My 37 year old son, Kevin
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Coming home from work at 6pm on Thursday, this stupid woman turns left right in front of him and he smashed his motorcycle into her right rear panel. Car & cycle demolished. Kevin hit her with his right side, flew off the bike and broke his left humerus & small fracture in left shoulder, right kneecap broken in half, and right foot has fractures. Thank God he didn’t hit his face and his brain, spine scans and pelvis are clear. They just splinted him up for now and will do surgery hopefully tomorrow.
He was wearing a helmet of course and only has some marks on his forehead & neck where the helmet and strap rubbed him.
My 2nd (ex) husband was in a motorcycle accident himself when he was young and he must have seen it coming and layed down the bike. His 20 year old son was not so fortunate and was killed on his motorcycle. Long story, but it was his fault. He had to swerve to the right and went into a ditch and was thrown into a telephone pole. His helmet wasn’t secure and it flew off. (this happened in 1990 on the same night I got engaged to his dad!)
I don’t think Kevin will be getting another motorcycle (not if I have any say in it!) -
@njr So sorry to hear about this. Glad he is doing better and will continue to send positive thoughts for his full recovery.
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Yikes. When he was in college, my brother was hit on his motorcycle by someone making a left turn and not looking where the eff they were going. Happily, he was wearing a helmet -- not nearly as universal back then -- which undoubtedly saved his life, as his head got knocked into the curb. As it was, he got away with just a couple broken bones in one foot and a bunch of cuts and abrasions (what motorcyclists sometimes call "pavement rash"). But his helmet had a big crease right across the middle. With no helmet, his brains would have been splattered all across the intersection. Sorry to be so graphic, but visiting him in the hospital and seeing that helmet convinced my 14 year old self to never, ever own a motorcycle.
I certainly understand their appeal -- and the world would be better off with more motorcycles and fewer hulking SUVs -- but drivers are too damn careless. And half the time the ones in those massive trucks and SUVs can't even see motorcycles and bikes.
Wishing your son a speedy and uneventful recovery!!!!!
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Thanks Leslie & Bruce. His dad went to see him Friday and I was going to go in the afternoon, but his wife called to say come Saturday with Lauren (his twin sister) because he was pretty tired.
She sent me photos of his injuries. his right knee cap looked the worst.
They couldn’t do surgery Friday because he is stable. Will have to wait until Monday! He’s not at the hospital I worked at in the O.R. for 30+ years. He’s at NE Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville which is much closer to where he works/lives. (45 minutes NE of me) -
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Lauren & I just got back a while ago. Kevin’s doing pretty good, considering. His back is sore because he can’t roll over or sit up.
They are so busy and since he’s stable and has no open (compound) fractures, his surgery will be either Monday or Tuesday. The night he was brought in they had 4 other accident victims: 2 were worse than Kevin and 2 were DOA! -
So sorry to read about this just now. It's good to know he is (kinda) on the mend.
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They couldn’t do surgery today because his Hemoglobin dropped to 6! (normal low is 13.8 for a man!) BUT, he got a blood transfusion and…
Good news - after the transfusion he got a lot of his color back and surgery will be first thing tomorrow. Will take at least 4 hours and they may have to transfuse him during it. They might also use cell saver which removes any blood lost, cleans it and then they can return it to you. The guy who sang at my mom’s funeral started the cell saver company years ago here at the hospital O.R. I worked at! Kevin has an unusual blood type: A-, so can only get A- or O-. Michael (his dad) is O+ and I’m A+ as is his twin sister Lauren. (Michael & I both have recessive negative genes so that’s how Kevin got to be A-.)
Michael & I will wait until Wednesday to visit since he’ll undoubtedly just sleep all day tomorrow. He’s in such good hands with Alex (she’s knowledgeable about medical things and is a great advocate for him!) and the hospital is a Trauma Level 1 hospital (the best) My hospital is only Level 2!
His (female) boss came to visit and they are working with him - it is a great company (Takeuchi) with great benefits. He can maybe work from home on computer at first. He has tons of PTO, plus short & long term disability, so financially they’ll be fine. Plus he inherited $25,000 from my mom (as did Lauren) I just recently made a Living Trust like my dad did for me so they won’t have to go through Probate. It includes Living Will, Power of Attorney and Power over Healthcare.
Will keep you updated.
Nancy -
P.S. The woman’s insurance will have to pay for his medical bills, plus Alex already has talked to a lawyer to sue her car insurance company for bodily injury, pain & suffering, etc. There was a retired firefighter who witnessed this accident and the police are still considering it a crime scene. (they have to for 1 year in case he should die from any of his injuries, she would be charged with vehicular manslaughter) That’s highly unlikely though.
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Sorry this seems to have gotten medically complicated for a while, but glad to hear things are looking more upbeat now. And glad he's secure on the financial side, since it may take a while to collect from the other party and their insurer. Keeping fingers crossed.
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@bruce-m said in My 37 year old son, Kevin:
Sorry this seems to have gotten medically complicated for a while, but glad to hear things are looking more upbeat now. And glad he's secure on the financial side, since it may take a while to collect from the other party and their insurer. Keeping fingers crossed.
Thanks Bruce! More as it develops.
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He went into surgery at 7:30am and didn’t get to recovery until maybe 2pm! His left humerus was what took so long - it was broken in several places and displaced (not aligned) Plates and screws for that. Then the right kneecap they only had to stitch back to the ligaments and the fracture will come together and heal on its own. They put pins (called K-wires) in his right foot little toe and the toe next to it. And they gave him another pint of blood during surgery even though he had minimal blood loss. Michael (his dad) decided to go real early today and spend the night, then Alex (Kevin’s fiancée) will go home at some point for the night. I’ll go tomorrow early afternoon. Today he’ll probably mostly sleep.
My daughter Lauren & family are in Nashville and they are having to take Reyah to an Urgent Care as they think she has a UTI (urinary tract infection) She tells them it hurts when she pees.
My son-in-law’s dad had a procedure today (I think an ERCP - Google it) and tomorrow will have his gallbladder out.
What else can happen?! -
@njr said in My 37 year old son, Kevin:
He went into surgery at 7:30am and didn’t get to recovery until maybe 2pm! His left humerus was what took so long - it was broken in several places and displaced (not aligned) Plates and screws for that. Then the right kneecap they only had to stitch back to the ligaments and the fracture will come together and heal on its own. They put pins (called K-wires) in his right foot little toe and the toe next to it. And they gave him another pint of blood during surgery even though he had minimal blood loss. Michael (his dad) decided to go real early today and spend the night, then Alex (Kevin’s fiancée) will go home at some point for the night. I’ll go tomorrow early afternoon. Today he’ll probably mostly sleep.
My daughter Lauren & family are in Nashville and they are having to take Reyah to an Urgent Care as they think she has a UTI (urinary tract infection) She tells them it hurts when she pees.
My son-in-law’s dad had a procedure today (I think an ERCP - Google it) and tomorrow will have his gallbladder out.
What else can happen?!I sure hope everyone has good health insurance!
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@bruce-m Kevin does! And the woman who caused the accident better have decent bodily injury car insurance! Kevin’s car insurance co. (Cigna) is taking care of everything and contacting her insurance company.
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Nancy, just saw this thread. I hope your son is feeling better and I'm sorry about his accident!
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@paulfan11 Thanks! He is supposed to be coming home today. Even though his insurance okayed inpatient rehab, the hospital said no, that he could just do outpatient rehab!
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I waited so long to write because everything was up in the air for a while. So, Kevin came home on Friday. Even though his insurance okayed inpatient rehab, the hospital refused it! Before he left the hospital he was able to cover his right leg with a trash bag & waterproof (microfoam) tape and take a real shower and wash his hair! He was so happy! (It had been 2 weeks & 1 day!) Next thing, he will get the staples removed from his left arm and right knee on July 8th. Not sure exactly when he starts outpatient PT. After the staples are removed he gets a special knee brace that is mechanical and you start at #1 (lowest speed) and it moves your leg for you. The pins in his toes won’t be removed until the end of July (maybe like 6 weeks after the accident happened which would be the 25th of July.) Also, the outpatient PT is fairly close to their home, across from the Kroger & CVS they use. They’ve got him on 8 medications including Oxycodone 3 times a day and Gabapentin. That is for the nerves in his left arm which has been somewhat numb (some of which is due to swelling) Also 10mg Melatonin before bedtime. Next time we talk I’ll have to find out what else he’s on. He had so much to tell me about how they got him the smallest adult wheelchair so it would fit through their bathroom door (which for some reason is only 23.5” wide!) Michael brought the wheelchair and other things from the hospital to their house and he removed the bathroom door because it opened inward and got in the way. He also got a wedge to put behind his pillows so he can sit up in bed. He’s eating and drinking fine and said he doesn’t have a lot of pain, just his left shoulder/upper arm even with the Oxycodone, but it’s tolerable. He also has a shower seat, a portable toilet and some kind of walker that is specifically made for one side, which he uses on his right since his right hand/arm are fine. (which is a miracle in itself)
Now, about the woman who caused the accident, he thinks she’s maybe in her 50s. She was driving a friend’s car, so first they go after the car owner’s insurance and she only has $30,000 bodily injury!! (I have $250,000 + a $1,000,000 umbrella policy!) Kevin has “under-insured insurance” so he can get $25,000 from his policy. Then the lawyer they hired will find out if this woman has a car and car insurance of her own. If so, they go after that bodily injury amount too. And they find out if she has any assets ($) They want to settle out of court. The lawyer gets 1/3 of whatever they get!️
That’s all I know for now. Will keep you posted on any new developments.
Nancy -
@njr Thanks, Nancy! Glad he's home and doing much better and is on the mend.
Hopefully you'll get answers soon about the insurance issues. When my Dad was in the hospital after his car accident it took about 4 months to get everything settled with all the insurance issues, hopefully it won't take that long for your son.
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His boss even came to see him in the hospital. He has lots of PTO, plus short & long term disability. She said he could even work from home on his laptop in the beginning.
Thanks for your concern!
Nancy -
Glad to see things are looking up, even though Kevin clearly has a long road ahead. Hopefully things will continue to go smoothly.
At the risk of going slightly off-topic, the whole U.S. system of having to fight with multiple insurance companies to get the medical care you need is insane. If you need care, you should get it -- period -- and it should be paid for out of taxes: Everyone pays in as appropriate to their income leve and everyone gets what they need. Anything else is madness.