Thoughts and prayers for Paddlenbike [Archive]

4x4mike

06-24-2009, 12:13 PM

I know Ken doesn't like the attention or people worrying about him but he is in the hospital right now after a fall while hiking this past Friday. He was hiking alone along the Yuba River on a narrow trail when he lost his footing.

Most of the details and the story is located in this blog his sister started for him.
http://kenemanuel.blogspot.com/

I spoke with Ken on the phone Friday night and he sounded great and let me tell you it was great hearing his voice. I spoke with Ken and his sister on Saturday morning and he was in good spirits. During Saturday's surgery he received a titanium plate to hold his cheek bone together and some pins and a bar to stabilize his right wrist.

He went in for surgery this morning to repair his pelvis which is good news. The past few days they were thinking they would have to postpone the surgery because Ken was still bleeding internally and needed 2 transfusions. I've gone into see him twice and he looks great. Well the first visit was a real eye opener but 2 days later he looked, to me, as if it had been 2 weeks. He's healing fast and is in hardcore restoration mode and it shows.

I just wanted to let the UY gang know that one of their own is currently down but he'll be back and quick.

JOSHH

06-24-2009, 12:32 PM

Praying.

Good Times

06-24-2009, 12:44 PM

holy crap! wishing him a speedy recovery. Please keep us posted on his recovery process.

Scuba

06-24-2009, 12:51 PM

Awful news.
He and his family will be in my prayers tonight.

4x4mike

06-24-2009, 12:51 PM

Thanks guys and I will update as best as I can. Right now his sister and Mom are with him at the hospital and are updating the blog. I think the blog is a great way for everyone near and far to be kept up to date. His poor family is getting the same questions from everyone and their mom and most of the time it's from people they don't know.

I think that once his surgeries are complete and he is stable they will transfer him to Kaiser. The helicopter took him to Sutter so he'll remain there until he's stable or until Kaiser stops paying the bill. Either way I'm sure before too long he'll want out of the hospital and into the sunshine.

X-Tool Pimp

06-24-2009, 01:06 PM

Holy crap Ive been hiking up there many times....... Hope hes doing well prayers are on there way.

FYI Sutters a really good hospital :thumbup:

4x4mike

06-24-2009, 01:10 PM

The hospital and care seem to be top notch.
I've had some hospital experence with Kaiser and I would say it's good but I was never in for anything too bad.

Nick

06-24-2009, 02:05 PM

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, lost 40% of his blood?! Oh my...but... from what I read he has a very strong spirit and that's reassuring to know. A strong will helps folks get through. Prayers nevertheless indeed; my best wishes to your speedy recovery Ken.

YotaFun

06-24-2009, 02:20 PM

Thoughts and prayers sent!
I was reading and nearly choked cause I was breathless the entire time.
What a strong guy.

Wishes for a speedy recovery here from PA.

4x4mike

06-24-2009, 02:48 PM

lost 40% of his blood?! Oh my

Yeah. I guess he got a transfusion when they brought him in. He was in good spirits because he said he asked for Lance Armstrong blood and was bummed when they didn't have any. He just hoped they didn't pump him full of over weight, smokers blood.

I've heard todays surgery is over and everything went as good as they could have hoped for. They say he is in a lot of pain though. I know I would be if someone cut me open, went at me with power tools and filled me with hardware and metal.

slosurfer

06-24-2009, 03:52 PM

Damn! Prayers sent..

Left him a comment on his blog. Thanks for letting us know Mike

4x4mike

06-24-2009, 04:18 PM

Awesome. His mom and sister have been reading him the blog and his emails to help pass the time. He told Marin he felt as if the clock was moving backwards.

DHC6twinotter

06-24-2009, 04:19 PM

Wow....I'll definately keep him in my prayers.

Whitey

06-24-2009, 04:24 PM

Dialing up a prayer for him.

CJM

06-24-2009, 06:11 PM

Geez, talk about a bad fall! Thank god hes ok and pulling thru it!

RobG

06-24-2009, 09:21 PM

Crap, I guess you never know whats next.

Ken, thoughts and prayers for a quick recovery.

AxleIke

06-24-2009, 09:23 PM

Whoo. Prayers sent!! Glad he is doing okay.

reggie 00

06-24-2009, 09:37 PM

Checking the Blog now,

Let me know if there is anything i can do.

4x4mike

06-25-2009, 05:53 PM

I spoke with Ken on the phone yesterday and he seemed to be in some pain but said the surgery went well. I guess the doctors were saying recovery would take 6 months but now they are saying 3 months :clap: :drink:

The blog has been really nice to follow as he has many friends. Hell, I'm local but still have to work so I check it constantly. My wife sent a shot out to him on her blog (http://craftierinnie.blogspot.com/). I guess his mom and sister were following it as well. She also put a beater post on there for him.

slosurfer

06-25-2009, 06:11 PM

Mike, thanks for letting us know and keeping us updated. :thumbup: I'm looking for beaters with automatics now for his recovery. :D

slosurfer

06-25-2009, 06:30 PM

Mike, thank your wife for the new avatar too! :laugh: Were you guys really making "bacon explosion"? That's awesome!

habanero

06-25-2009, 07:12 PM

Eekers! Best and sturdiest wishes, of course. With all that metal I guess they were right,
What doesn't kill you really does make you stronger!

(now where did I put that pic of Chris in a hospital dress....)

4x4mike

06-25-2009, 07:28 PM

Mike, thank your wife for the new avatar too! :laugh: Were you guys really making "bacon explosion"? That's awesome!

I've got a couple more pictures but I'm keeping them for a special day. That picture is from new years. Ken showed up with some awesome stuffed mushrooms and a "special" dish. We broiled that sucker and filled it with cheese. We also feasted on cornish game hens and a bunch of other food. That bacon explosion almost caused an explosion. We had a fire in the fire place that night and when we woke up our house smelled like camping. Smoke, bacon and farts.

bamachem

06-25-2009, 08:24 PM

prayers sent...

Bob98SR5

06-26-2009, 07:27 AM

holy shizzle!!! ken, get better soon, man. mike, thanks for the post.

4x4mike

06-26-2009, 04:54 PM

Marin and I went to see Ken this morning and he's looking better and better. He's super tired but were keeping him awake so the therapists go do their work on him and they are trying to get him on a schedule. Hip surgery is done and I'm bummed Marin got to see the scar but not me. I'm thinking my only chance will be if he gets crazy drunk at a party or something and gets down to his tighty whities (I don't see this happening though).

Good news is that he is stable enough to transfer to Kaiser. They said it was going to be today but didn't know when or even which location. I see this as good because it means he's stable and healthy. He doesn't see it the same. His concern is that he's going to have to meet a new team of doctors and surgeons have them get his meds right. I think that as long as he's got another hot woman nurse to care for him he'll forget about everything else.

He's doing good and I hope he gets his rest.

ttora4runner

06-26-2009, 05:39 PM

Here's to a speedy recovery. :angel:

slosurfer

06-26-2009, 06:06 PM

Mike, thanks for the updates. Glad to hear that he is stable enough to move, and I understand him being afraid of a new group of docs/nurses. We went through the same emotions when we got new nurses when Jack was in the NICU. :laugh: You want to see Ken in tighty whities! :laugh:

Oh yeah and when I first read your update, I read it like this:

Marin and I went to see Ken this morning and he's looking better and better. He's super tired but were keeping him awake so the rapists go do their work on him .....

:laugh: Let us know when he is well enough to start sending care packages to him. :thumbup:

4x4mike

06-26-2009, 06:23 PM

I think he's well enough to receive stuff. The ward he's been in since last Friday doesn't allow anything alive so no puppies or flowers. Oh and no one under 13 for some reason. Actually I think it's because there are a lot of scary looking people up there and under 13 years olds seem to make a lot of noise and mess. It's a nuero trama unit so it's serious stuff and they need it clean and quiet. On that note, no glitter bombs either.

If you wanted to you could send something to my house and I can take it over to him.

4x4mike

06-27-2009, 09:23 PM

Ken's at Kaiser as of yesterday afternoon. This morning he was still in ICU but they were talking about moving him to the orthopedic unit because he wasn't really fitting all the criteria for ICU any more (go Ken!) and in orthopedics they could better tend to his needs and healing. His face has cleared up nicely and most of the bruising and swelling is gone. His right hand (the bad one) is hurting him a lot but it's because of the angle they have it stabilized. It needs to be at the angle for healing and to relieve pressure on the plate in his wrist. His other arm/wrist is going to get a cast as it's not as bad. I think his hip is doing well as he's more concerned with the right hand pain and damaged nerves in his leg. Kaiser's ICU doesn't have wi-fi like at Sutter so his blog time has been cut but his sister is adding to it when she can. I know he's been reading it because he brings it up and told me he found out about the quote of the day. I guess he got onto the blog through his cell phone and read up, he said it was good though and he's glad people are reading and commenting.

He said his pain was at a 7 and the nice nurse said that was no good so I think she's going to bring that number down for him. She said his condition is at a 5 (which sounded good for ICU) and that a #5 condition shouldn't be at a #7 pain.

carljwnc

06-28-2009, 08:56 AM

I'm not on here very often, and I don't know Ken really, But, I sure can and will offer up my thoughts and prayers for Ken. :angel:

Ken, wishing you a speedy recovery, sounds like you've got a great attitude and you'll be back out there soon!!! :thumbup:

04 Rocko Taco

06-29-2009, 07:53 AM

Praying for you buddy! Hope to see you back out soon!

slosurfer

06-29-2009, 06:41 PM

Ken's going to be the new Steve Austin :thumbup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7zNY0I5JNI

cplvc

06-30-2009, 07:58 AM

I just read this wow, praying for your speedy recovery Ken!

4x4mike

06-30-2009, 08:05 PM

Good news boys, Ken's getting discharged. Talk this afternoon was that tomorrow he's out of there. He's mobile, we'll enough to get out of bed and take care of business, mobile. All of this is really good. I'm sure there will be a new learning curve and he'll be in some pain but all in all I'm really happy for him.

Thanks for adding to this post. Now that he's out of the hospital he'll have some time to catch up.

slosurfer

06-30-2009, 08:36 PM

That's awesome news! Way to go Ken!

:clap: :clap:

4x4mike

06-30-2009, 08:40 PM

Dude, he's hardcore. He went through a lot, has been taking it like a champ and is already shifting gears on the road to recovery.

Good Times

06-30-2009, 10:25 PM

wow sent home already eh? man he really must have pissed everyone one off :P

great news! now he can lay back and catch up here :D hehe

Bob98SR5

06-30-2009, 10:29 PM

friggin 6 million dollar man. happy recovery at home time, ken!

Nick

07-01-2009, 11:40 AM

There's no place like home to get well :-) Those are great news!

04 Rocko Taco

07-01-2009, 12:30 PM

No more ho tnurses to hit on either.... :( J/K bud! Hope everything goes well a thome! Speedy recovery!

paddlenbike

07-02-2009, 05:34 PM

slosurfer

07-02-2009, 05:48 PM

Ken, glad to hear you are out of the hospital and on the way to recovery. I will now commence to post "beaters" for you to look at. :laugh:

4x4mike

07-02-2009, 08:14 PM

i can't thank you all enough for your thoughts and prayers. like mike said, i was discharged and am temorarily living with my sister and her husband--they live only a few miles from my home. my mom is staying here too until i am mable to completely care for myself. with two fractured wrists and a fractured pelvis among other things, i can't get around very well right now, much less drive. typing speed sucks too. i am very fortunate that my injuries were not more severe and i have wonderful friends and family. for example, mike and his wife marin have visited me in the hospital nearly every-other day and i can't begin to explain how appreciated it is and how much more enjoyable it made my long-ish hospital stay.

thank you all again for everything, i look forward to catching up with you.

Look at you! On the computer burning it up. Welcome back. I wasn't sure if you wanted a thread like this or not but then I realized you couldn't do anything about it. Are they treating you right at your new place? I think we need to have a lunch time party over there. It can be just wild enough to cause some ruckus but short enough that we can leave before Jen and Joe come home. If you've got the Satellite Sebring we can do one tire fryers up and down Park. They'll never think it was you.

Seanz0rz

07-02-2009, 08:51 PM

Glad you're ok and home! See you in pismo

CJM

07-03-2009, 04:31 PM

Glad to hear your doing good!

Bob98SR5

07-03-2009, 11:10 PM

Ken,

Which finger are you typing with?!? :D

Great that you're back, take it easy, speed. Lord knows you'll want to get back in the saddle. Take your time, amigo

Bob

4x4mike

10-14-2009, 08:30 AM

So it's been about 4 months now and Ken is back to work. Some even saw him out at Pismo doing his best getting around in the sand. It appears that his rehab and physical therapy is working because he's at work, although I'm sure in some pain and discomfort, with no walker or wheelchair :thumbup:. He's even doing a little driving here and there. He's got pain and limited movement in his right leg/foot as well as his right wrist. It's a good thing he drives a 4Runner though. Even with his limted mobility and the crappy weather we had yesterday he's still able to make doctors appointment and get to work on time. Notice the "wake" or lack there of from the other vehicles?

Source where he found himself.
http://www.surewest.net/news/read.php?ps=1018&rip_id=%3CD9BAK6200%40news.ap.org%3E&_LT=HOME_LARSDCCI1_UNEWS

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/MISC/b2cfaaff-c93e-4bc5-aaf0-eb8ced2df82.jpg

Okie81

10-14-2009, 11:28 AM

^^Great shot! There was a whole lot of deep water yesterday and everyone was pounding through it. It was nice not to be one of the Civic's/Metro's/Passats stalled on the side of the road.

slosurfer

10-14-2009, 11:48 AM

:spit: Is that really him? :laugh: That's awesome! I think I can see the smile on his face while doing that. :thumbup:

4x4mike

10-14-2009, 12:39 PM

:spit: Is that really him? :laugh: That's awesome! I think I can see the smile on his face while doing that. :thumbup:

Totally him. He called me earlier in the day saying he had been bombing down that highway drowning other cars. Then this morning that link was making it's way through the office. There is no doubt he had a grin on his face while going through. It's an AP photo so it's made it's rounds (yahoo news, etc). He's getting out there, this photo and the ones from his accident that were in the news and paper.

Time of day, location, bug deflector, Micro DE's on an SR5 with the limited fender flares. Paddle & bike (paddenbike) Yakima rack.

4x4mike

10-14-2009, 12:46 PM

Busted

Pre Micro DE's and bug guard

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/MISC/DSC_0229.jpg

Just pre bug guard

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/MISC/DSC_0295.jpg

Documented mod
"Hood Guard" (http://www.ultimateyota.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=6060.0)

paddlenbike

10-14-2009, 05:43 PM

Too funny. My undercarriage looks brand spankin' new now. I also pressure washed the cars next to me at no charge.

slosurfer

10-14-2009, 05:47 PM

I found a sweet 2 door automatic Pinto on craigslist for $800, that I was going to send you the link to, but looks like you're doing just fine driving the hell out of your 4runner. :thumbup: :laugh:

Bob98SR5

10-14-2009, 08:41 PM

fargin awesome, ken!

Obi..

10-14-2009, 08:51 PM

LMFAO! Poor Honda owner's going "Oh yeah, I'll be a little late into the, CRAP! What the? Stinking California 4Runner owners!"

:D Just tell them you were doing consulting and research for flood control services! ;)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3423/3351241184_5907a329fa_o.jpg

Crinale

10-15-2009, 12:18 AM

thats awesome that you got the shot... haha... of all the random timing

4x4mike

10-15-2009, 07:54 AM

thats awesome that you got the shot... haha... of all the random timing

An AP photographer got the shot. Random but also awesome.

Crinale

10-15-2009, 11:15 AM

i meant you as in paddlenbike got in the shot... it is very cool ^_^

paddlenbike

10-15-2009, 11:48 AM

The photographer was probably standing there half the day waiting for someone to do it--I suppose I just put on a better show than everyone else. :D I did not see him or her standing there.

Since it was an Associated Press photo I am willing to bet this is not the last time we see that pic, especially when that section of highway floods again. It was all over the news since tax payers paid $33M for Caltrans (our highway department) to repair southbound I-5--the roadbase sits below the level of the adjacent river (the largest river in California) and it has flooded every year. Obviously the problem has not been fixed.