For those of you who don't know, Al our starter was involved in a single vehicle motorcycle accident on his way to the track on Friday. Something caused his trailer to fishtail which got uncontrolable and ultimately threw him and the bike to the ground. He's been in ICU since Friday.
Todd & I spent a good part of the day with Al today. He honestly looked better then I expected with him being in ICU since Friday. We met his doctor today as well and got the low down. He does have 6 broken ribs. They are broken towards the back side and basically each bone detached and is sitting on top of its counterpart. As you can imagine the rubbing back and forth is causing extreme pain. Yesterday they fit him with a rib belt which about instantly provided him with relief and both the doctor and his wife said you could watch the color rise back up into his face. They weren’t able to do it any earlier due to concerns about the risk of putting pressure on his lungs so soon after the trauma.
Today's nurse was extremely pleasant and worked hard on his pain management. We could tell it was working as he was returning to his usual kidding flirting self. He still has bouts of muscle spasms around the ribs that lock him down with a bolt of pain but they're starting to lessen and come less frequently. He has rash & bruising down the left side of his back. The tips of his fingers have a lot of rash and a stitch or two. His knees have some good raspberries and his left knee has a small chunk missing which they threw a couple stitches in. All in all he looks pretty good all things considered.
Ironically they recently passed a law in NC that added further crack downs on the use of DOT approved helmets so Al not wanting to incur a ticket was wearing a ¾ dot helmet rather then the beanie “novelty” helmet we’re accustomed to seeing. This was good as his helmet was rashed rather well on the left side and the doctor fully believed that had he not had the protection of that helmet his head injury could have been severe if not fatal. He was also wearing his leather jacket and boots which protected him. He did have a raspberry on his left elbow but that was friction rather then road contact.
Todd went with his wife Lisa to look over the bike. It’s not damaged as much as Al feared. It’s got cosmetic damage and we’re not sure of the status of the front end but certainly not as banged up as it could have been. It’s up to the insurance company to decide if it’s fixable or totaled. They do have insurance coverage on the bike so we’ll see how it all turns out.
Lisa’s parents came down and are helping out with the boys for the week. Al will likely be in the hospital a few more days while they deal with his pain. He’s currently at:
Chatham Hospital
475 Progress Blvd.
Siler City, NC 27344
http://www.chathamhospital.org/We delivered the card which most signed at the track and he greatly appreciated it but he’s a little too doped up to read clearly at the moment. I did tell him that the women missed the breast protection check and that nobody could do it (would do it?) like him! Guess that’s it for now we’ll post updates as we hear them.
Ooops, I forgot to add, here's a pick of Al with his gear:
