The worst of Ironies
So, after I witnessed the scooter accident Friday, I emailed my dad and sister Katie to be careful.
They both replied asying that they are very careful, and the only variable is the other idiots on the road. Saturday, Kiki and I went to a party, and Katie watched Miette and ended up sleeping over. We sent out for lunch Sunday, and she brought the email back up saying that she's careful, and just has to be careful of the other people on the road.
My mom called about 3 PM Sunday. Katie had been in an accident on the motorcycle. No details available.
Later, we learned that she was in the central dupage hospital emergency room.
We went to see her and were greeted by the emergency room MD.
She was riding her motorcycle doing about 50 when an 85 year-old man pulled out in front of her. Her most major injury was that her collar bone came through her skin, and she lost a big piece of it. Something ripped a huge gash in her chin and throat, and she also broke her wrist. They were assessing a possible neck injury, but it looks like she has a cracked bone in her neck that will not require any other attention. The old man left the scene but was later caught; his guilt apparently making him return to the scene.
She was prone with her head taped to the stretcher when we got to see her. Her gaping wounds covered by gauze and her naked body covered by blankets. If you followed the tears down her cheeks, you noticed that she was laying in a pool of blood. Where her collarbone injury was, there was purported to be a golf ball size hole scooped out of her that my dad said did not bleed at the accident scene (he was riding with, but ahead, of her).
She became the only Thompson to ever ride in a helicopter when they airlifted her to Loyola's trauma center at around 5 PM.
As it turns out, the tissue on her collabone area was just pushed back, and the majoritry of the hole was left by the collarbone chunk. The bone had to be repaired with a metal plate and screws, and may require another surgery since the doc wasn't allowed to move her neck when he operated. Then the plastic surgeons took over. There was initial concern that she had lost some significant skin on her chin and throat and in the collarbone area, and that skin and muscle grafts may have been necessary. The surgeon found it all pushed back inside of her. My guess is that the chinstrap on the helmet which saved her life cut into her throat when it broke. On the collarbone, my guess is that she hit the end of her handlebar when the steering column cranked to one side, impaling her trapezius and pushing the bone out and the tissue back in. She also broke her wrist and is having surgery tomorrow to put a plate and screws in. The gift in all this is no brain damage. She should be okay, but it will be a long recovery.
I just can't believe that we had just talked about it, and then it happened. I am grateful that they caught the old man.
I feel terrible for her; Wednesday is the start of her last quarter of college; we don't yet know what will happen with that.
All things considered, she is Lucky. I am lucky.
They both replied asying that they are very careful, and the only variable is the other idiots on the road. Saturday, Kiki and I went to a party, and Katie watched Miette and ended up sleeping over. We sent out for lunch Sunday, and she brought the email back up saying that she's careful, and just has to be careful of the other people on the road.
My mom called about 3 PM Sunday. Katie had been in an accident on the motorcycle. No details available.
Later, we learned that she was in the central dupage hospital emergency room.
We went to see her and were greeted by the emergency room MD.
She was riding her motorcycle doing about 50 when an 85 year-old man pulled out in front of her. Her most major injury was that her collar bone came through her skin, and she lost a big piece of it. Something ripped a huge gash in her chin and throat, and she also broke her wrist. They were assessing a possible neck injury, but it looks like she has a cracked bone in her neck that will not require any other attention. The old man left the scene but was later caught; his guilt apparently making him return to the scene.
She was prone with her head taped to the stretcher when we got to see her. Her gaping wounds covered by gauze and her naked body covered by blankets. If you followed the tears down her cheeks, you noticed that she was laying in a pool of blood. Where her collarbone injury was, there was purported to be a golf ball size hole scooped out of her that my dad said did not bleed at the accident scene (he was riding with, but ahead, of her).
She became the only Thompson to ever ride in a helicopter when they airlifted her to Loyola's trauma center at around 5 PM.
As it turns out, the tissue on her collabone area was just pushed back, and the majoritry of the hole was left by the collarbone chunk. The bone had to be repaired with a metal plate and screws, and may require another surgery since the doc wasn't allowed to move her neck when he operated. Then the plastic surgeons took over. There was initial concern that she had lost some significant skin on her chin and throat and in the collarbone area, and that skin and muscle grafts may have been necessary. The surgeon found it all pushed back inside of her. My guess is that the chinstrap on the helmet which saved her life cut into her throat when it broke. On the collarbone, my guess is that she hit the end of her handlebar when the steering column cranked to one side, impaling her trapezius and pushing the bone out and the tissue back in. She also broke her wrist and is having surgery tomorrow to put a plate and screws in. The gift in all this is no brain damage. She should be okay, but it will be a long recovery.
I just can't believe that we had just talked about it, and then it happened. I am grateful that they caught the old man.
I feel terrible for her; Wednesday is the start of her last quarter of college; we don't yet know what will happen with that.
All things considered, she is Lucky. I am lucky.
posted by Zach at 10:44 AM
3 Comments:
Sending good thoughts your sister's way. Thank goodness for helmets.
Jesus, man. I don't check your blog for a week and I come back to this. I hope things are continuing to improve.
oh zach! please give katie my love. i'm so sorry this happened. it's so gross that it happened. i'm thinking of you and yours.
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