what I told 911 from the start. He picked up his radio and called in LIFE FLIGHT, giving them coordinates off of their GPS unit (NOW WHY DID 911 WASTE OVER AN HOUR WHEN I HAD ALREADY DONE THE SAME THING). About 20 minutes later you could hear the chopper coming in, The only thing good about where she got hurt was it is the only clearing in the area big enough to land without having to take her by ground transport to the chopper. They loaded her up and flew her 25 minutes (over 2hours by car) to Pittsburgh. Since my sister wieghed the least they took her with them, and the rest of us had to get back to the house and drive down to the hospital (after answering fifty question to the police). My mother has a severe impact to her throat from the quad, severly bruised ribs and lungs, and worst of all a broken vertabrae in her back, the good new is that where it it broke is repairable, they told me that had it been up one or two more vertabrae's that she would have NEVER WALKED AGAIN! They are going to have to operate on her back so we are not anywhere near being in the clear yet. Earlier that day when we geared up to go, our friend asked me why I looked like I was going to war in my gear (Helmet,chest protector,knee pads, riding pants and shirt, and gloves and boots)I told him that I guess he had never wrecked while riding down a fast trail or hill climb and that I had made my share of trips to the hospital, and I was trying to prevent antoher trip. This is why I have always written "ride it hard and always wear your gear" If my mother had not had her helmet and gear on, she WOULD NOT BE HERE TODAY!!!! I am writing this to hopfully prevent a new, or younger rider or anyone from ending up this way. We all like to talk about who or which ATV is faster (myself included) but maybe instead of asking all these questions about which part will make my atv faster we should ask HEY WHICH PRODUCT WILL PROTECT ME THE MOST! I would gladly burn all six of our quads right now than have my mother in the hospital. What I need from all of You fellow ATV'ers out there is a minute or two of silence or prayer for my mother-Linda. I would really be grateful if you could do this for her, and keep her in your thoughts for the next few days.
I Thank all of you for your time and prayers we could really use them. And please help to promote safety in our sport it gets harder every year to ride with all of the laws being pasted, and beside everthing else You can replace the bike you can't replace yourself or a friend.
I would also like to thank everyone who was at the scene for all of their help and life flight for saving my mother.
Thanks everyone----Ron
Please read all of this text, it will probably be very long but it is MOST IMPORTANT!!!! I don't know how many of you have ever seen one of my post's, but if you have ever read my signature you will notice that it says "Ride it hard and always wear your gear" I write this for a very good reason. Yesterday (4-15-2000) I was riding with my family on what was our best family ride in atleast 3 years, when the unthinkable happened.We stopped at an area where we could all ride, it had a grassy feild for those who want to take it easy and it also has a pit for those of us who like to play hard and catch a little air. My father,mother,brother,sister, and a family friend were all riding with me when we stopped in this area to take a break, during our break a few of us were taking turns riding up a good size jump for some fun, I stopped next to my father and sister to talk when we saw my mother on her trail boss 325 slowly going up the jump, we could not believe she was doing this but she was. I knew from the moment I saw her that she did not have enough speed to make it. When the quad got to the top it flipped over and threw her down to the bottom onto some Rocks, then the bad got worse, the quad flipped down right on top of her. My mother is 52 years old and wieghs about 120 pounds and has been riding for about ten years, she had never tried anything like this before and I couldn't believe my eyes as I watched this horror unfold in front of me. We ran the length of the feild like it was nothing to get to her. She was barely breathing and could not move her legs. My sister and I helped to support her body without moving it while all of us took off our jackets and shirts to rest her head and back on since she was laying on rocks. I sent my brother to get help while I helped to get her in a stable position. After I did that I left to go make sure my brother got back and had help on the way while the others tended to my mom. We had a hell of a time trying to get 911 to understand where we were even though the local ambulance is 10 miles down on the same road as our summer home, I even gave them the Latitude and Longitude coordinate off of my GPS unit but they had no clue what to do with them, I even told them to get LIFE FLIGHT going and give the coordinates to the pilot and he would find us. My brother and I both knew we might be able to get a truck back to her through a local forestry road so I sent him back with the pick up truck and a 6 foot crow bar to break the locks off so the rescue team would not lose anymore time. About ten minutes later 911 called me back and told me that they were on scene and to head back to see if I could assist even though I had not seen the ambulance come by, I figured it might have come in from a closer station that I was not aware of so I left riding my Zilla as hard as she would go hoping to see mother still breathing. When I got back the only one on scene was a local fire and rescue pickup talking to the dispatcher. It was atleast an hour before the ambulance could get back there and once there he stablized her and then did what I told 911 from the start. He picked up his radio and called in LIFE FLIGHT, giving them coordinates off of their GPS unit (NOW WHY DID 911 WASTE OVER AN HOUR WHEN I HAD ALREADY DONE THE SAME THING). About 20 minutes later you could hear the chopper coming in, The only thing good about where she got hurt was it is the only clearing in the area big enough to land without having to take her by ground transport to the chopper. They loaded her up and flew her 25 minutes (over 2hours by car) to Pittsburgh. Since my sister wieghed the least they took her with them, and the rest of us had to get back to the house and drive down to the hospital (after answering fifty question to the police). My mother has a severe impact to her throat from the quad, severly bruised ribs and lungs, and worst of all a broken vertabrae in her back, the good new is that where it it broke is repairable, they told me that had it been up one or two more vertabrae's that she would have NEVER WALKED AGAIN! They are going to have to operate on her back so we are not anywhere near being in the clear yet. Earlier that day when we geared up to go, our friend asked me why I looked like I was going to war in my gear (Helmet,chest protector,knee pads, riding pants and shirt, and gloves and boots)I told him that I guess he had never wrecked while riding down a fast trail or hill climb and that I had made my share of trips to the hospital, and I was trying to prevent antoher trip. This is why I have always written "ride it hard and always wear your gear" If my mother had not had her helmet and gear on, she WOULD NOT BE HERE TODAY!!!! I am writing this to hopfully prevent a new, or younger rider or anyone from ending up this way. We all like to talk about who or which ATV is faster (myself included) but maybe instead of asking all these questions about which part will make my atv faster we should ask HEY WHICH PRODUCT WILL PROTECT ME THE MOST! I would gladly burn all six of our quads right now than have my mother in the hospital. What I need from all of You fellow ATV'ers out there is a minute or two of silence or prayer for my mother-Linda. I would really be grateful if you could do this for her, and keep her in your thoughts for the next few days.
I Thank all of you for your time and prayers we could really use them. And please help to promote safety in our sport it gets harder every year to ride with all of the laws being pasted, and beside everthing else You can replace the bike you can't replace yourself or a friend.
I would also like to thank everyone who was at the scene for all of their help and life flight for saving my mother.
Thanks everyone----Ron
#2
04-17-2000, 02:10 AM
#3
04-17-2000, 03:52 AM
Ron:
I am deeply sorry to hear about your mother, my thoughts are with her, as I hope everything goes well, and she recovers soon. As for the injuries, the best you can do is be there to help her with what she needs, and make sure she takes her medications. I speak from experience here, as about 5 years ago, I broke my T-10 vertebrae (snapped the right wing off) and T-11 (actually split it right down the center in two symetric halves). The doctors could not operate, as the muscles would shift, and cause the bone to twist and paralize me. Make sure she remains still for however long the doctors recommend, and also that she keeps up with the medications, vitamins, and minerals. They'll all help to fuse the breaking point back together more quickly that way. The good thing is, once it does this, it will be stronger than it was before. Your support is also a big factor in aiding in her recovery. If you guys are out riding again, maybe you could make her a "home video", or something, so that she will know you were thinking of her, and be able to watch at home. Who knows, just a thought.
Sounds like you were very well prepared to handle the situation. I can not believe it took the rescue team that long to get there, that's terrible! You would think that when someone's life is in danger, they would get on it as quickly as possible. With your latitude and longitudinal directions from your GPS, Life Flight could have been there in less than half the time, without all the hassle of the ambulance, operators, etc.
Other than an interesting toy for mapping out trails and hunting spots, sounds like that GPS should also be a MUST for every rider out in the back woods for emergency use such as this. You were able to save them time by knowing exactly where you were. Guess I'll have to save some money to buy one of those now. It NEVER hurts to be over-prepared. Always better safe, than sorry.
Linda:
I am very sorry to hear about your recent situation. My thoughts are with you, and I wish you a very quick and healthy recovery. Best of luck to you.
Mike
I am deeply sorry to hear about your mother, my thoughts are with her, as I hope everything goes well, and she recovers soon. As for the injuries, the best you can do is be there to help her with what she needs, and make sure she takes her medications. I speak from experience here, as about 5 years ago, I broke my T-10 vertebrae (snapped the right wing off) and T-11 (actually split it right down the center in two symetric halves). The doctors could not operate, as the muscles would shift, and cause the bone to twist and paralize me. Make sure she remains still for however long the doctors recommend, and also that she keeps up with the medications, vitamins, and minerals. They'll all help to fuse the breaking point back together more quickly that way. The good thing is, once it does this, it will be stronger than it was before. Your support is also a big factor in aiding in her recovery. If you guys are out riding again, maybe you could make her a "home video", or something, so that she will know you were thinking of her, and be able to watch at home. Who knows, just a thought.
Sounds like you were very well prepared to handle the situation. I can not believe it took the rescue team that long to get there, that's terrible! You would think that when someone's life is in danger, they would get on it as quickly as possible. With your latitude and longitudinal directions from your GPS, Life Flight could have been there in less than half the time, without all the hassle of the ambulance, operators, etc.
Other than an interesting toy for mapping out trails and hunting spots, sounds like that GPS should also be a MUST for every rider out in the back woods for emergency use such as this. You were able to save them time by knowing exactly where you were. Guess I'll have to save some money to buy one of those now. It NEVER hurts to be over-prepared. Always better safe, than sorry.
Linda:
I am very sorry to hear about your recent situation. My thoughts are with you, and I wish you a very quick and healthy recovery. Best of luck to you.
Mike
#4
04-17-2000, 01:17 PM
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Thank you Mike and jaime,
and everyone else who has thought of her in the last 2 days. Mike (cowboy) brings up a good point also, My gps unit was able to give an exact location and that is what the rescue workers used to get the chopper in. Infact they all carried them. Mine is a garmin gps 3 and it does have most of the roads in the country on it, but none of that is needed for off-road use so if you just want one for safty and to make sure you can get back to camp, then you can get a non-mapping unit for 99-200 dollars depending on what features you want. Infact I am going to buy a smaller less expensive one to leave on the quad at all times and for a back up incase something would happen to my unit.
Thanks again everyone
To the "editor at large" I am sorry for listing in 2 other places, but the others were only a few lines to tell people where they could find this post. I was trying to get the point across to new and younger riders that we need to talk about saftey as well as performance. I understand the multiple posting rule, but I typed it in the suzuki area because that is where I usually go, but when I was done I realized that i should have put it where all could see. Anyway Thanks again to everyone and if you know of someone who doesn't wear their helmet and gear tell them to read this, it just might save their life too.
Ron
and everyone else who has thought of her in the last 2 days. Mike (cowboy) brings up a good point also, My gps unit was able to give an exact location and that is what the rescue workers used to get the chopper in. Infact they all carried them. Mine is a garmin gps 3 and it does have most of the roads in the country on it, but none of that is needed for off-road use so if you just want one for safty and to make sure you can get back to camp, then you can get a non-mapping unit for 99-200 dollars depending on what features you want. Infact I am going to buy a smaller less expensive one to leave on the quad at all times and for a back up incase something would happen to my unit.
Thanks again everyone
To the "editor at large" I am sorry for listing in 2 other places, but the others were only a few lines to tell people where they could find this post. I was trying to get the point across to new and younger riders that we need to talk about saftey as well as performance. I understand the multiple posting rule, but I typed it in the suzuki area because that is where I usually go, but when I was done I realized that i should have put it where all could see. Anyway Thanks again to everyone and if you know of someone who doesn't wear their helmet and gear tell them to read this, it just might save their life too.
Ron
#5
04-17-2000, 07:32 PM
Ron,my prayers and sorrow are there for your entire family.Im praying that mom and the entire family heal fast from this tragedy.
Mom has been riding for ten yrs and tried a stunt like that?Im wondering to myself,what ever twisted her to try something that she never tried in the ten yrs of her riding?Im stunned.Each of us have or own levels of riding skills that we must recognize before attempting such a challenge as hers,or tragedy could be the end result.
Usually a accident like this occurs from first time ATV owners/users,not a ten year rider like your mom.
Linda,my hopes and prayers are with you for a fast and speedy recovery,===BILL
Mom has been riding for ten yrs and tried a stunt like that?Im wondering to myself,what ever twisted her to try something that she never tried in the ten yrs of her riding?Im stunned.Each of us have or own levels of riding skills that we must recognize before attempting such a challenge as hers,or tragedy could be the end result.
Usually a accident like this occurs from first time ATV owners/users,not a ten year rider like your mom.
Linda,my hopes and prayers are with you for a fast and speedy recovery,===BILL
#6
04-17-2000, 08:28 PM
i am very sorry to hear about your mom. hope she gets better soon. I have never though of such a thing happing to me or anyone else. i could not imagine what it would be like to see such a bad thing happend right in front of your eyes. I will most likley now wear my helmet when i plan on ridding around slow cuz that is when i screw around the most.
#7
04-17-2000, 10:54 PM
Ron I'm sorry to here about your mom I hope she recovers and gets well soon. I have had my share of accidents and I am foruniate to be hear today. Every time I ride with people who don't wear a helmet or some sort of protective gear I hassle them pretty bad till they do some thing about it. Good luck to your mom and I'll say a prayer for her.
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#8
04-17-2000, 10:59 PM
I am extremly sorry to hear about your mom and I will pray for her tonight. I am 14 years old and have been ridng atv's for a long time I always wear a helmet even when I ride my little bitty SL70 that is slow. I have a moded 250r right now and my dad rides a qaudzilla my sister rides a 300ex and my mom doesn't really ride. I rember when I was about 6 years old my grandpa was riding a atv for the first (and last time) he was going up a pretty steep incline and my big sister told him to punch the throttle he did and the 230 qaudsport went right on top off him and rolled down the hill. I was scared but luckily he waliked away just alittle shaken. well remember ride red ride SMART and ride hard!!!!!!!!!
#9
04-17-2000, 11:51 PM
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Hey everyone,
I will keep thanking all of you for as long as it takes. Sand draggin has a great point, If you see someone without their gear on make them put it on or harass them until they do. Yes it was very odd for my mother to try this, I think since we had a first time rider with us who did it she figured she could too. I just wish she would have said "Hey I want to try that" If she would have said this We would have shown her how and then spotted her on the top middle and bottom of the hill, If someone would have been on the top they would have had plenty of time to grab the bike. Well anyway she is slowly starting to talk normally and she is now out of intensive care, they are going to tell us tomorrow when they are going to operate. I will keep you all posted. Again thank you----Ron
I will keep thanking all of you for as long as it takes. Sand draggin has a great point, If you see someone without their gear on make them put it on or harass them until they do. Yes it was very odd for my mother to try this, I think since we had a first time rider with us who did it she figured she could too. I just wish she would have said "Hey I want to try that" If she would have said this We would have shown her how and then spotted her on the top middle and bottom of the hill, If someone would have been on the top they would have had plenty of time to grab the bike. Well anyway she is slowly starting to talk normally and she is now out of intensive care, they are going to tell us tomorrow when they are going to operate. I will keep you all posted. Again thank you----Ron
#10
04-18-2000, 10:54 AM
hey ron,
indeed my thoughts do go out to your family. when a story like this comes up, it makes a person appreciate his own family and understand how it only takes a moment for things to change drastically. there is no excuse for not being thankful for friends and family ON A DAILY BASIS.
you certainly got your point across on the importance of safety gear and good judgement. we need more messages like yours in the sport rather than the constant rhetoric of who makes the better machine.
thanks again for putting things into perspective for the rest of us -- and my best wishes to your mom for a quick recovery....
jim
indeed my thoughts do go out to your family. when a story like this comes up, it makes a person appreciate his own family and understand how it only takes a moment for things to change drastically. there is no excuse for not being thankful for friends and family ON A DAILY BASIS.
you certainly got your point across on the importance of safety gear and good judgement. we need more messages like yours in the sport rather than the constant rhetoric of who makes the better machine.
thanks again for putting things into perspective for the rest of us -- and my best wishes to your mom for a quick recovery....
jim