Ooops done it again. A David Unk crash.

DavidFL

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Time for a quick cuppa on the Khong it's a 16 kms meander upstream to 1 of my favorite coffee shops, Enjoy on the Mekong.
Enjoy Coffee has a magical relaxing atmosphere, but it was a boiling hot day when I left Enjoy to gently meander home.
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An old rustic house with a magnificent tree on the Khong had long caught my attention and today was the day for a couple of pics. What an idyllic location it was i thought. How good would it be to live there and enjoy life. .
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Another few hundred metres on I was still enamored by those scenes by the Mekong. A couple more pics were required to capture that enchanting moment.
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To present the best aspect of the Vstrom in that scene i positioned the bike nicely beside the road, facing against the flow of non existent traffic at the time.

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Photos done time for a u turn and head back home to Chiang Khong 15 minutes away.
What a magnificent intoxicating scene and ride for a coffee break it had been. Laos was calling too just across the other side.
And so I did a u-turn & set off on the wrong side of the road. Day dreaming. And in the very first corner hit the very first car, that of our politician for Rim Khong on the Khong. Khun Kasem, a super nice guy & friend, who physically helped me put up the Paradise road sign!

We'd picked the best spot for our encounter, because there was no phone signal in that series of blind corners by the river, so had to wait for someone else to come by and get help.
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Eventually the Chiang Khong EMS guys arrived and carted me off, but not before i endured an unpleasant hot time frying on that burning asphalt. The pain from cooking on that asphalt hurt more than the broken limbs at the time, and i have blisters on both left shoulder and calf from laying on the hot asphalt too long.

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It was a very lucky escape because I wore minimal protective gear just popping out for a regular afternoon coffee on the Khong.
It was also lucky because of the person I hit, has shown great concern for my well-being, visiting me in hospital the next day while i was under the knife for 7 hours.

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I'm not complaining but the road ahead will be a challenge physically and financially.
If I'm lucky home in 2 more weeks.
TQ everyone for the hundreds of messages and expressions of support.
 
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DavidFL

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Apologies for the slow updates..

A couple of pics of my new plated right arm and right leg.
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The leg injury was serious and I am most happy to still have it.
The skin graft has taken well and in a few more days, all being well, should be released from hospital with a full leg plaster and 3 months rehab at home.

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I'm a happy man for another lucky accident that could have been a hell of a lot worse.
 
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DavidFL

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The next immediate steps are getting out of hospital, clearing the bill, and getting back on the road asap albeit 3 months away at least.

The last couple of years have been tough for both me and my son Jason. No business or income due to covid-19. Jason lost his job with a bicycle tour company that shut down and I've been supporting him during these times. We've been struggling to stay afloat, basically treading water and coming up short every month. It is what it is and there are thousands of others suffering the same.

For this reason there's no money in the kitty at home and paying all the bills to get back on the road is a serious issue and continue on. Despite having health and bike insurance it is not enough this time round and i would like some help from anyone who would be happy to reach into their pockets help out a poor GTR..

If you are overseas outside Thailand we have started a GoFundMe campaign

Or if you are in Thailand you may use my Bkk Bank QR code
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Many thanks for all your understanding and help.
 
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canthai

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If you require any assistance, for any reason, I am only a few hours away and would gladly ride or drive up to give you a hand.
Let me know
 
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DavidFL

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If you require any assistance, for any reason, I am only a few hours away and would gladly ride or drive up to give you a hand.
Let me know
Thanks. The immediate goals are
1. Get out of hospital, after clearing the bill.
2. Clear everything at the police station, sort out the vehicle insurance damages and claims.
3. Get my bike released from the police station and sent to Chiang Mai for a repair assessment,
4. Enjoy the 3 month rehab.
5. Get back on the road asap, hopefully with the same beautiful bike I love so much.

The next few months will be a serious challenge physically and financially, as insurance won't cover everything, and after 2 years of covid-19 there's very little in the piggy bank at home.
Should anyone want to chip in a few baht to smooth the way.
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Last but not least my beaten up darling & love of my riding life.
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LOL to everyone. Lets have more peace, compassion & happiness in the world,
 
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DavidFL

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Just an update..I'm at home starting 2-3 months rest in bed with my.leg elevated waiting for the skin graft to heal, in as clean an environment as possible.
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I'm lucky so far, no full leg plaster necessary because the skin graft is healing well in the open air. No infection so far. Fingers crossed it stays that way. But i need to ensure my environment- the bedroom- is not contaminated at all from the outside. Frequent visitors are not encouraged as muvh as i would like to see all you guys for a natter, bike to eat and a drink.
I have a check up on 22 July to have the staples removed from my.leg.
I will know more then.


In the crash i was wearing my 4500 baht 0neal Sierra adventure helmet.
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And it has come out well.
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I wore one of these helmets when i took a big hit from the Chinese 22-wheeler on Laos 5 years ago.

Now again it has done me well no head injuries. So I'm highly impressed.
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Thinking of you David. Wishing you as comfortable and speedy a recovery as possible. Hope to see you soon too mate.
 

Eoin Christie

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Hi, David.
Really sorry to see this. I hope you are very much on the mend.
I went to your GoFundMe, but it's been deactivated - Are you going to re-open? I want to help.
Cheers, Eoin
 

DavidFL

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Hi, David.
Really sorry to see this. I hope you are very much on the mend.
I went to your GoFundMe, but it's been deactivated - Are you going to re-open? I want to help.
Cheers, Eoin

Thanks mate. Hopefully we dont need to re-open the Go Fund Me drive again; but I won't know for a few months yet.
The last couple of years have been very tough & it could well be that I never recover financially from this hit; which also makes me wonder if it is worth continuing with GTR with so few people contributing trip reports, despite many of them pumping me for info prior to & during their trips. It may soon be time to walk away from it. Whatever, let's wait & see in a few more months.

If you would still like to help out with a few baht I can give you a Bangkok Bank account that you can pay direct into or with Wise from overseas, or an Oz bank account. Let me know whatever is most convenient & I willmessage you.
Many thanks in advance.
 
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Eoin Christie

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Thanks mate. Hopefully we dont need to re-open the Go Fund Me drive again; but I won't know for a few months yet.
The last couple of years have been very tough & it could well be that I never recover financially from this hit; which also makes me wonder if it is worth continuing with GTR with so few people contributing trip reports, despite many of them pumping me for info prior to & during their trips. It may soon be time to walk away from it. Whatever, let's wait & see in a few more months.

If you would still like to help out with a fw baht I can give you a Bangkok Bank account that you can pay direct into or with Wise from overseas, or an Oz bank account. Let me know whatever is most convenient & I wil message you.
Many thanks in advance.
Cheers, David.
I (like everyone else here) really appreciate your efforts in GTR, and hope that this can continue.
Please do PM me with your Thai account.
Hang in there, and heal in every way.
 

DavidFL

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Time for an update.

Finally out of hospital after 36 days / 5 weeks 1 day.
The bone fixation seems to have worked satisfactorily on both my arm and leg with 2 fractures a piece.
Although the leg fracture was much serious being a compound fracture.
For the skin graft, after a mere two weeks, the doctors pronounced it very excellent, and decided to remove all the stitches and staples.
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This indeed was a pleasant surprise, as the original plan for the first check up was to only remove the leg staples.

A magnificent 2 weeks old skin graft, performing perfectly.
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I've had a couple of ambulance rides to / from Chiang Khong - Chiang Rai the last month & I can verify that none of them are at all comfortable on that rodeo track of an asphalt road around Wiang Chai. Especially when you're laying on plastic slab on am emergency bed in the back of the ambulance. It is actually brutal. Why the ambulances insist on the route, yes it is shorter distance but the travel time and ride is much quicker & smoother via the Chiang Saen bypass / Paradise Road! And so it was a nice little tip was offered to return to Chiang Khong the smooth fast way.

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No plastic slab on the return journey. The CK EMS ambulance is a bit of an old rattler, but only costs 3000 baht return to CR, whereas the posh Sriburin ambulance cost 8000 baht to go home,

Approaching the Huai Sai Mann viewpoint & the Paradise Road sign I couldn't resist a bit of fun & asked the driver to stop by he Paradise Road sign, wheel me out and out me in front of the sign for a photo. The ambulance driver had a rel WTF moment, but I insisted.
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What the hell I thought you only live once, I had taken a ride down Paradise Road in an ambulance, enjoyed it, and needed a pic for posterity.

Back at home it is a slow process recovering some leg muscle strength in my good left leg, to be able to hobble around, and hopefully use crutches or a walker in the coming day to get in the shower and take a real dump.
The brutalized right leg, has to make do with lost movement & therapy but NO WAY are you allowed to attempt to use it for 6 weeks, when my next hospital appointment is for Xrays to check on the bone growth and healing.

In the meantime I'm of the booze, coffee and afternoon cakes & pies for the duration' and my weight loss is remarkable.
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Cheers everyone.
 
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Eoin Christie

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That's great new's that you're back home, David. Just as well they put that thong under the wheel of the guerney - It'd be a more expensive trip if they had to pick you up from Nong Khai if you took off down the hill.

Excellent that the skin graft has taken, and the stitches are out.
 
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DavidFL

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Woo-Hoo another step forward. Mobile in the computer chair.
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Today was the first day I've been able to stand on my good, but weak, left leg.
I can wobble on a crutches for a few steps & a walker is on the way in 2 more days.
I've also had 3 foot massages in 24 hrs to get the circulation going in my right foot & leg.
The goal this week is to get to the bathroom for a proper shower & dump.
 

DavidFL

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2 months and 2 days....still plodding along.
A test ride for fun with an electric wheelchair to get out and about a bit.

Good for a laugh around town.

One of the issues I have managing crutches is that I broke both my right leg & right arm in two places.
I need to be able to carry a load with my right arm to help out with the crutches.
This has slowed me down recovering my mobility.
This has been further complicated by a dodgy left arm, that has a partial paralysis from my original bike accident in 1973, plus a broken humerus on the same left arm from my spill on the Africa Twin in Laos in 2007. So my left arm is decidedly wonky & weak as well.
As I've already taken a spill off the crutches, I've decided to go slow but sure, not breaking anything again, & am currently waiting for my next doctor's appointment on the 2nd September for xrays to determine if the fractures have healed sufficiently to start to put a bit of weight on my leg & try walking again.
 
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DavidFL

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Come on David

The aim is to be hobbling around in 3 weeks, perhaps on an automatic scooter - Aerox 155?
For riding the Vstrom, safely & confidently, we think that is going to be next year, until I can load up my right leg & right arm to safely hold the weight of the bike.
Repairs to the Vstrom have already started, with a new front wheel, fork tubes & radiator on the way.
The bike will be rideable before I'm fully capable of taking it for a blast.

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