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[mr_magoo]

Will say a prayer for him and his family.

[Hugh Janis]

I have an update.  I printed the post and responses from this site as of this morning and placed it in a folder with the Maxim top 100 hot girls of 2007 and took it to him this morning.  He was pretty thrilled to know that complete strangers were wishing him the best.  I asked him point blank what his plans were for the bike and if he were going to fix it.  He said, "Hell yeah!".  He was in surgury until midnight last night, even while I was typing the original post.  He had several compound fractions below his right knee.  There is a rod, plate and several screws holding everything together.

I'll try my best to describe what happened.  He was traveling in the left lane of a 4 lane road through a village with a 35MPH limit.  He was in the blind spot of a truck in the right lane who knew he was there.  The truck was turning right onto a side street.  There was a pickup at the stop sign on the same side street waiting for traffic to clear to make a left hand turn.  When the truck in the right lane began to turn right the other truck thought the coast was clear in the left lane since he didn't see the bike my brother was operating.  He came out and hit my brother head on at an angle.  Dan locked the rear tire and hit the front bumper sideways and upright.  His right leg took all of the damage.  He told me he yelled everything he could think of at the driver.  He sat up and saw a lot of blood coming from his leg and attempted to hold his thigh enough to slow the bleeding.  He also told me he looked for the bike and saw it laying down and wished someone would go over and pick it up and set it on the jiffy stand.

We have a big family event the saturday before Father's Day every year.  It's a completely selfish time to eat too many clams, shrimp, steaks, ribs, and sausage, drink too much beer and boubon, smoke too many cigars, play some golf and sit in a hot tub and laugh at each other.  There is a good chance he may still be there.

Thanks for all the kind wishes from all.  We still may make our bike trip to Ohio for the NFL Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that we were planning.  Just not likely this year.....

Love to all, Jim

[JMACK]

God's speed in your brothers recovery.
JMack
Riding For Those Who Can't

[TCinVA]

Jim,
You, your brother and the rest of your family are in our prayers. 
TC

[2soaper]

Gods speed to your brother and keep on ridin!  Life can be short for some but I figured out a while back it needs to be worth living, take away the thrill and relaxation of biking like we all enjoy and what do you got?

[Wrongway]

 All the best for your brother(and ours)! We do what we do and cannot explain it to others(non-riders), the risk is heavy, but worth it. Was in Reno this weekend for family and came upon the sight that turns all our guts, a u-turner took out a sport biker and the elderly lady in the back seat. I hate it, but we love our freedom and will continue our passion. Again, hope your brother all the best with his recovery. Ride safe!  Wrongway

[napalm]

Sorry to hear about your brother, hope it all turns out for the best, fast recovery.  Glad to hear you jumped on the Jester to calm the nerves.

I had a close call about 8 weeks ago....it stayed with me for quite a while....you never know, but I love to ride too much to give it up...just keep both eyes open for the other guy!!!

napalm

[Hugh Janis]

There seems to be a consensus among all of you.  Are we all insane together or does sanity only truly exist when twisting the grip of a two wheeler?  Thanks for the words of encouragement and the wishes for my brother Dan.

I spoke with him about an hour ago and it appears that he will be coming home tomorrow (Friday).  He's in a great deal of pain and really feeling down.  The surgeon told him that he won't be putting any weight on his right foot for at least three months.  The Doc is also pleased with how everything turned out.  There is feeling, good blood return, and movement in the foot.

Happy Father's Day Everyone!  make sure to give your kids a big hug!  I just did.

Jim

[Wrongway]

 Hope you all can have a great weekend! Close calls can bring you closer, forget those brotherly bad times and enjoy the most of each other. Let him know WE care and if there is something we can do from here, just ask.  Wrongway

[Hugh Janis]

Hello my CVO brothers, I wanted to give you an update on my brother Dan's condition.  It's been three months since the accident and all has not gone well with his right leg.  The skin over his badly broken and surgically repaired leg did not do well and necrosis set in in late July.  He was sent to hydro therapy to debreed the wound twice a week.  Think of it as a burn victim getting treatments.  The wound wasn't responding as hoped so it was determined that he needed to have the dead skin surgically removed.  During the procedure they took several swabs to check for infection and found 5 pathogens, 2 were life threatening.  There was a real danger that he may have to have his leg amputated.  Since he was already in the hospital he was administered a regimen of a very strong IV antibiotic that requires a new bag every 4 hours for 6 WEEKS!  He responded quickly to the antibiotic.  There is one week left on the IV course.  The wound was dressed as best as possible during all this but there was a need for 2 separate plastic surgeries to even close it.  It was amazing to actually see the metal rod through a hole near his ankle.  The last of the two occurred Tuesday Sept 11th.  They removed skin and muscle from his abdomen to fill in and cover the leg wound.  It was a 6 hour surgery.  It went very well.  48hrs post op he's in a good deal of pain from the surgery.  He should be able to begin some serious therapy within two weeks and may be discharged to a rehab center.  Since he won't be able to be back as a machinist within 6 months of the accident he will likely lose his job.  The insurance company totaled his Fatboy and wanted $10k to buy it back.  Now he's thinking he wants a touring bike.  I'm dropping off an '08 Harley catalog to his hospital room in the next day or so.  I don't think it will go over well with the Mrs. if he shows up with a new bike.  It's amazing how much the idiot cager messed up my brother's life.  Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.  The hard work is ahead now.....
Jim

[DanB]

Continued speedy recovery for your brother. 

Yesterday marked the 4th anniversary of my brothers death. Missed a turn...and...well...the rest is history.

DanB

[Hugh Janis]

wow, sorry to hear that Dan.  I miss riding with my Brother.  It's been a whole summer of "missing man formation" (solo) riding......

[DanB]

Yes..I know about that for sure. Taking a ride Saturday to Hot Springs. That was a ride he loved. Gonna miss him alot this trip. But I know he's watching over me up there.

DanB

[Hugh Janis]

I was just thinking that my Brother's accident was a year ago tomorrow and thought I'd provide another update.  He was  in danger of losing his job forever and not capable of doing the job he had so his company offered him a desk job as a QC inspector.  It was a Man Up thing to do that they didn't have to (Co. is Prestolite).  He got his Dr. to clear him and he started just before he would have lost his position permanently (early Jan).  He was able to drive his pick up (with a bench seat) with his left leg and get in and out of the plant on crutches.  He knew he was going to need some bone grafting surgery soon and the removal of the internal hardware still holding his shattered tibia together.  It was determined that the rod and screws were hiding a persistent, insidious infectious and that the only way to finally clear it up was to go with an external support system and put him back on very strong IV antibiotics at home.

It's now been almost 6 months since he had the bone graft surgery and the addition of the exo-skeleton.  He has worked about 2 weeks out of the last year and he is still battling a mild infection that is holding up proper healing.  He'll be on antibiotics for a long time until his WBC, Hg, and sed rate return to normal.  He desperately wants the cage taken off his lower leg and to walk without crutches.  The estimates are that the bone is still showing weak spots that are of concern and that he may have to go well into July or August before it can be removed.  At that time, he can begin putting full weight on it and start therapy.  He can support himself with it now and it doesn't swell up like it did.  The insurance co. of the cager is offering $100,000 to settle which after attorney fees and costs won't cover his lost wages and bills let alone loss of quality of life.  His attorney is recommending they settle.  He's making slow progress on healing but it will be awhile before he can walk without crutches or a cane and not break into a sweat and get out of breath.

After all of this, I bumped my under insured motorist/liability coverage on my bike to the state max of $300k per accident.  The minimum is $25k.  It was the best $30 I ever spent.  Please keep Dan in your prayers and make sure to bump up your under insured motorist coverage to the max.

[MUFFMAN]

Jim, I hope your brother makes a full recovery & even though his injuries were severe he still has his life ahead. He can count his blessings & has to think of all the positive things in his life and thankfull he has family like you who care enough to take the time to help him on the road to full recovery. Best wishes & a speedy recovery. THE MUFFMAN