Just over a month ago now, on a Thursday evening around 10:45 pm I was on my way home from my mother-in-laws birthday party. It had been a warmer than normal day by at least 10 degrees and dry, with a forecast for a strong cold front to come through for the weekend. Probably putting an end to the riding season for the foreseeable future. So, since I was traveling by myself anyway, I took the VFR. My wife and 23 year old daughter had gone earlier in the day to spend more time visiting, and I had come after work. Anyway, I was on my way home. Two lane country road, no other traffic around, came to a section of the road where the shoulder of the road is narrow - maybe 5 feet off of the pavement it drops to a small drainage area where a creek flows under the road through a culvert that is about 4 foot in diameter. The road takes a gradual dip over the culvert. I'm not in a rush, enjoying the bug free ride and doing about 45 mph. When I reach the beginning of the dip in the road the headlight reveals a deer standing on the edge of the shoulder about 40 yards in front of me. I was calm and began to counter-steer toward the other lane away from the deer, and touch the front brake lightly. (Downloaded Photo for illistration only) (Also the deer was heading in the other direction) The next memory I have – I'm sliding on the pavement and looking at the bike sliding ahead of me! And the very clear thought going through my mind is “What Happened?”
After I came to a stop (which didn't take long) I got to my feet and walked over to the bike. Both of us had stayed in the lane we had been in (I never crossed the center line)...the pain in my body is starting to hit me, and bent over to grab the left bar and maybe the tank? I don't remember. With a yell of agony I lifted the bike back on its tires and, while struggling to breathe, put the side stand down. I'm quickly realizing that the shock and adrenaline are not going to mask the pain that I feel with each breath, and my goal is to get home. With another yell I throw my right leg over the seat, start the bike, and begin to head down the road. 10 miles later I pull up to my house and have to yell again as I put the side stand down and dismount the bike. I'm able to roll the bike into the garage somehow. Then another session of pain and agony taking my textile Joe Rocket jacket off.
My wife and daughter are only 5-10 minutes behind me and when they enter the house, I tell them that I need to be taken to the ER. It didn't take them long to see the need to get me to the hospital, a ten minute drive. After being assessed, the staff gave me some pain meds and I was soon having a CT scan. Following the scan they decided that my injuries were beyond what the local hospital could handle, so I was transferred by ambulance to the only Level I Trauma Center in West Michigan. This would be my home for the next 6 days. It was there that I was informed of the extent of my injuries. I have a fractured scapula (shoulder blade), a broken and displaced clavicle (collar bone), five broken ribs #'s 4-8, two of them displaced, three of them are broken twice. All of this on my left side.
The CT scan showed that I had, what appeared to be a small amount of fat that was pushed through my diaphragm under my left lung. The concern was that it was evidence of a hernia, and that in time other internal parts could be forced through and cause major problems. So, a second CT scan was done the next day to confirm what was seen on the previous one and to see if any change had taken place. No real change, it was still there, and now we had a decision to make. I was told that if it was in fact a hernia, it may have been there for some time or it may have happened during or soon following the accident. In either case the only way to know what it really was, was to deflate the left lung, make two or three incisions, go in with a camera, and look at it. If it is a hernia, and it is a recent injury, the surgeon told me that she could stitch it back together. If it has been there for some time (congenital), then she would likely need to place a screen across the hole because the diaphragm would not stretch enough to just pull it together. The potential of this surgery is one of the main reasons that I was transferred to the Level 1 Trauma Center. The decision was made to go ahead with the surgery while I was admitted, rather than doing it later as an outpatient. The surgery was scheduled for Saturday afternoon, 3:30. Apparently I was bumped down the schedule by at least one incoming emergency after my general anesthesia was started because it was 6:00 pm when I came to in recovery. The finding of the surgery was that I have a bit of fat between the diaphragm and the lining of the lung area. Good news, no hernia. But now I have a chest tube that was doing two things, draining fluid from around the lung, and with some light suction keeping the lung inflated. The suction was eventually turned off to see of the lung would stay inflated on it's own. In all it was three and a half days before the tube was pulled out of my back. After which I was released and sent home.
Damm, at least you didn't get run over by another vehicle.. Good luck on the recovery, I suspect the deer spooked and put you on your butt. Any pics of the bike - amazing it was still drivable to get you home..
Here you are Pete. It came out fairly well. The turn signal is pushed through the front fairing. The front fairing has some obvious "ground down" spots. The Left fairing has two holes ground through, and the rear mount where the centering bolt attaches is bent out of shape. The front fender has a small scrape on the leading edge. The rear fender has another small rub. The clip-on weight is ground down, along with the clutch handle. The mirror folded but the back is scraped up. The shift lever (which is aluminum) is at least a quarter of an inch shorter, along with the rubber cover that is mounted on it. The passenger peg shows signs of having touched the pavement. And the side stand foot is ground down a bit. The only thing that is broken is where the turn signal pushed through the front fairing.
