Horrific Motorcycle accident leaves me crippled
My accident was horrific and left me crippled and in a lot of pain that won't ever go away. My insurance is limited and the best of policies would not have covered the massive bills I am left with. The air ambulance that saved my life was over $12,000. The hospital and doctor bills were almost $300,000 . I have been denied Social Security benefits even though I qualify. Something has to give or someone has to give. That's why I'm reaching out in this way. (See donation request link at the bottom of the page.)
I am 37 years old and was working as a Technical professional for a large national company. I was on my way to an appointment on a clear early evening. I was riding my Honda at a leisurely pace on a twisting hill road overlooking Oakland Ca. when entering a turn there was a patch of gravel. My rear wheel slid and then caught again causing the bike to flip hard. It slammed me into the ground and I blacked out on impact. I was wearing a protective jacket designed for use in motorcycling as well as moto gloves, a full face helmet, special knee armor, and boots. My right knee hit the pavement and caused my femur to break and go through my leg, it also broke my right fibula and tore my right shoulder. What happened next is not entirely clear because I blacked out. The road drops off hundreds of feet very steeply. It is barricaded with some big logs but is just open for the most part. There is a sheer Cliffside with tree stumps everywhere. I remember falling and thinking "Oh no, I'm falling down the hill!" I couldn't believe it. Then I blacked out again on an impact. I fell 40 feet or so I had landed on my left side and crushed my pelvis. It broke laterally in half all the way to my spine. There were also bones broken in my groin. I don't really know how those bones got broken or how my left tibia and fibula got crushed. I think the outside foot peg impacted my foot and crushed my leg. I thought at first that I had landed on my feet. I thought this for many months, but it doesn't seem possible. As for the groin, I may have contacted the gas tank. I came to and couldn't breathe for a bit. I thought I was going to die right then. I was also laying sideways on a steep hillside 2 feet from a ledge that drops off for hundreds of feet. I couldn't move to position my self so I wouldn't roll off the ledge. I was holding a tree stump with my right arm with the torn shoulder. I didn't know why I couldn't move my legs, and couldn't look because I had the helmet on and was kind of face down. I heard people above me telling me my legs were broken and I was bleeding, They also told me help was on the way. A young man came down and was holding onto a bag that I had slung over my shoulder to keep me from rolling off the ledge. I still don't know who he is so I can thank him. There were other people at the scene that he asked for help, but nobody would come down.
Finally a fire rescue worker came down and told me they would flip me onto a board and it would hurt like a mother---- . And sure enough, it did! He cut my jacket off of me and removed my helmet. They got me on the board and noticed I was bleeding profusely. One of the many rescue workers put a tourniquet on. They hauled me up the steep hillside in a basket and loaded me into an ambulance that took me to the waiting helicopter. I was getting cold and going into shock, it was hard to breathe.
A rod was screwed into my femur and a "plate" was screwed into my lower left leg to hold my foot on. the break was low, near the ankle and hard to fix and there was a lot of bone missing from the area. Nothing was done for my fibulas or pelvis. The fibulas are disfigured and healing poorly.
I spent the next 2 months in the hospital after a really long surgery on my legs. 6 days were spent in the Intensive Care Unit. Then 2 week in post surgery and then a month in a nursing home.
The wreck was over a year ago. I still wear a cast on my leg and use a crutch to hobble around. The bones in my left leg haven't healed yet. And the tendons are still sore in that leg and those take a long time to heal. I will likely need more surgery not only to correct the non-healing bones, but also to remove the metal piece holding my foot on.
Through all this it is a miracle that I lived. I could've fallen all the way down the hillside, landed differently, not been found in time etc. I was told by one of my doctors that most people would not have survived this tragic wreck.
So, a friend packed up my 2nd floor apt. and moved me out. I stayed with him and his large family for a month, then stayed with another friend for almost 2 months. I was in a wheelchair for 5 months. It makes you realize how amazing it is to actually be able to walk, much less jump and run. I have a new appreciation for life now. My disability benefits have run out and I work part time. It's not enough to live on but it's something. I have to find a way to work out my accumulating medical bills.
I have included pictures of my xrays for your viewing pleasure. I often look at them and see new things in them. The human body is amazing both in it's construction and the way it repairs itself.
Thanks for reading my story, I hope you found it to be interesting. And thanks to all the volunteers, rescue workers and medical staff that helped my recovery. Please check back, I may add things over time.
Click the link below if you'd like to donate to my recovery fund.
My Pelvis:
My Left leg:
Right Femur:
