7,000 MILE JOURNEY

Key West, Florida to Homer, Alaska!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Latest...CAUTION.. Not for the faint of heart...




Here are the injuries.. His arm and side are road rashed as well as a piece of his calf on the left leg. The left leg sustained most of the injury, (HE IS LAYING SO THE LEFT LEG IS STICKING OUT, WITH THE RIGHT CROSSED OVER IT SO WE COULD SEE THE BACK OF THE KNEE) the stapled picture is his left calf. The muscle was hanging out and they had to put it back. The laceration on the back side of the knee is REALLY deep. It is called a "dirty wound" because it was dirty for one, and secondly it is sooo deep and so long. There is a piece of skin flat out missing which is what made it a hard "sew". The muscles here were hanging out also.
He is in pain. Lisa got him to take a pain reliever finally. I think the cleaning of the wounds took it out of him and it is a lot of pain to bare..
He is going to be flying out on Friday back to Alaska. That is the ONLY confirmed plan as of now. The rest (Mom, Shelbe and Cheryle)of us are awaiting to hear from insurance company about the bike and from there we will make plans.
I am really sorry that I didn't provide an update before now, but it is a really stressful time for all of us. It is not easy for me to see my father in pain, he is usually really good about hiding it but this was a very tramatic event and he is coping the best he can, as well as the rest of us.
I spent the morning chasing down prescriptions for antibiotics, prescriptions for contacts and etc.. He lost his "diddy" bag (shower kit) in the crash and only has his really old pair of glasses and the contacts that were in his eyes.
The bike is totalled. (Well we will see if insurance totals it or not) But it looked pretty bad to me.
WHAT HAPPENED:
As you may know there was 2 separate wrecks 15 minutes apart on the same stretch of road.
The road was new and sand on it. Not a good combo. The men that wrecked before my dad, one of the men lost his leg. We are really fortunate that Wildman is alive. His injuries are serious, if he doesn't take good care of the back of the knee he could loose the leg. NURSE LISA, is doing a fabulous job taking care of him and cleaning. I have been doing all I can to relieve some of Moms stress while she tends to dad.
We are all doing well and he does like hearing from all of you, but if you could give him some time and space with the calls, or call Cheryle it would help. He isn't quite all there in concentration as he is trying to subdue the pain. Thank you all so much for caring so much and taking the time to check on him. I will try to keep you all updated...
BECKY

13 comments:

  1. THANKS so much for the update. We were beginning to be a little frantic but didn't want to call because we figured this was a hard time for all. DO keep us posted and give Jerry a big GET WELL from us (Randy & Linda) in Arkansas. We'll be following his progress. SO terribly sorry you are all having to go through all these troubles when this was supposed to have been a fun exciting time for you all!

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  2. Thanks for the update! We have been wondering and worrying about your folks and the rest of you as well. We are so sorry about the whole mess. Jerry's tough and we're confident he will come out of this OK, but in the meantime it has to be very upsetting and stressful. Give your folks our greetings, sympathy and love. Royal and Nancy

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  3. @Linda:
    Thank you for the concern. He is doing alright. He is finally getting some rest and relaxation. The changing of the dressings today wore him out big time. I bet it will for the next few times too as they are pretty sensitive areas when you are dealing with road rash and everything else.
    Where in Arkansas are you? We may be driving through there with the van and trailer.. Just curious as I have family in Conway, and, well all over Arkansas.

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  4. Here's a link to the Naples newspaper that had a write-up... http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/jun/21/Hoka-Hey-key-west-alaska-harley-davidson/?print=1

    We're in NW AR... up near Fayetteville. You all have a safe trip home!

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  5. I wish your Father the best in his recovery. I found a few sites like yours that I was following so I could vicariously live through them on the Hoka Hey Challenge. I wanted to do this ride so bad, but recently heard about it and didn't have enough time to plan it out.

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  6. Becky,

    You are so awesome to take the time to make this post. You know how much all of us love you and the family and how concerned we are for ALL of you. It must be so difficult to see that awesome tough warrior in such pain . Wish I could be there to relieve Lisa and give the Wildman a little TLC.

    Wish I could be there to relieve you, mom and Shelbe and give you some nice massages and help with some of the stress. This has to be so difficult on the support team. So happy that Lisa and Denny were with him while y'all made the trip. And so pleased he has a private nurse!!!

    Tell him we wish him the very best on his trip home (we did not realize how serious the injuries are) and you three Musketeers have a safe, uneventful trip home!

    You are very special to take the time to update all of us during this most stressful time. A big hug to each and every one of you!

    We know you will keep us updated when you have the time but right now that was an awesome update and we know you are all OK and have some physical and mental healing which ALL of us with help you do.

    Love and hugs,

    Maureen

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  7. Thanks for the update and the photos. No, I'm not a ghoul, I'm just a visual person and seeing it helps me understand.
    Good thoughts for his healing and a positive outcome.

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  8. Tell Jerry Dad (John Crauthers)and I will be thinking of him and his recovery. Glad it was only the bike we lost. Cindy Fine in Soldotna

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  9. Thank-you so much Becky for the update, the "silence" was gettin' scarey but certainly understandable considering the circumstances.
    We are so sorry about what you are all going through, especially your Dad. All of you are in our hearts, thoughts and prayers. Please let us know if there is anything we can do...anytime. Wishing you all a safe trip home.
    Love Ya,
    Roger & Amy

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  10. Good morning and I truly hope this is a better day for ya'll. Been following the news with bated breath and I wish you all the best and send prayers your way. I believe I speak for a lot of folks who are hoping there are no more incidents during the event and all make it to Homer safe. Wish Jerry the best and make sure he knows that "Live to ride another day" is a much better motto than "It's a good day to die".

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  11. Lisa and I just happened to turn on local channel (2) and there you were. We (all of us) are sooooo sorry this happened but very glad that Jerry's injuries are surmountable. We agree with the previous writer..."Live to ride another day" is a much better motto than "Hoka Hey". Still, sorry,....you were 'living the dream' for a lot of folks.

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  12. Randy just came in from the local 'coffee shop' and said four men on the Hoka Hey run had stopped in there for fuel. He talked to them for a bit and they said they were at the same table as Jerry at the last meeting... they wish him well and hope he is back riding soon. They were doing okay on their run .. headed to Flagstaff and north from there to Rock Springs, WY, where they had their next check in. What a coincidence!!!

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  13. Hey Becky & Cheryle -
    We at the Cameron household are so sorry to hear about the broken Jerry, bike and dream. Good to hear Jerry will be around to ride another day. Best of recovery and we will see you soon.

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