This is in fact a real story
now two years old.
We appreciate it that Don is willing to let us leave it posted.
DO NOT SEND MONEY. This is only an illustration and
Don has move on in his recovery.
A Rider In Need:
Vouched for by the BMW Motorcycle Owners club of Minnesota
(BMWMOCM). If you require further information e-mail Greg Anderson,
the club President, GAnder5582@aol.com
Don
Kramber's Story ... how a day ride at the
BMWMOA Charleston rally led to a $45,000 medical bill that is still climbing.
He may be a bit embarrassed.
We've been there and we're
not. Why not click it
right now?
If you want to send him a
check
directly
then e-mail him first at dkramber@compuserve.com
In The Rider's Own Words
On July 12th while attending the BMWMOA rally in Charleston West Virginia
I went for a short day ride with two friends. The ride was more spirited than
I usually do but it was a beautiful day and everything was going well. That
is, until a car merged into our group between me and the rider in front of
me. A large gap grew between me and the rider in front of me and when the
car finally turned off the road I was well behind the others. Since the ride
was going so well and I had not made any mistakes riding so far I started
trying to catch up to my friends. I must have missed a sign or something because
before I knew it I was heading into a hairpin turn way too fast. I hit the
breaks in hopes of slowing enough to make the turn (way wide but hopefully
without incident). Unfortunately I would up tangling with the guard rail.
The front wheel hit first and the back wheel swung over and slapped the guard
rail pinning my lower leg between the bike and the guard rail. The momentum
of my body had to go somewhere and that meant that my upper leg had to break.
My Injuries:
My left leg suffered a compound fracture of my femur about 2 or 3 inches
above the knee. On its way out of my leg the bone tore through all of the
muscles on the front of my leg. I also suffered a break to a bone in the foot
as well. There was also a great deal of damage to my pride and confidence
but only time can heal these injuries. : )
My Current Condition: My leg
and foot were immobilized for 9 weeks. During the time between 9 weeks and
now, working with a physical therapist, I have been able to get my knee to
bed to about 110 degrees (using pressure on it) and I can pull it back to
about 85 to 90 degrees (I can pull my good leg back to 130 degrees). My foot
is bending to about 90% of where it needs to be to walk right. My doctor has
told me that he now believes I will eventually make a full recovery although
the leg and foot may always be stiffer and more sore than before the injury
and it may take nearly a year. A titanium rod was inserted into my femur and
is held in place with 4 screws. I will need one more surgery next year to
remove all the metal from the leg after the bone heals.
My Income And Insurance Situation:
After a layoff last year that depleted all my savings I finally found an independent contract and had just barely climbed out of the financial hole caused by the lay off when the accident happened. When I was laid off I tried to acquire my own medical insurance and was given incorrect information on how to transition from COBRA and by the time I found the information to be false it was too late. The medical insurance companies told me I could not transition to normal insurance. This left me with no insurance.
A week or so after I got home from the hospital the company I was contracting at before the accident notified me that the project I was on had been canceled due to budget problems. I am now out of work and looking (so if you happen to know of anyone who needs a computer programmer in the Twin Cities please let me know!). Bills from the EMT company, ER, Hospital, XRay Techs, Surgeon, etc are now up to around $45,000. I only enough savings left to cover my living expenses for the next two months. (I'm living on the money set aside to pay taxes with).
Equipment Issues: What Worked Or Did Not
I'm not sure what to say here. My R1100 RT and its ABS breaks seemed to do their jobs well. My helmet is trashed but that HJC Symax helmet did its job superbly (as noted by the absence of any head or neck injuries) If I hadn't been wearing it I'm sure I would not be here. I was wearing a brand new FirstGear MeshTech jacket which also did it's job beautifully because my upper body came through it with out a scratch (so did the jacket!). My riding boots (Ok, leather hiking boots), according to the surgeon saved me from an ankle shatter and allowed only what he calls a minor break in the foot (He can say minor because he doesn't have to walk on it). All told, the gear did what it is supposed to and saved my life. There is no gear I can think of that would have kept my leg from breaking and if it does exist it probably isn't available in my size (6'2" and about 280 LBS). If I'm wrong let me know!
For further information and to
contact Don directly:
dkramber@compuserve.com
Know someone who could benefit
from this program? Contact information@RiderToRider.Com