[OHPV-list] FW: Tom Breedlove -- OOPS

[Jeff Wills]

Aww, geez... heal fast, Tom. At least at next year's Human Power
Challenge, you can compare titanium hardware with Joe Kochanowski.

Too bad you didn't go to Legacy Emanuel. Then you could have had Chris
Achterman work on your bones, and I could bring you drugs! Gotta keep this
in the family!

Jeff



> I got the following email from Tom & Beth this morning.  I have talked to
> Beth off and on over the last couple days, and had told them I would
> forward
> this information to the group, once they said it was ok.  I was going to
> re-write and sum it all up, but decided it sounded best in their own words
> (hope that's ok T&B?).  Sounds like Tom's sense of humor is still intact,
> and will definitely help in recovery.  Apparently what he is most upset
> about, is that he didn't get to go to Battle Mountain with Todd & Lonnie.
> I
> guess he has been talking to them daily about the goings on.
>
>
>
> As I said earlier, Beth, if you need any help, anything at all, just ask.
> We don't want you to wear yourself down over the next few months.  We want
> you both healthy and recovered by July.  We still need you both for RAO,
> remember?????
>
>
>
> Sounds like Tom gets to go home from the hospital tomorrow.  He is in
> Legacy
> Salmon Creek over in Vancouver.
>
> Cards and calls and good wishes welcome now, company when he's feeling
> better.
>
>          Edna
>
>
>
> Edna and David:
>
>
>
> Attached is Tom's dication he gave me about the incident.  I thought I
> would
> tell you what happened in my portion of the email and you could write
> something up.  But I did want you to see what Tom had to stay.
>
>
>
> Tuesday night he was riding his Trikke (HPV) to the Skyview High School to
> see if the tennis courts were open for us to play a little tennis before
> he
> left the for the Land Speed Championships.  He was riding his Trikke on
> the
> sidewalk to be SAFE (at this point, we all laugh when he says this), when
> he
> reached the end of the sidewalk where the wheelchair access of the
> sidewalk
> goes down to the street.  The wheelchair access was off to the side rather
> than in the middle of the sidewalk, so Tom turned a hard right to go down
> the access and then turned a hard left to get back on course with the
> street.  As he made the hard left, the front wheel of the Trikke went out
> from underneath him.  He landed first on his left hand to break his fall
> (this is how the wrist was shattered), then Tom took the rest of the fall
> on
> his left hip (this is how he broke his femur.)
>
>
>
> He has a vertical fracture that runs up from the femur into the ball of
> the
> bone where the femur meets the pelvis.  He has currently three pins
> holding
> this fracture in place.  Unfortunately because the break is vertical, Tom
> is
> not going to be able to put any weight on the hip area for about a month
> at
> least.
>
>
>
> His wrist was described by the doctor as "wrist bone soup."  Basically
> when
> Tom came down on this hand, the radius bone was shoved up into the wrist
> and
> he completely shattered all of the carpel bones in his wrist.  He also
> fractured the radius, ulna and tore ligimates and tendons.  He has under
> gone two surgeries.  The last surgery was the most extensive with them
> putting a plate, lots of pins and bone grafts into his wrist.  He as an
> external X Fix on the outside of the hand holding all this in place.  He
> will not be putting any weight on the wrist for at least six weeks.
>
>
>
> Tom is in good spirits and is wanting to get back on his Trikke.  It looks
> like he will be getting out of the hospital on Monday, Oct 10.  Thank you
> so
> much for the phone calls Edna. Tom appreciates everyone's concern and
> support.
>
>
>
> Love Beth
>
>
>
> Comments from Tom:
>
>
>
> Dear Edna and Dave
>
>
>
> We sincerely apologize for not having written you sooner about this grave
> matter.  But because it did not become a grave matter, I guess we have to
> write you.  Beth and I are both constructing this email.  So don't be
> surprised that there is a lot of jumping around, interjections or other
> nonsense..  Just have fun and we might do the same.
>
>
>
> As you may of heard, I was out riding my Trikke (HPV) preparing for the
> World Speed Land Championships.  When a fast moving object blew by me,
> overturning my vehicle with the sheer dynamic forces of hurricane winds
> created by the,,,,,,small rodent.  Oh well, so I am not that fast.  But I
> do
> have fun.
>
>
>
> Unfortunately, the curb and I disagreed on proximity issues.  Ergo, and as
> it should be, I lost.  The damage was one fractured femur/ball and a
> severely/extraordinarily brutal decimation of the left arm and wrist.  YUM
> YUM YUM.  And so after lots of titanium bolts, pins, and bone grafts from
> other donors, humpty dumpty will be hopefully sitting on the wall again.
> I
> could go into gory details, but I don't think you would really want to
> know.
> However, I am still fully capable eating every slice of pizza put in front
> of me,,, like the true champion I am!
>
>
>
> Best Wishes on Dave's birthday.  Hope all went well or at least better
> than
> my birthday celebration.  Did I tell you that I turned 50 just a few days
> before the accident?  So Slug, you be careful out there for at least the
> next solid week of riding.  And then I think you will be just fine.
>
>
>
> Bugs and Squishes
>
> Grog and Uta
>
>