Rider Down in Brenham

[Squeaky]

A fellow rider went down today.

I'd call him a friend, but I'd only met him this morning and didn't even know his name. He was the guy on the Camel bike. Some people say they saw it happen, others speculate based on the remnants of the motorcycle.

Eric Thorn, "thorn" on MotoHouston, went down on a sweeping left-hander. It appeared to be a 'common lowside', either getting into the corner too hot, lack of focus, or possible mechanical failure. Regardless of the reason, he left the roadway, hit the gravel shoulder, and slid out. He was wearing gear, so it probably wouldn't have been bad... except for the ill-placed metal tubing entry gate. He hit it hard enough to completely shatter the chin bar off his helmet. I've been told the first riders on the scene had to turn him over to make sure he didn't choke on his own blood.

Luckily, Eric will be Ok. He was admitted to the ICU in Brenham as a precaution, but he is likely to be discharged within 24-48 hours. When I left the ER, it was decided that he had a bruised kidney, a gash on his tongue that would not require stitches, and a possible tear/rupture of the eardrum. A concussion was suspected, and he may have some bruising on his hips but not too bad.

What scares me is that it could have been me. It could have been any of us. I don't know why, but when we decided to call his mother I took the phone and made the call. Did hearing it from a woman's voice make a difference? Not likely. Did I say what I needed to and avoid things that would scare her unnecessarily? Not sure. I would never want my family to be on the receiving end of that phone call.

MotoHouston Thread (http://www.motohouston.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19375)

[britishsteele71]

Our prayers are with him.

[Snoopster]

Squeaky: Eric is lucky to have someone like you who he had just met to come to the hospital with him to check on his well being & wait there to make sure he was going to be okay.

Best wishes to him for a speedy recovery.

[loki]

Best wishes to him and his family.

[Squeaky]

Eric is lucky to have someone like you who he had just met to come to the hospital with him to check on his well being & wait there to make sure he was going to be okay.

I was actually quite impressed by the group's actions. Everything that needed to be done was; from first-on-scene all the way down to the guys heading out there today to get the bike out of impound. People made and fielded phone calls, checked in on him and his wife, and everyone is looking forward to hearing some news about him coming home - whether it's a transfer to a local hospital or being released to stay home and recover.

Unfortuantely, this is the second time in a matter of weeks that I've been sitting in an ER with an injured rider I'd just met that day. The last one was a track crash and ended with a cast, some crutches, and scheduled surgery. I think the nurturing side of me doesn't know what else to do in tough situations and I can't just sit around and wait to hear something. He'll have no idea we were there, but if rubbing his feet while the blood pressure cuff hurt his arm helped any, then it was all worth it.

[Rocket_Cowboy]

Rebecca, if you believe in karma, good spirits, or whatever, I'm sure you're banking up lots of positive with all your help.

Here's to sending Eric good thoughts for a quick recovery.

[britishsteele71]

I was actually quite impressed by the group's actions. Everything that needed to be done was; from first-on-scene all the way down to the guys heading out there today to get the bike out of impound. People made and fielded phone calls, checked in on him and his wife, and everyone is looking forward to hearing some news about him coming home - whether it's a transfer to a local hospital or being released to stay home and recover.

Unfortuantely, this is the second time in a matter of weeks that I've been sitting in an ER with an injured rider I'd just met that day. The last one was a track crash and ended with a cast, some crutches, and scheduled surgery. I think the nurturing side of me doesn't know what else to do in tough situations and I can't just sit around and wait to hear something. He'll have no idea we were there, but if rubbing his feet while the blood pressure cuff hurt his arm helped any, then it was all worth it.

You would be amazed at what the spirit remembers when the body won't. Sometimes, something as simple as rubbing his feet makes all the difference in the world. Some people are action people and others are nurturing people. We need both of these kinds in this world. I can only pray that is something like that ever happened to me, someone like you would be there.

Many people often tend to look the other way when it comes to others. Even more if they are people we hardly know. Yet, we are all in the same community and all suffer the same. What you did was awsome and commendable!

[leekellerking]

A fellow rider went down today.

I'd call him a friend, but I'd only met him this morning and didn't even know his name. He was the guy on the Camel bike. Some people say they saw it happen, others speculate based on the remnants of the motorcycle.

Eric Thorn, "thorn" on MotoHouston, went down on a sweeping left-hander. It appeared to be a 'common lowside', either getting into the corner too hot, lack of focus, or possible mechanical failure. Regardless of the reason, he left the roadway, hit the gravel shoulder, and slid out. He was wearing gear, so it probably wouldn't have been bad... except for the ill-placed metal tubing entry gate. He hit it hard enough to completely shatter the chin bar off his helmet. I've been told the first riders on the scene had to turn him over to make sure he didn't choke on his own blood.


MotoHouston Thread (http://www.motohouston.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19375)

God bless you for caring and doing what you could to help.


Lee

[kurt]

You'd be surprised at the number of people who somehow remembered something about me (name, voice, something I said, medical procedures, etc.), even though they were never concious the entire time I was with them. I keep talking and explaining to everyone just because of cases like this. "Lights out" in no way translates to brain off.

[Squeaky]

Thanks guys. When his wife got there and went in to see him, the nurse yelled at him to open his eyes. She asked if he knew who she was, and his answer was (we think, his tongue was pretty swollen) "don't care. fix me."

She wasn't pleased with the answer, but his wife was happy that he was talking at all. She's a tough gal.

[Rocket_Cowboy]

"Fix me" could sound alot like "sexy" with a swollen tonque. ;)

[Tourmeister]

:rofl:

:tab And we all know a guy would be thinking about sex at a time like that! :lol2:

:tab Sorry to hear about the wreck. Being on scene for stuff like that can be a bit traumatic for those helping. During the aftermath of our recent get off, I think Beth and I were the calmest people there... We had some good people stop. They did nothing stupid and tried to keep us comfortable. it was starting to rain again while we were on the shoulder and one guy had his wife grab an umbrella out of their car to cover us. When you are laying there and everything is uncertain, it can be scary. Just having another person there can make a world of difference, even if they are not providing medical assistance. Talking to the accident victim really helps calm them down.

:tab With all the recent accidents being reported here on the site, I would really encourage everyone to look long and hard at their riding habits, the gear they wear, who they ride with, etc,... Riding a bike is not a trivial thing and even the tiniest mistakes can have the most grave consequences. Being an experienced rider does not exempt you. Even the best can screw up...

:tab Please keep us posted on his condition Rebecca and let us know if there is anything we can do to help.

[Squeaky]

Eric is stable at the hospital in College Station (he was transported to bring him closer to home) at this time but has some cracked bones (?) in his skull and will probably have to undergo surgery to stop some of the bleeding. Looks like he will be in the hospital for a while at this point.

A few of the MH folks went out and picked up the bike today, so that bill won't keep growing. He does not have medical insurance (according to someone who spoke to the doctor/nurse, but not his family directly), so a PayPal account is being set up to try to help out as best we can. Since he's still in ICU, he's not allowed visitors but some people have expressed interest in going up to spend time with his wife. His mother and brother are now in town from Georgia.

[Squeaky]

Here's a pic of Eric from earlier in the day (blond in the middle) - he was laughing, smiling, meeting new people, and enjoying the roads. I can only hope he has all of this in mind while he sleeps and recovers.

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/1565/ericbm2.jpg

[Tourmeister]

There but for the grace of God go I. It is so easy to think it will always be someone else. The reality is that it could be any of us and it all goes from good to bad in a heartbeat. Cherish the moments.

[Faylaricia]

The reality is that it could be any of us and it all goes from good to bad in a heartbeat. Cherish the moments.

Nicely said Scott and so very true.

[Squeaky]

Eric is coming home today!
He's talking and coherent but doesn't remember the crash. He wants to see his bike :doh:

The PayPal fund has been setup for donations (please see the link to the MH thread above).

[whoa]

He does not have medical insurance
The paypal account is a great idea. Seems there is an organization that assists motorcyclists in this situation. Don't recall now, but I'll look around. Rider Down something I believe.

[Squeaky]

Actually, there is conflicting information now about the insurance. Whether he had medical with the bike, with work, both, or none. I guess asking the doctor wasn't the best resource.

There will still be lots of bills and copays/deductibles with insurance, so they're taking up the collection. If you plan on attending the BBQ @ Motorcycles Unlimited this Sunday, I think they're going to have a jar to toss cash donations into.

[Tourmeister]

:tab If all he had was medical through the bike policy, that usually will not cover anything since the accident will be classified as being his fault. If like me, he had a Personal Inury Protection (PIP) rider on the policy, that will cover some of the costs. My PIP was $5K and to get it much higher than that makes a BIG difference in your premiums. So with his injuries, I would expect even a $5K PIP to be gone in a VERY short time. Hopefully, unlike me, he has good health insurance through work that will cover this. If that is the case, he will likely have a deductible in the range of a few thousand, then a 20/80 until his 20% reaches the deductible amount. If his facial/cranial injuries are very bad, the surgeries could easily reach his policy limits pretty quick. Beth and I were very fortunate that our injuries were very minor in comparison to his...

[King_O_Road]

I am sorry to hear about Eric's ride turning out so bad and at the same time the reasons why I have joined the TWT's stand out loud and clear in times like this. My prayers go out to Eric and praises to all those at TWT.
Shiloh

[Shaggy]

Here's to a full and fast recovery!