My mother is in the hospital from an ATV accident
Yesterday (Sunday as of this writing), my mom was riding her ATV in the Kewaunee ATV park. Both of my parents have been out there a few times, and they have over 3000 miles of ATV experience this year alone. After they were there about 5 minutes, my mom went up a hill that she's been up before that same day. In sort of a fluke accident, she hit a muddy area, and the ATV rolled over. She was able to push away from it a little bit, but it still ended up rolling over her. The gas tank rolled over her pelvis, shattering it into at least 3 pieces.
There was another rider there, and he was able to offer her some assistance. Then my dad showed up, got on top of a tall hill, and made a call to 911. He said that they showed up very quickly. They rolled her onto a gourney, and then put her on a specially designed medical ATV trailer, where she rode out of the woods. They then put her on a helicopter, which got her to Aurora BayCare Medical in about 7 minutes. My wife and I showed up at about that time. They gave her some morphine to help the pain, but I know that it still didn't feel very good. At that point they couldn't tell us much except that they needed to give her surgery and that they would know more afterwards. The surgery took about an hour, and they said it went very well.
It turns out that her pelvis is broken very badly, the worst that they have ever seen. However, she amazingly had no other internal injuries, which usually would make the injury much worse. That means that they can just focus on fixing the pelvis. They put a pin in to hold it together, and right now there are pins sticking out of her that are connected by metal bars. It's an odd looking contraption that needs to stay in place for a while so that everything heals correctly.
She is in good spirits, and just needs to lay around for a long time. She would probably appreciate anyone who could send her an email or a letter, which will help pass the time. Right now, it is uncertain how long she'll be in the hospital, and she won't be able to stand at all for the next 3 months. Obviously she'll need to go through a fair amount of phsical therapy.
She's probably going to be moving out of intensive care tomorrow, so that is a good sign. She probably won't be able to check her email for a while, but we'll be trying to get her set up as soon as possible.
I'd also like to let everyone know that she was wearing all of the proper safety equipment. She's a strong advocate of ATV safety. This makes you realize that ATV's need to be respected, and there is danger as with any sport. Personally, I'll be happy when she can get back to riding.
If you would like to send flowers, I recommend getting them delivered from Flowerama (http://www.flowerama-roseswi.com/), and the delivery charge to the hospital is $7.00. You can contact Flowerama directly at (920) 432-1651.
You can have flowers sent to the following address:
Aurora BayCare Medical Center
Vickie Young - Room 233
2845 Greenbrier Drive
Green Bay, WI 54311
Wishing you a speedy recovery Big Bird! Stay strong and you’ll be riding with the Dirty Girls before you know it! It is lonely without you on the boards, I miss ya girl! You are in my thoughts and prayers and wishing you the best of luck with all of this. Jess
Sorry to hear about your accident Big Bird, I wish you well and a speedy recovery, you are in my thoughts and prayers. When you feel up to having visitors would like to stop by and say Hi.
Big Bird, you are in our prayers. Get well soon let us know if we can do anything for you. Steve and Michelle
Big Bird, so sorry to hear about your accident. You are in our prayers. Wishing you a healthy and speedy recovery. Jeff, Carol and the three boys
Big Bird, so sorry to hear about your accident. We all know you are a safe rider. You are in our thoughts & prayers. Hang in there girl!!!
Big Bird, we were terribly shocked to hear of your accident. We hope you’re feeling better soon and wish you a speedy recovery! Looking forward to riding with you again in the future! Carmen & Mike
Hey Bigbird, sorry to hear about your accident. I live in Arkansas and I heard about it from Muddychick who is also on ATV Nation forum where I hang out. Hang in there, will be praying for you and I’ll be checking out your son Jason’s blog for updates on your condition. In the mean time if you get bored click on my son’s web site for some awesome ATV music videos at: http://www.atv-guru.com/ Take Care, Lollygag (Annette) ATV Nation forum
Hang in there Big Bird. You are in my thoughts! Hope you get back on your feet (and 4-wheeler) soon. Kat
Sorry to hear about your accident. We miss your quick wit and wisdom on the boards. All the luck, best wishes and prayers are with you during your down time. -Fish
Hey Bigbird, Sorry to hear about you accident. We all wish you a speedy recovery. Tom, Phyllis, Morgan & Naomi