Wife's Best Friend Airlifted From Oaks

Discussion in 'Crash Confessions' started by herzalot, Apr 15, 2017.


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  1. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Got a call from my buddy Scott today that his wife had a crash and was being airlifted to a hospital in Orange. :( I happened to be just about to exit to go to The Path when I got the call, so we hightailed over to the hospital. They were doing a Non-Dot clinic at Santiago Oaks, and she had a nasty crash on Chutes. She was wearing a Bell Super full-face and pads on everything. Yet somehow, she sustained facial lacerations and facial fractures, with suspected concussion, and possible spine involvement. Fortunately, she only sustained the facial injury and a broken rib. No concussion symptoms. No spinal involvement. Thank God!

    Frequent readers of IMTB know of my friend Scott. I made him famous when he took his 1999 Specialized Stumpjumper out for a ride, then I chronicled his bike demos and finally, his purchase of a Bronson. I also documented his multi-fall ride when his shoes were locked into his HT DH1 pedals with pins AND cleats. Dude is a strong rider!

    Scott's wife went to high school with my wife and they have been friends for over 30 years. It was my wife and I who got her into mt biking in about 1990. She had just battled cancer this year, and was getting back into riding after about a 10-yr hiatus. She bought a Santa Cruz 5010 when Scott bought his Bronson. She just non-stopped Mustard the last three times she rode. I am sure she was looking to "up her game" a little, thus the clinic.

    According to Scott, the Non Dot guys Nate and Drew were spectacular in helping after the accident. He wanted me to pass along a huge shout out and thank you to those two!

    Throw a prayer and some positive vibes out there for Scott's wife please! I think she will be fine, but some positive universal mojo can certainly help. :thumbsup:
     
  2. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower
    Nick and Drew......good guys.
     
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  3. Voodoo Tom

    Voodoo Tom MTB Addict

    Location:
    Castaic
    Name:
    Tom Kokkinakis
    Current Bike:
    Mango one, black one, Ti one
    Juli based on the sounds of your prior trial & tribulations I would say "you got this". Healing vibes to you. Any friend of @herzalot is a friend to all of us...
     
    Faust29, MolarM, MattB and 4 others like this.
  4. H2oChick

    H2oChick Well-Known Member

    Name:
    K-Oss
    Whoa - sorry to hear that. Glad that the N-D crew were able to assist and get her medical assistance. I saw a photo on FB and it's right at the base of Chutes.
    Keeping Juli in my thoughts ...
     
    Faust29, MolarM, MattB and 4 others like this.
  5. Sasquatch9billion

    Sasquatch9billion iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    trinidad j. mendez
    Glad to hear it's not as bad as suspected. Healing vibes being sent.
     
    Faust29, MolarM, MattB and 4 others like this.
  6. Faust29

    Faust29 Moderator

    Location:
    irgendwo
    Name:
    B. Bunny
    Current Bike:
    I gots some bikes.
    She has all the positive universal mojo that I can muster.

    :unsure:
     
    herzalot, MolarM, MattB and 3 others like this.
  7. hill^billy

    hill^billy iMTB Rockstah

    Glad there is better news than first thought! Sounds like she will recover, healing vibes are sent.
     
  8. MolarM

    MolarM Member

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    Mike
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz 5010
    We all wish her the best with a speedy recovery. I was at Oaks today and saw the helicopter activity, I'm hopeful for complete healing without complications
     
  9. MattB

    MattB Member

    Name:
    Matt B
    So sorry to hear this! Lots more healing vibes going her way!
     
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  10. jaime

    jaime Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Corona, ca
    Name:
    jaime
    Current Bike:
    '20 YT Jeffsy carbon 27'5
    Will pray for a speedy recovery :thumbsup:
     
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  11. xhuskr

    xhuskr Member

    Location:
    Above ground
    Name:
    Kevin
    Current Bike:
    Rocky Mountain Thunderbolt
    healing vibes out 10fold..I was watching the video with my wife and noticed the NonDot shirts...knew she would be on good hands...sucks to crash and get hurt, just glad we have great people in the mtn bike community to help out.
     
    MattB, Faust29 and herzalot like this.
  12. Grego

    Grego iMTB Addict

    Location:
    Fullerton
    Name:
    joe
    Current Bike:
    WFO9
    Here's to a speedy recovery. Hope all goes well and she's back on the bike in no time.
     
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  13. Cornholio

    Cornholio iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    CA
    Name:
    B
    Current Bike:
    Huffy
    Yikes, hope she heals fast and completely. My mom sent me a text yesterday asking if I was riding because she heard all of the commotion going on over near their house.
     
    herzalot and mtnbikej like this.
  14. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower

    I get the same thing.....when I'm riding and my is with the horses. If she hears/sees the chopper circling, she sends me a text to make sure its not me.
     
    herzalot likes this.
  15. Faust29

    Faust29 Moderator

    Location:
    irgendwo
    Name:
    B. Bunny
    Current Bike:
    I gots some bikes.
    Hmmmm... My wife doesn't do that. How long have you guys been married? :cautious:

    I know Herz will keep us informed of her progress. I was thinking about this one all night...
     
  16. Luis

    Luis iMTB Addict

    Location:
    Sylmar
    Name:
    Luis
    Current Bike:
    La Diabla
    Wow not fun to crash. Hope she has a speedy recovery. Healing vibes and a couple of prayers sent her way.
     
  17. pperrelle

    pperrelle iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Oracle, AZ
    Name:
    Paul
    Current Bike:
    Ripley V4 & Ripmo V2
    Ouch, that's not good. Hope she heals up quickly.
     
  18. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    Damn, that's a rough one. Best wishes to the rider for optimal recovery!


    I would never wish a mishap on anyone, but sometimes a good biff can be an awakening which might save one from a more serious crash, same mistake under more serious consequences, etc. I'm sure that gravity of possible outcomes to this crash will make the rider more aware, thus a better rider. So, even with hospital time, I don't see crashing necessarily as failure.

    I walked away from my worst crash with a finger injury. It could easily have been a spine injury. I can say with certainty that that was a pivotal event in my riding which led to a surge of technical improvement and also greater enjoyment.

    Crash carefully! :unsure::)
     
  19. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    I agree to a point. Same attention can be gained from a slightly-less traumatic smack-down! If she emerges relatively unscathed physically and returns to riding, I am guessing she will now be petrified, thus increasing her chances of crashing. At our age, it's really hard to brush these things off. And then there's the impact on her husband. I know that when I encouraged my wife to do a DH clinic, and she returned battered and bruised, I felt horrible. Luckily, she laughed it off, bought more body armor and intended to continue. Life soon had other plans for her, however.
     
  20. Cougar

    Cougar Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Washington City, UT (near St. George)
    Name:
    Craig
    Current Bike:
    '14 Turner Burner
    Sorry to hear about that Chris, send my well wishes Scott's way.
     
    herzalot likes this.
  21. Sad to read about this accident. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
    Given I was out of the game for nearly the last 4 years, and really never came back to the bike skills and balls I had pre being broken in 2007, I can certainly understand taking a clinic to ramping up the MTB efforts. I should try and wear my full face and pads more often. I been in a habit of not wearing any extra gear lately.
     
  22. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Thanks everybody! I don't have an update for today, but she went home yesterday morning (Easter Sunday). The broken rib started kicking in, and the face and eye swelling and discoloration accelerated, as one would expect 12-24 hours after an impact of this type. Still no concussion or spine involvement, so I would say she's out of the woods there.

    Thank you all for the positive thoughts and prayers!
     
    Fueledbyex8, bvader, mike and 9 others like this.
  23. trmn8er

    trmn8er Member

    Location:
    Ontario
    Name:
    Ken
    Current Bike:
    Intense Primer
    Very sorry to hear this. Hope she is getting better Chris!
     
    SnakeCharmer and Fueledbyex8 like this.
  24. Fueledbyex8

    Fueledbyex8 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Whittier
    Name:
    Albert
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower
    Wishing her a strong recovery" very sad to hear.
     
    SnakeCharmer likes this.
  25. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Update. We saw Juli yesterday. She's doing very well, with very little visible damage. Her ribs and right side are sore. Now the worry is jaw alignment. Still, it wouldn't surprise me to see her riding soon. They are not talking about selling their bikes, so that's good news!
     
  26. scan

    scan iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    fran allas
    Current Bike:
    Scott Spark
    You said she was wearing a full face helmet right? Did they figure out how she had those facial problems with all that coverage?
     
    herzalot likes this.
  27. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Hit a rock with her face. The rock was shaped in such a way as to protrude into the 4" gap between the helmet brow and the jawpiece. No goggles, so the glasses dug in.
     
    mtnbikej likes this.
  28. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    I am happy to report that my buddy's wife is on her bike again. Tough and determined girl. She never even considered not riding again. They are currently riding in South Dakota.

    Her airlift was one of several in Santiago Oaks that may have led to their (horrible) decision to destroy Barham ridge and make the park more truck accessible.
     
    Derkderkall, Rumpled, Luis and 14 others like this.
  29. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    Great outcome! For her, not Barham...
     
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As a former Amazon Associate I continue to get screwed trying to stay qualified as an Amazon Affiliate. So I quit!


Want to donate to imtbtrails?