Ken's going to be okay

First of all, Ken’s going to be fine. That’s the most important thing.

He was in an accident outside of Reno at about 6:30 pm last night (Thursday night). He was life-flighted to Renown Trauma Center in Reno. He was coherent enough to give the ER my name and phone number, and two different people said he was polite.  :-)  Neurologically he’s fine, and he also has no spinal injuries. The helmet, of course, saved his life.

However, they did have to remove his spleen; he has three broken ribs and some broken fingers on his right hand, a broken shoulder (which they haven’t been able to X-ray yet, but they don’t seem to think it’s bad), and one of his lungs did collapse. As of right now (2 pm Friday) he’s on a respirator but mostly breathing on his own, and they hope to take the tube out sometime this afternoon. In fact, the nurse just told me they might move him out of ICU as early as tomorrow morning.

He’s on really good pain meds so he’s a little loopy, but he smiles and squeezes my hand and indicates that he’s doing fine. That’s pretty much all I care about right now.  :-)

The ER person who called me last night has to get credit for being so damn calm, I didn’t freak out at all. In fact, I’ve been freakishly calm about everything; the only time I got a little weepy was when I thought about him being at the side of the road before someone found him. (He was on a not-well-traveled road, and we don’t know how long it was until someone came upon him, or if someone saw it happen, or whatever. We also may never know what exactly happened; most people don’t remember. The state troopers who were first on the scene may be able to shed some light…but it’s really not important, all things considered.)

I also have to credit our friends Ernie and Pauline, who’d come down for the IBR finish and in fact arrived just as I was getting the call—they sat with me and Ernie made lots of phone calls. Ken’s mom was there, too, and another friend. Lisa with the Rally booked my flight to Reno this morning and was also just calm and amazing. Here in Reno, bikers Brian and John have been at the hospital since last night, Brian picked me up at the airport, and they both got me situated here at the hospital (which turned one floor of one wing into a hotel, so I even have a place to sleep, shower, etc., for a reasonable rate).

Please feel free to leave comments and well wishes here or on Facebook, and when Ken’s more coherent I’ll read them all to him. For right now, though, please don’t call or text—I’m busy enough keeping family apprised and I can’t always answer the phone. I know you’re out there, and you care.

Right now I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do except send positive energy and well wishes. When we get home, I will probably have to ask for some help during his recovery.

He’s gonna be okay. That’s all that matters.

xoxo to you all