Six Months Later . . .

Oh just walk it off you'll be fine.

But in all seriousness been following this thread for awhile i'm pullin for ya man!

Diesel,

Great to read your updates.

Stay strong, your journey is just amazing.

Are you still employed or do they release injured officers?

I'm off the payroll, but they hung on to me for fifteen months. They're still carrying my commission, but I'll be back if at all physically possible. Workers Comp is taking good care of me now and, of course, all my medical needs. I'm very fortunate.

Have you found yourself needing anything? I know in my hard times some forums have put together some amazing things for me that really helped. I'm sure we could figure something out to help you along.

Diesel,

You Sir, are my absolute hero! My worst accident was a broken femur but can not for the life of me imagine what you have endured! You have a whole following pulling for you and always remember...."Chick dig scars!"

Keep staying positive, you truly are an inspiration.

Shannon

Thank you--truly. But I am actually doing OK financially. My wife is the primary wage-earner, and we had planned pretty well. I know the a lot of employers offer Long-Term Disability Plans and they're wonderful to have; however, I would urge everybody to look into private Long-Term Disability Plans as a really strong option.

Here's why: If you move from one employer to another, a private plan is not affected in any way and things are always in force. If you ever have a qualifying injury and you file a claim, then you will immediately notice the difference in plans. With a private plan, you make your premium payments with after-tax dollars; therefore, all you claim payments will be tax-exempt--as long as you are drawing disability. If you have an employer-offered plan, it is likely that the premium payments you make are made with pre-tax dollars, and it is nearly certain that the fraction that your employer pays of the plan cost will be paid with pre-tax dollars; therefore, anywhere from half to all of your disability payments will be taxable as income. That can be quite a shock for some folks.

There is also the Worker's Comp disability payments. They are not taxed, but the payments are calculated with that in mind. The big thing to keep in mind as a worker, a rider, a wage-earner, a parent, etc., is that there's a lot of things to take into consideration long before you ever get hurt. And no, I am not nor ever will an insurance agent. I'm just lucky to have a CPA for a spouse and boy oh boy, does she ever plan.

I'll probably be getting out of the hospital on Monday, after having had three surgeries. They were not able to install the bone graft or the titanium plate during the third surgery as they did find a bug in my femur. They've told me that it is clostridium and is not surprising, given the fact that my whole odyssey began with a tour of drainage ditch. I remember having described it as mud, grass, and dog poop. Apparently the latter was correct.

Anyway, once the infection is kaput, they'll go back in and do the graft and the plate, and then later, use the Ilisarov (as previously described).

Hey,

I'm absolutely touched by your story and the direction a split second decision, ditch and concrete culvert has sent your life.

You seem both OK with it, and in a relatively good place (emotionally and financially). I've very glad for that.

I want to say thank you. For serving and sacrificing. I'm thinking of you as you get ready for future surgery(s) and wish you the absolute best for a complete recovery. Congratulations on being so close to returning home, I'm sure that's going to be an amazing feeling.

So much respect!

Respect, brother. I wish you well.

Diesel

Only read your 1st post & few from this page.

I know the feeling.

I was hit head on, in my cage, Oct.8, 2011, by a guy going the wrong way on the highway. Broke all lower legs + collapsed lung, ribs & spleen issues.

Thank God for helicopter rescues & competent hospitals. Not enough can be said about good health care. I know if I was not in a major metro area, I'd probably be dead or way more disabled than I am now.

I agree with you on having Long Term disability insurance, thankfully I did.

I'm recovering from another surgery & hope to be back at work this year.

Thank the Lord for good family & friends.

Be well

Rhino

Sent from my mind with some help from my fingers on Yappytalk2

I'm finally back home from this two-week hosptial stay. Pretty weak and banged up, but at least now we know the infection in my femur is being knocked back. Here is a picture of my right thigh following closure of the third surgery, late last week:

Get well soon Brother, thanks for sharing your story with us.

This is my thigh today:



It's is just a little more than 23 months since the crash. I've got two more weeks of antibiotic infusions to go. The leg isn't puking anymore and feels pretty good. We still don't know what direction things will take, but it will help a lot if the bone infection gets knocked out.

Looked at your most recent photographs, and thought, damn he was lucky!
Although older in chronological years my left leg looks not unlike yours, however for a different reason.

Stopped riding a few years ago, as a result of
first Lupus then renal cell carcinoma, followed by lymphoma. Missing left
kidney, spleen,a small portion of my pancreas, all my
lymph node in my entire body (chest, groin, underarms) and
three years of chemo which basically messed my balance and any sensations in my lower limbs.
Can't ride a motorcycle that way, so the beloved Goldwing was sold.

A year later in 2011 contracted a severe case of Celulitus which
produced weeping ulcers to the bone. As of date still look at my
left leg which is still weeping and then glance at your photos
and am thankful your wounds are no longer dripping.

Then too while in hospital contracted
C. difficule and M.R.S.A. the former I conquered,
the latter chronic. So numerous drugs keep me alive;
and yes an unhappy appearing left leg, much
like your backside. Long term is always a question;
in my own case cancer, chemo, age (67+)
and physically tall body means my legs
may well never stop completely dripping.

May your recovery be more successful and
your existence improved

i just went through this thread. i havent been on ADV all that long, but i have been a LEO a while. as a rider, i'm always keen on trying to slip my agency some crap on restarting a motor unit.

yes. restarting.

there was one in the 80s. several officers were severely injured... mostly when responding to calls. as i was advised, ALL off the accidents were the result of someone in a car or truck.

i personally knew an officer in a nearby city. he was the only motor officer at that department. he was killed responding code 3 to assist an officer on an emergency call.

there are risks involved with riding as a part of duties. i never had an at-fault accident outside of my job. the irony is that as a part of my job, i always think about possibilities of an accident. what other drivers do. how i may react. results of those acts. ways to save it. ways to ditch it. its often the one we never see that bites us, though.

i will also say this.
i met a guy a long time ago through Jeeps and Jeep mods. Along the way, I found that we both rode bikes. lost contact with him for a while... and found that he had been in a motorcycle accident. car pulled out in front of him. he hit it. broke both femurs and the tib/fib of one of his legs.

the guy did not "just" walk again. he healed. he fought back physically and emotionally... he returned to school and completed his basic fire training and is a full time firefighter and has had no issues in the 6+ years he's been with the FD. he also returned to riding. last i knew, he still had a hyabusa.

keep focused and heal up as best you can.

Diesel...glad to see your healing. I made it 11 years on the Motor without a major crash....I consider myself lucky. Retired now, but still riding...have too, it's in my DNA. Hang in there Bro!

Here we are on the second anniversary of my crash.
The doctor visit on Wednesday was a hard one with nary a bit of uplifting news.

I've been hoping for an infection cure or, if not possible, an above-the-knee amputation that would allow me to be infection-free, and a candidate for some high-tech prosthetic wizbang. My surgeon hit me square in the face with the news that if my infection is not cleared up, there are but two choices that lay ahead for me: (1) loss of my leg all the way to my hip; or (2) a lifetime of suppressive antibiotics while they fixate, lengthen, rotate, and align my leg--resulting in a stiff leg solution. The surgeon told us something he's never mentioned before--that in his 20+ years of practice, mine is the worst, most devastating trauma case he's come across. He said that there's a reason they refer to my case as The Mud Femur, as when I was brought in, mud/grass/dog **** were packed all the way up the femoral shaft. I retorted to him that, "I never do things halfway."

The one hope that lingers is that the infection is cured with these IV infusions (now finishing up the eighth week), but even then, it seems highly likely that the result will be a stiff leg solution. No matter how things come out, I've got a lot to chew on and unless some sort of miracle happens, I'm not likely to be able to go back to what I really want to do . . . working as a cop.

Live life to the full, know that each decision we make leads us down a path, but that no matter what we choose, circumstances can present that prove just how fragile we humans really are.

Well, the best of luck to you and keep the strong attitude. However it turns out I'm positive you will make the most of it. If I had half the courage you clearly have...............

You say you cant wait to get back to being a cop until your back for about 15 minutes and deal with some idiots. lol kidding. They make the job fun.

Damn Diesel, sorry to hear this. Maybe it is time to go on the offensive and remove that which is stopping your progress. Tough decision man.....wish you the best.