Monday

[Joe Schad]

Hugh and Dave,

Wishing you both a speedy and complete recovery. I had hoped to fly Monday but could not get out in time to go flying.

Joe

[dbodner]

Thanks for the best wishes and the phone calls. My vehicle and glider are secure, thanks in no small part to John M. I've been catching up on the sleep I couldn't get last night. The pills (dilaudid) seem to be working better. I'll be moving from the dilaudid to vicodin; I hope it'll work.

We took the x-rays this morning to the orthopedist who quickly pronounced surgery to be necessary; however it's a nasty enough break that it's beyond his comfort level to do. Instead, he sent me to Fairfax Trauma Center because they're used to putting humpty-dumpty back together. It's been interesting to watch everyone's reactions to the x-rays; no one can view them without some sort of exclamation. The reactions were actually making me pessimistic regarding my prospects, but the resident at Fairfax gave me a good prognosis. Surgery is yet to be scheduled. It'll probably be next week. In the meantime, Fairfax gave me a plaster cast that has helped my comfort.

Like John D's accident, my accident started with a bad setup. This is a pattern with me that ought to provoke some soul-searching.

[DanTuck]

Wow, guys. I'm really sorry to hear that. I hope you both heal quickly and Dave, I hope it's not as bad as they think. Sending good ju-ju to you both... Heal up, soldiers!

[Lauren Tjaden]

oooh, I'm so very sorry to hear of the injuries. Heal quickly, boys!
Lauren

[KirkLewis]

Wow sorry to hear about the broken bones :/ Looks like you made the news.

http://your4state.com/content/video/?cid=96482

[tdilisio]

Bummer guys. Sorry to hear of the mishap and resulting pain. Heal quick. Chuck... Congrats on your first cliff launch and good job esplainin the missed flare.

[Richard Hays]

Dave! Your poor bastard!! I'm so sorry to hear you wumped in the field. Ouch. I guess Brian stated it best by saying "don't you just hate mondays?" Bummer.

And Hugh! Double bummer. Damn....I'm so sorry for you too. There aren't enough words to express how I hope you guys heal fast and feel better soon.

I had arrived atop of launch after a really nice day out at Smithsburg with 2 students. I had brought one of my guys up to launch and was watching Dave Churchill soar in some incredibly smooth air. I saw a glider sitting for a long time in the north end of the LZ and thought that was odd but....nodoby on launch had said anything. Either didn't know or was keeping quiet due to my student being there. Would have kinda been a buzz kill. The student was pretty jazzed about what he was seeing and what he had done earlier in the day.

Anyway....best to both of you. So sorry. Call me if you need anything.

Rich Hays

[hang_pilot]

Chuck-
Your first flight from historic High Rock was so momentous that WHAG sent a camera crew to cover it. Have you seen this http://your4state.com/content/fulltext/?cid=96482? Helluva first day.

David-
Your attitude about safety, which I’ve always respected, and your reserve of karma from your years of service to the clubs should have protected you from this calamity. Apparently, the gods were off serving dinner at a homeless shelter or something when you were landing. I am so sorry. Hope you heal well.

…and then there’s Hugh. Splinter fracture… I’m imagining the end of your fibula as a chewed up toothpick. Do you think a pair of Hanwag’s or Crispi’s would have helped? Heal well, too, friend.

~Daniel

[RedBaron]

Sorry to hear about your accidents guys. Emma Jane's field can be a bitch to land in on certain days, especially on higher performance gliders.
Anyway, that's what you get for sneaking out to fly. So, how are you going to explain sustaining complex fractures in your arms and ankles from irritable bowel syndrome to your employers?
Heal well, both of you.

[chuckok]

Dang ... does that make us famous? Sorry to minimize the injury to the public ... you never know what the news might say. Of course they didn't bring out any of the positive comments

[Matthew]

I knew that crash course on landing was a bad idea!

Speedy recovery my friends!!!

Matthew

[davidtheamazing1]

Chuck O’Keeffe's First Cliff Launch at High Rock:


Me launching and soaring at the end of the day:

[chuckok]

Awsome! Thank you for posting this!!!

[dbodner]

It's been a while since my last update. Please pardon my navel-gazing.

Had surgery on the shattered humerus Monday. It was to be outpatient, but I spent the night. I think the surgery was a little more extensive than they planned. Jodie says they had to dig around in there to do something with a nerve. I seem to be put back together pretty well. It no longer feels like things are scrunching around inside when I move the arm. They let me go home Tuesday afternoon after walking with a physical therapist and getting instruction from an occupational therapist. The scarriest part of my hospital stay? Hearing the pretty, young student nurse say, "I've never removed a catheter before." But, she followed instruction well and was surprisingly eager.

The emergency room had immobilized my arm in a plaster cast. Post-surgery, my arm is in a plastic splint, surrounded by the kind of cotton batting used by upholsterers, with an ace bandage as an outer layer. This whole mess us supported by a sling, which has an annoying (and somewhat painful) tendency to slip.

My ability to wash myself is improving. Things were getting so bad for a while that Jodie and I were discussing which cheese I most olfactorily resembled. My vote was for bleu. By the time you see me again, I should've progressed down the list to something on the order of a delicate, fresh Havarti.

I went to work on Thursday for the first time because things were kicking there. Hopefully I can stay home tomorrow and prepare for a conference I'll have to host on Monday. Pain is mostly controlled by meds, but between the residual pain, the healing, the depressed appetite, the difficulty sleeping, and the one-handed typing, I get exhausted. I'm probably also stupider than normal, so I fear for the decisions I'm making in my drug-induced fog.

Follow-up with the surgeon is scheduled for the ninth. Don't yet have an appointment with Betty Ford.

Speaking of meds, I'm on a timed-release morphine (15mg) twice a day, and 2 mg Dilaudid, a prescription for which I can't seem to get filled. No one carries that size anymore. I've been cutting in half the 4 mg pills the emergency room gave me, but I'm running out. Tomorrow I'll call the surgeon to see if he can alter the prescription.

It might be a decent flying weekend. I hope you guys get to fly. John M., I won't be flying for a while, and I know you're in between DS gliders. So, feel free to use mine, at least until I get back on my feet.

[pink_albatross]

Sheez... glad you're finally on the road to recovery, even if, like the economy, it is going to be an arduous one, but hopefully not quite as long!
Thanks for the update! Heal quickly! May you not need pain meds soon.
-- ellis

[hepcat1989]

.

[bigkreek]

Heal well, ya'll

Rusty

[dbodner]

First time typing with two hands in 3 weeks. Difficult, though.

Went to the surgeon today for the first post-op. He's really pleased with how well aligned things are. The splint and bandages came off today, so I'm able to move my elbow. My arm is incredibly weak; I'll be going for PT for that. Also to get the full range of motion back.

The x-rays today kind of freaked me out. I assumed I had a few screws and maybe some small miscellaneous metal pieces holding things together. Instead, I have what looks like a metal shelf standard running practically the entire length of the humerus held in place with 11 screws. The lowest screw is actually in the elbow. However, we don't think there was actually any elbow damage, so I'm not looking at arthritis long term. The incision was held together with 40 staples, which came out today. I'm too much of a weenie to look, but I'll try to get Jodie to snap some shots. I no longer have an excuse not to shower, so I should be better company now.

Walking out of the PT's office, Jesse(?) Yoder's (John's student) roommate came up to me. He heard me say HG accident, so he had to ask me about it.

[Matthew]

Glad to hear you are on the mend. If you want something more than PT to strengthen your arm, I can lend you my P90X videos.

Matthew

[dbodner]

I'm just looking to get back to my previous lackluster shape. Anything admirable is beyond my ambitions.