Sad news, prayers needed.

[Skinhead]

Gig, (Brian Leggieri) went down today in Ohio on SR93 about 6 miles south of Zainesville.  I was a little ways behind him, but he came over a rise and apparently lost control.  No helmet, he was lifeflighted to university of Ohio medical center in Columbus.  He is currently in the OR with a brain bleed, will know more after the procedure.  He also has a crushed right ankle and broken tibia.  Please keep Brian, Theresa, and his family in your prayers, I'll try to update here as things develop.  Ride safe out there and for the sake of your loved ones, wear a helmet.

Update:  Gig is out of the OR, they had to put a chest tube in as his lung separated from the chest wall and was punctured.  He also has fracture of some facial bones.  Time will tell on the head injury.

[Avanti]

Yes, will be  praying.

[Jess from VA]

I believe his gal's name was Lulu.  Was she involved too?   

[Skinhead]

No, Lulu (Theresa) was not involved.

[Po]

I hate hearing about this. Praying that he will be good as new.

[Valkorado]

Curious if you were first to arrive, or if others were already attending to him?  Also, I'm sorry you had to come upon the aftermath of a good friend going down, that had to have been an awful experience.  I doubt you were able to tell if there was anything out or the ordinary like a pothole, loose gravel or tire skid mark?

Really hoping and praying that Gig pulls through and has an optimal recovery.

[Jersey mike]

Sorry to read this, thoughts and prayers for a full and speedy recovery.

[Oss]

Damn


Sorry to hear this

Fortunately you were behind and able to be of assistance

Hope brother Gig makes a full recovery and we will have him in our prayers

[Rams]

Oh MY!!   Hopes, Prayers and Good Wishes for Recovery being sent from Southern Mississippi.

Thanks for letting folks know.

Rams

[luftkoph]

Terrible news, they sent him to Columbus so at least he’s getting good care.

[DDT (12)]

Joe,

Thanks for letting us know! I'll join the throng of well-wishers and prayer-offering friends. Dang, such a good guy; we really hate to see reminders of just how dangerous this passion of ours can be! Hoping for the best...

DDT (12)

[Clarkcelt]

Never a good thing to hear. Prayers for a speedy recovery and comfort for him and his family during this difficult time.

[Farside]

Very sorry to hear of this accident. Wear a helmet folks. Prayers for Brian for a speedy recovery

[bassman]

Thanks for posting Skinhead.....so very sorry to hear this....wishing him and complete and speedy recovery......sincere well wishes for Theresa, family and friends.

[Skinhead]

Update:  I'm in the ICU with Gig, they did surgery on him last night and removed a piece of his skull to relieve pressure and repair the bleed, he will need additional procedures.  They also did several Cat scans that didn't reveal anything too serious, but it is definitely going to be a long haul.  Several weeks before he can be moved closer to home, which sucks.  His nurse is in doing an assessment as we speak, he responds when asked to move his arms so there doesn't appear to be, any paralysis or spinal injury.  Theresa is on her way down.

I also spoke with the vascular surgeons who said there is good blood flow to his ankle and foot, so he'll be keeping that and it should heal well.  He had a chest tube put in due to a separeted/collapsed lung.  He's pretty beat up, but doing well.  Keep the prayers coming.

As far as the accident goes, I had Brian in sight, but lost him when he went over the crest where the road went to the left with a gravel road off to the right, just over the crest.  I think he lost track of where the road went and lost it on the gravel.  The dust was still in the air when I got there, and is the only reason I noticed him off on the gravel road.  I flagged down a car that happened to be an off duty cop that helped me out tremendously.

[Valkorado]

Gravel is our nemesis. 

Glad to hear Gig is able to move his limbs.  That's a big deal.   

[RNFWP]

Joe, wow what a tough situation but I'm glad you were there to help.

My thoughts, prayers and well wishes are with Gig and his family. The early news sounds promising.

Thanks for the updates.

[robin]

Hoping he comes out of this alright prayers sent.

[henry 008]

Joe, thanks for keeping us informed. prayers for healing and a full recovery. Stay strong Brian!

[flamingobabe #44]

continued prayers from Texas

[Mooskee]

Added to my prayer list.

[Fazer]

Prayers for Gig and Lulu. 

[michaelyoung254]

Prayers sent.

[thedon]

Barb and I send our prayers. Praying for a full recovery.
Thanks Joe for the update.

[Ken aka Oil Burner]

Always sorry to hear news like this. Glad that it sounds like even though he has a rough road ahead, recovery seems possible. Got to start somewhere to get anywhere. Prayers for as full a recovery as possible.

[mark81]

Wishing the best for our buddy gig.

[fudgie]

Mikey and I rode over and saw him today. He's in rough shape. It's very comforting to know skinhead is there with him. To bad its Ohio State University tho. 

[Skinhead]

Thanks Juicy and Fudgie for dropping by.  Theresa arrived around 4 and Ryan (Gig's son) is due in at 10 pm.  Not much change, they did clean and close the gash in the back of his head, they are doing a CAT scan at 4am and plan to fix his ankle at noon tomorrow. I'm gonna see if Ryan and I can get his bike out of impound and pick up his luggage and then head for home.  Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers, keep them coming.

[Ratdog]

Prayers from Seattle for a full and complete recovery.

[NewValker]

Prayers up for speedy and complete recovery.
Craig

[DIGGER]

Just now read this....sorry to hear of the accident.  Will be praying for him and his family.   

You know....in 1998 I had a major motorcycle wreck by myself out in the country side.  I was pretty busted up.   I had on a helmet.  It was pretty scuffed up from the accident.  Doctors told me that with the other injuries I probly wouldnt have survived with a bad head injury too.  I dont ride without my helmet.

Again...sorry to hear of anyone in the motorcycle world getting injured on a motorcycle.

[baird4444]

thoughts and prayers for a brother.....
      we do it because we love it....

              sending my best thoughts from the Western Slope.....

[Kiwitex]

Sad news indeed.
Wishing peace to the family and a full recovery to the rider.
Skinhead, wishing you extra good karma for being such a help to a fellow rider in need.

[Skinhead]

Well I just got home @ 7pm today, I thought I would have been home on Monday.  Now that I have access to a laptop, I can more easily provide an update.

This morning Ryan and I headed from the hospital back to Zanesville to pick up Gig's luggage and get his bike out of the impound lot.  I must acknowledge the gentleman that stopped to help me at the scene, he was an off-duty Columbus police officer named Duane Derwacter.  With out his help, Brian may not have made it.  Duane took all of Gigs luggage to his home where we picked it up today, I could not carry it on my bike.  Duane also offered to store Gig's bike at his home (which was right over the hill from the crash site) until we could arrange to bring it back.  Kraig Delker, a VRCC member from Cincinnati, was kind enough to bring his trailer to the impound lot, and haul the bike back to the hospital in Columbus.  Ryan and I straightened out the bent shifter and brake pedal, so the bike is actually drivable.  It actually started right up at the impound lot!  After we got the bike loaded, I left for home.  A huge thank you to all who helped out or offered to help.  It was greatly appreciated.

Now to the accident, I was following Gig up 93 north toward Zanesville, he crested a hill and I lost sight of him, and when I crested the hill, the road turned to the left and I set up to proceed that way, but saw a huge cloud of dust to my right and what looked like a bundle of rags on the gravel road to the right.  The bundle of rags turned out to be Gig.  Here is a picture of the site, we were approaching from the rear of the vehicles in the photo.


I think Brian crested the hill and thought the road went straight and wound up in the marbles and lost control.  I almost drove right by him until I noticed the big dust cloud.  If I had, I'm sure it would have been a mile or two before I realized Brian wasn't ahead of me and gone back to look for him, which I'm sure would have resulted in a fatality, by the time I circled back and found him. 

I flagged down Duane and he called 911 while I tended to Brian.  He was face down in the gravel with a huge gash in the back of his head.  He was breathing really hard, it almost sounded like snoring, and kicking up and breathing in dust.  I wanted to put a towel down under his face to keep the dust down, but didn't want to move him since he was breathing on his own.  It turns out that they had to go in and remove 2 pieces of gravel from his airway after he got to the hospital.  The EMT's arrived and immediately called for a life flight.  I called Gary Henry (Romeo) and asked him to contact Theresa as I was busy dealing with the EMTs and State Police.  What a cluster F that is!  So many things to do, and nothing seems to be working as it should, but it worked out.  After they loaded up his bike, I went to the hospital in Columbus.

I got Theresa's permission to post some pictures as everyone keeps asking about his condition, he is in bad shape, they have performed a craniectomy to relieve the swelling and pressure of his brain, and they cleaned up and closed the wound in the back of his head.  He has fractures of the temporal bones and possibly damage to the inner ear bones on the right side.  He has at least 3 fractured ribs, and they are considering installing rib plates tomorrow to reduce pain and help with respiration.  He had a collapsed lung and chest tube in for that.  His right ankle is severely fractured and will require plates and screws to stabilize, and the plastic surgery team to close the wound after they install the hardware.  Here's a pic of his ankle.


They performed a procedure to clean the wound on his ankle this afternoon and found a lot of gravel in the wound and apparently he is missing a piece of bone so he will require a bone graft.  They are very concerned about infection in that area.

Unfortunately, Brian is going to be in the hospital in Columbus for several weeks, he is responding when they decrease his sedation and wake him up, but I haven't seen him conscious since the accident.  They do a neurological assessment every hour, and his pupils are equal and reactive.  He responds when asked to move his arms and legs.  He has a long recovery ahead of him.  Please keep the prayers coming.

[Willow]

The description and pictures are scary.  I hope he gets down the road back to healing.

It bothers me to hear (read) people use the term, collapsed lung.  It sounds too passive.  A hole in the lung results in air being pushed outside the lung where there is obviously not enough room.  The lung is then crushed but it's only there that the air could serve its purpose for the body.  The crushed lung is a bad, possibly fatal, thing.  The chest tube provides an exit for the air outside the lung so that the lung can once more provide its service to the body.

It's good what medical science today can do for us.

My thoughts and prayers for Gig are for his healing both outside and in. 

[John Schmidt]

Oh my...Joe, those pics are hard to look at, the one of his honey is heartbreaking. Prayers for full healing but as you said, he has a long road ahead.

[Skinhead]

Oh my...Joe, those pics are hard to look at, the one of his honey is heartbreaking. Prayers for full healing but as you said, he has a long road ahead.

I agree John.  Wear a helmet folks, Please!  I don't support helmet laws, but I would hope people would have enough sense to make the right choice.  However, it should be YOUR choice, not the governments.

[Binkie]

Thanks for the update. I’m getting teary eyed and choked up just looking at Gig. It was just a short time ago we were laughing and taking those pictures. My heart goes out to Theresa.

[Jess from VA]

As if motorcycle riders need another.... but this is a cautionary tale for all of us.

There but for the grace of God, goes all of us.

[3fan4life]

Thanks for the update. I’m getting teary eyed and choked up just looking at Gig. It was just a short time ago we were laughing and taking those pictures. My heart goes out to Theresa.

You're so right, The backstory to the PIC of Joe holding the sword is hilarious.

That was a good ride and a good day.

I look forward to Gigs complete healing and us taking another great ride together!