Rider Down I hear....

[Ratdog]

jj_WA had a "get off" today on a ride he was on with some of the locals.  I wasn't on the ride.  Don't know what all happened, but it sounds like he's nursing some sore ribs.  That's 'bout all I know for now.   

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

I never like hearing about anyone going down    He was very helpful when Clint got busted up for the second time this year keeping us informed on Clint's condition....Heal Fast jj-WA 

[HayHauler]

jj-WA, hope it wasn't too bad, but going down easy is just as bad sometimes..

Post so we will know how you are doing.

Prayers on the way from TEXAS!

Hay 
Jimmyt

[Michael K (Az.)]

Heal up soon! Hopefully from what I've read about your helping hands, you sure have a BIG stash of excellent karma that should be kickin in!!

[HayHauler]

Any news on jj-WA?

Hay

[Redline +]

Any news on jj-WA?

Hay

Possible cracked ribs, may have nicked a lung, but no complications is what his son is reporting to the Vermin Club. It was our monthly after breakfast meeting ride. We were on our way up to Windy Ridge at Mt Saint Helens. JJ was behind me, so I didn't see the accident.

The road we were riding is a narrow, twisty, Forest Service road with some really rough spots. JJ slid-out into the ditch on a left turn. There were some bumps in that corner that may have contributed to the accident.

The first car down the mountain was an EMT, checked JJ and transported him to town and a family member picked him up. After pulling the front fender away from the tire a Vermin member rode the IS out of the ditch. It was towed back to JJ's house.

Redline 

[KY,Dave (AKA Misunderstood)]

Not another  Hang in there

[Willow]

I am really sorry to hear about this but glad JJ is not hurt any worse.

It does trouble me to hear of a possible "nicked lung".  Smokin Joe and I don't like to hear anything about leaking lungs.  Tell JJ to be very careful with that.

[Ratdog]

Redline got the latest news posted already.  I have a message in to jj_WA to play phone-tag with me when he's up to dealing with phone chatter.  I'll holler back with some news when I get anything further.

[RoadKill]

Keep us posted Ratdog....he has 2 lungs and lots of ribs,he's tough !

Show us your toughness jj_WA ! 

[jj_WA]

Thanks to all who posted and passed on good thoughts and prayers.  Here's the story as I know it.  I'll post a message a co-worker sent out in a separate message.  I think you'll get a kick out of it.

I've been offline since Saturday, 9/11.  After the VERMIN Valkyrie Club meeting on Saturday morning, five bikes hit the road for a nice ride to Mt. St. Helens, including a couple of those red and black ones.  You know, the ones wearing primer paint~.  After a fill-up in Randle, WA, we headed up Forest Road 25, towards Windy Ridge on the back side of the volcano.  A bit after mile marker 14, I evidentially hit my brake in the wrong place in a curve, grabbed some moss, started sliding and went into a ditch.  I've been hospitalized pretty much ever since.

Many thanks to specifically Maddog and Kitty riding behind me, as well as many other fellow riders, and a wonderful couple from Alabama who stopped to provide aid.  Their efforts are not forgotten and very appreciated.

I never lost consciousness and knew I had problems with my left side.  I must have impacted the ground with the corner/tip of my left shoulder.  The heavy gear I was wearing I'm sure played a very positive role in the whole thing.

Maddog and Kitty pulled around and got down to me first, quickly followed by a gentleman who said he was on the 1st aid team of a ski patrol back home. I'm not sure if he was EMT, but he certainly knew what he was doing.  ?Prior to their arrival, I did the inventory - wiggle toes, wiggle finger, wiggle nose.  All I could find as left scapula/shoulder blade pain (extreme!!) and that I really couldn't do anything with my left arm.  I loosened my helmet after I verified I didn't have any neck pain and the gentleman verified I didn't appear to have a concussion. Removed my helmet (dang thing was getting heavy), and helped my roll over to stand and get out of the ditch.  Got on the road and watched Maddog and a couple of other riders fire up the Valk and get it out of the ditch. 

I was helped over to sit in the couples' open hatchback while everyone tried to get cell service. Nada, nilch.  So, I decided and they agreed to get me off the mountain and down to an area with cell service.  They rearranged their car so I could sit and ensured I was as comfortable as possible.  Off we went down the road, bumpedy-bump - ouch.

When I got cell service I tried to contact my son, then my daughter (got her). Told her I'd need a ride & to get ahold of her brother.  She sensed something was wrong, so  I told her I had a problem with the bike and needed a ride out.  She's no dummy and asked how hurt I was. I tried to keep it light, but she knew better.  Hung up and finally got a hold of AAA.  After a bit of arguing over where they would/could pick up the bike, they authorized the pickup but said it would take nearly 3 hours to get there. It was around 12:30 by then.  While talking to AAA, my wife and son were trying to contact me, had to wait to talk with them.  Finally got through to my wife, told her what was going on and asked her to pick me up in Morton.  I decided that I wasn't bleeding and other than the pain of my shoulder, could tough it out, so wanted to go to Madigan Army Medical Center, in Lakewood, Fort Lewis (MAMC), WA. (I'm retired Army).  Took about 3 hours all together to get picked up and taken to Madigan.  It was a good choice, even now in retrospect.

Got to Madigan and other than the slowness of triage, received expedient and excellent care in the ER, ICU and on the ward.  The ER surgeons inserted a chest tube - not a recommended thing to do as it hurts like h*ll!!  A couple or rounds of CT scans in addition to X-Rays and they determined I was pretty broken up, all on the left side: ribs 2-6, scapula, and sternum fractures, bruised/contused left lung - chest tube inserted (not really recommended).  I was in ICU Saturday through noon-Monday, when I was sent up to a general ward.  I received great care at Madigan Army Medical Center. This is my first posting since Saturday, because there was no wi-fi in the hospital.  I'll post a couple of pictures later.

I was released today, a day early. Guess I was a PITA and they wanted to get rid of me.  I'll be home for at least the rest of the week. We'll see how I'm doing on Monday before I decide on work next week. I've gobs of vacation and sick leave so I'm not worried about taking the time off.

All in all, I was and am still very blessed.  Oh yeah, the bike's injuries appear to be relatively minor, especially when compared to me. '-)

--jj_WA--

[jj_WA]

According to one of my co-workers, it went like this:

"Some of you may remember that during a charity climb of Mount Rainier several months ago, hoping to raise funds to assist flood victims in Pakistan, JJ found a baby American eagle which had been knocked out of its nest during illegal logging operations by greedy capitalists.

"Well, this weekend, after nursing that eagle back to health, JJ was riding his motorcycle near Mount St Helens, preparing to return the eagle to its natural habitat so it would fly as freely as the flag he has devoted his life to defend.

"On the way back down the mountain, JJ was startled to see a bear chasing a group of new-borne chipmunks, intent on having them for a mid-morning snack.  JJ drove his motorcycle straight at the bear, chasing him off and saving the chipmunk family.  With a parting wipe of his mighty claws, the bear knocked JJ off his bike.

"This resulted in JJ suffering a broken collar-bone, several cracked ribs, and a punctured lung. Declining medical evacuation by a gas-guzzling helicopter, JJ lay on the ground until a couple driving a fuel-efficient Mazda came by and helped get JJ to the hospital.

"After several days of painful rehabilitation, during which he refused medications he thought should be saved for our returning soldiers, JJ has just informed me that he is being discharged from Madigan and will spend the rest of the week knitting shawls for destitute maternity ward patients while he recuperates.

"At least that’s the story he gave his wife.  You can ask him when he comes back on Monday.

Phil"

[Ratdog]

LOL  What a terrible thing to have to read while you're nursing bustd up ribs and such !    

Glad to hear you're alive and kickin'... I figured that "no news was good news" since we hadn't heard anything from your family... and that you'd reply to emails and phone messages when you felt up to doing so. 

Sorry we didn't get to pick on ya at the hospital... I'd only heard you'd gone in to get checked. 

Get healthy... I feel your pain, know what busted ribs feel like... been down that road a couple of times.

[HayHauler]

JJ, glad to hear that you are out of the horsepital and feeling like posting...  It's terrible to hear of your fall, especially after you keeping us informed about Clint.

Prayers on the way from TEXAS, heal up and then start on the bike.

Hay 
Jimmyt

[motomama]

I was saddened to hear of your incident JJ!  Heal quickly and heal well, and I will be saying a few prayers for you!

[SlowRoad]

Glad to see you are able to post. Hope you heal quickly and completely.

Tim