PLEASE READ - bad motorcycle accident, Wolfgang and Margot's son Chris

Hi All

Heard from Wolfgang today,big thank you for all the support,he says Chris is doing well and hopes he will be moved to a hospital nearer home at the end of the week,as its a 1000k drive every weekend for them through ghastly holiday traffic.

Shaun
 
Hi Shaun and all

I talked to Wolfgang as well, and asked again whether funds should be paid out now, identifiable needs, etc. Wolfgang's suggestion is to continue to hold the funds to be applied to a clearly identified need, whether it be a better quality prosthetic than otherwise might be available to Chris, or perhaps to accomodation costs if required after Chris eventually reaches outpatient status but may need to stay in Kelowna or Vernon for continuing therapy and outpatient treatment, although that is likely to be some time from now yet. Apparently Chris is likely going to have to endure at least one more surgery in relation to the internal injuries. Chris's friends local to him in Nakusp are apparently also raising funds for Chris, originally intended for a computer purchase but as mentioned previously, Andy and Diana Ebbern have provided Chris with the loan of a wi-fi enabled NoteBook, so the funds raised in Nakusp may be available to combine with the funds raised through the laverdapedia list members to pourchase something of major impact for Chris, we'll see..... 

Jurisdictionaly Chris's legal situation is a little complicated. It will all get sorted eventually, but not instantly. It would be so much better all around if the truck and driver could be identified.....

The good news remains that Chris is young, strong, and very healthy other than the internal injuries and amputation, is determined to recover as quickly as possible, and is still maintaining a very positive attitude! Thanks again to all of you!

Paul LeClair
 
Slow on the news uptake, here. Thoughts and prayers going out to Chris and the Haerter family.  :angel:  Will Paypal when I get home. :big thumb:

Mark in ABQ.
 
Thanks for the update, Paul.  It's good to hear that Chris has a positive attitude in the face of his difficulties.  That counts for a lot, I'd say. Your description of the complications stemming from the accident - financial/legal - give me a headache!  What a mess.  I sure hope the driver of that truck is located.
I tried a few times to call the Haerter's in Nakusp, but there is no answer as yet.  I guess they are either overwhelmed with events or have not yet returned home.
 
Hi Lawrence

Wolfgang is in Nakusp, I talked to him there yesterday.

Margot is still here in Calgary, she phoned me this morning, told me that Chris has had about 40 of the 100+ surgical staples removed, and was up and about, briefly, on crutches!!! Don't know whether the hopefully final surgery will be done in Alberta or British Columbia. Margot says Chris has lost a lot of weight, and is determined to rebuild his strength as quickly as possible.

Paul LeClair
 
Diana and I dropped by the hospital for a visit with him last night.  Alexandra, Margo and his son Cameron were there, along with a young lady (Sarah) who works at a tourist site nearby where the accident occurred.  Chris was in great spirits and really enjoyed the company.  He is using stints in the wheelchair to try and get a bit of a workout each day and build his strength... seems to be working as he is looking much stronger already. 

I think one of his biggest challenges in the short term will be to allow the full time required for a proper recovery.  He's seems really eager to get on with his life and jump back in to all the activities he's used to doing.  Giving his body time to repair fully takes a lot of patience - hope he doesn't push things too hard and too fast.

He commented how incredible it was to be getting messages from people all over the world wishing him well... he truly is overwhelmed with the outpouring of support to both himself and the family.
 
Hello All,

Who would believe that it has almost been four weeks since Chris?s accident and so much has happened and fast?

Chris is recovering wonderfully although, as Andy already mentioned, he is going to have some issues with the patience it requires to fully heal from all his injuries. Here is a quick update of the things happening with the Haerter clan and Chris in particular.

Last week, Chris made great progress in his mobility. He zips around with the wheel chair and hops along on crutches only too determined to get up and running (yes, I mean that literally) again. At the end of each session with the physiotherapist and out on his own he is just wiped out! But, I think he relished the idea of being alive and feeling the strength return to him.

The fight he has been putting up with his own body have cost him over 40 pounds so far. From just over 200lbs, he has gone down to a much more wiry and angular version of himself. But what he lost in weight, he still makes up with personality. He had all of the nurses of the trauma unit (male and female) wrapped around his little finger.

We have seen many small victories from the last of the staples removed (a nice total of 101!!!) and being able to uncover the ?rug burn? that was his skin graft.

On Thursday of last week I received a frantic call at the office that Chris was being transferred to Kelowna. After barely making it to the hospital to say goodbye, Chris was loaded into an ambulance to the airport where they then proceeded to fly him to the Okanagan. Now, here is the kicker? On Friday morning, my parents were told that Chris was allowed to come home for the weekend! We were floored!

Chris spent a busy weekend in Nakusp, spending time with friends and family and recharging his emotional batteries and returned to Kelowna on Sunday evening.

Last I heard, the doctors are now considering sending him home altogether, possibly as early as this Friday. They apparently feel that the rest of the healing as well as the physiotherapy can be taken care of in Nakusp and that Chris would only have to come to the hospital for regular check-ups and prosthesis fittings. So, I am keeping my fingers crossed that he can go home soon.

As for the truck driver who caused all of this? Well, we are still looking. Now that Chris is out of the woods, we have definitely shifted our focus although we are still fairly clueless as to how to truly track him down. But we are staying positive and sticking together as a family.

Which leads me to my final point. My family and I have truly been amazed and overwhelmed at the outpouring of support for Chris and the rest of us. Thank you so much for calling, writing, visiting, and generally sending positive vibes our way. Thank you also for sending funds to support Chris financially once reality truly sets in and the bills arrive. We are all very grateful for all of you and your support.

Alexandra
 
Alexandra,
this truly is fantastic news.

One point about finding the truck driver.
He did leave behind the piece of metal, a forklift truck tine if memory serves me well.
These will be specific to certain models of forklift truck and I would have thought police have it as evidence by now. Surely it should be possible to establish which model of forklift truck it was from, then try to work out which local companies use such trucks.
Then, find out if any sent some off for repair or disposal.
Failing that is there a scrap merchant who may have been transferring redundant scrap to their yard?
Just suggestions, we are all hoping this guy is found, and soon. It will make a big difference to the insurance situation, no?

Best regards to Chris and all the Haerter family.
 
Thats some good news, sounds like the will to get better is serving Chris well  :big thumb:
I do hope they find the truck driver, somebody knows who it is and  hopefully they will come forward.

Being home beats the hospital any day !

Thanks for the news

David
 
Hi all

Chris's mother Margot Haerter called me yesterday with some very good news. Chris has been released from the Kelowna Hospital and sent home to Nakusp to continue his recovery at home. Still lots of healing and recovery to go, and too early yet for prosthesis fitting, but apparently Chris is in great spirits and happy to be home, although still travelling as required to Kelowna for various medical appointments.

Margot has asked that I continue for now to hold the funds raised through laverdapedia until a clear purpose is established to use those funds for something for Chris's direct benefit, and shared with me that Chris has also received from the Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Group a direct donation of $1,000.00, a donation from various friends in Nakusp of roughly $600, and further direct donations from members of the laverdapia forum of roughly another $500, so his immediate short term needs are being met.

I haven't told Chris about the exact amount raised through laverdapedia as yet (approximately $4,100 U.S. estimated converted from the various currencies as at todays date) but he made me laugh when he mentioned to me that he would like a purple carbon fiber prosthetic lower leg, complete with flames....... His mother Margot has some definite ideas about what would be a good use of donated funds for Chris, and I will be requesting input from those who donated when the time comes to disburse funds.....

Thanks to you all.

Paul LeClair
 
Paul LeClair said:
he would like a purple carbon fiber prosthetic lower leg, complete with flames.......
Click to expand...

That's fantastic! To be able to see an amputation as an opportunity to have a bit of fun says a lot about his state of mind. He must be a resilient guy to have such enthusiasm about a prosthetic leg. I believe some people with artificial legs have different prostheses for different purposes.

I saw a bloke on TV the other day with a wee video camera mounted in his artificial eye. He calls himself "Eyeborg"  :smiley:  He was talking about a group of people with various prostheses who were fitting interesting devices to them either for practicality or just for fun. They call it "pimping their gimp". Here's his website about it http://www.mediaite.com/columnists/eyeborg-top-11-cyborgs-of-the-aughts/. They're thinking about their prosthetics not as simply filling in the gap of a missing limb, but an actual augmentation of function and style.

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not trying to be flippant about Chris' very serious injury. But if I'm ever in his situation (and it could happen to any of us - motorcyclists are a high risk group for losing limbs), I'd want to have some fun with it. I'd be out in the workshop fitting all sorts of wierd gizmos.

So in the spirit of Chris' enthusiasm, one practical idea that comes to mind is a prosthesis with a small servo-motor to flex the ankle so he can change gear on his bike. There are heaps of fun possibilities too, like a built-in video camera to get an unusual angle on motorcycling vids (shin cam), a light so he can see where he's walking in the dark, or a compartment for a hip flask, lunch box, tool box, wallet, portable hard drive, ipod, whatever.

Cheers,
Cam



 
Chris youre right don t think orange would have worked,(flames just wouldn t show up :D)Paul pass it on plse.

Shaun
 
I'm very happy to receive this news.  Thank you for the update, Paul.
 
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