wayniac
Bicycle
During our SE area spring rally one of our members had an unfortunate accident.
Firas is a newer member that some may not yet know. He came up to the Maggie Valley event as his first out of town COG event as far as I know and joined in with a group of 4 to go ride. On day one he was just getting the feel of riding in the mountains and by two he was riding pretty well. Unfortunately on Hwy 28 just past Fontana Village and the Pit Stop Firas left the road on a downhill right hander.
He crossed over the yellow and struck the hillside on the opposite side of the road.
Firas was # 3 rider in line and the 4 rider told me that when Firas entered the corner he never leaned or touched the brakes.
This will become important.....please read on.
The number 2 rider told me over the headsets that 3 and 4 weren't behind us any longer.
We turned around at the first opportunity to head back. We found Firas and his bike off the road with bystanders picking it up off of him. Firas was under the bike. Myself and the #2 rider are both Paramedics with 24 and 30+ years of experience respectively. We both went into professional mode.
The immediate relief was that Firas was conscious alert and breathing but he wasn't without injury. He complained of shoulder pain on both sides, leg pain, bleeding from his chin area, various other injury sites. We questioned and assessed him and sent someone to call 911 as no cell service exists there.
The volunteer rescue squad BLS (Basic Life Support) took probably 30-45 minutes to get there. They took him away to intercept with an ALS (Advanced Life Support) Paramedic team.
With the additional personnel and equipment that we riders didn't have they determined he was injured badly enough to justify a helicopter transport to the trauma center at University of Tennessee Knoxville.
The next order of business was to notify his family which I have some experience with but let me tell you it was tough and she had a really rough time with it at first. I've been in communication with both Firas and his girlfriend Claribel and they have been strong throughout this whole ordeal. Claribel started handling business and drove straight through to visit with Firas.
We got word later that evening that he had fractures to his L humerus and R clavicle along with a skull fracture. Fortunately the skull fracture was a misdiagnosis from a bad radiology scan and a repeat scan ruled that out.
During the wait for help Firas told me that he had felt lightheaded and dizzy a few corners earlier and thought he should pull over and figure out what was going on, we all wish he had. Firas told me that he remembers feeling like he was about to pass out and then coming to in the ditch. For these reasons I suspect a medical issue caused the crash. Let's count our blessings that no oncoming vehicles were met.
I'm sorry to be so long winded but I know that there will be many questions asked.
I have Firas's permission to tell the group about his accident and post updates.
As you might imagine it's a busy, exhausting time for Firas, Claribel and his family.
Please post your well wishes here if you're so inclined. I'll be sure to get a link to this thread to Firas.
He's scheduled to have surgery today and I'll post any updates to this post as I can.
I'd like to remind everyone that the mountains are a fun place to ride but a bad place to get hurt. Help is a long way out.
Updated 04/29/19 1845
I just heard from Firas's girlfriend Claribel and the surgeries were lengthy but he came through it well. He now has a collection of plates and screws.
Update 04/30/19 1225
Latest text message from Claribel.
He's doing a bit better . He's in a lot more pain than yesterday but that's because of the extensive amount of work they had to do during the surgery . They are keeping him comfortable. And he's resting
Update 05/01/19
Firas is supposed to be discharged this morning and heading out for the long trip home.
Firas is a newer member that some may not yet know. He came up to the Maggie Valley event as his first out of town COG event as far as I know and joined in with a group of 4 to go ride. On day one he was just getting the feel of riding in the mountains and by two he was riding pretty well. Unfortunately on Hwy 28 just past Fontana Village and the Pit Stop Firas left the road on a downhill right hander.
He crossed over the yellow and struck the hillside on the opposite side of the road.
Firas was # 3 rider in line and the 4 rider told me that when Firas entered the corner he never leaned or touched the brakes.
This will become important.....please read on.
The number 2 rider told me over the headsets that 3 and 4 weren't behind us any longer.
We turned around at the first opportunity to head back. We found Firas and his bike off the road with bystanders picking it up off of him. Firas was under the bike. Myself and the #2 rider are both Paramedics with 24 and 30+ years of experience respectively. We both went into professional mode.
The immediate relief was that Firas was conscious alert and breathing but he wasn't without injury. He complained of shoulder pain on both sides, leg pain, bleeding from his chin area, various other injury sites. We questioned and assessed him and sent someone to call 911 as no cell service exists there.
The volunteer rescue squad BLS (Basic Life Support) took probably 30-45 minutes to get there. They took him away to intercept with an ALS (Advanced Life Support) Paramedic team.
With the additional personnel and equipment that we riders didn't have they determined he was injured badly enough to justify a helicopter transport to the trauma center at University of Tennessee Knoxville.
The next order of business was to notify his family which I have some experience with but let me tell you it was tough and she had a really rough time with it at first. I've been in communication with both Firas and his girlfriend Claribel and they have been strong throughout this whole ordeal. Claribel started handling business and drove straight through to visit with Firas.
We got word later that evening that he had fractures to his L humerus and R clavicle along with a skull fracture. Fortunately the skull fracture was a misdiagnosis from a bad radiology scan and a repeat scan ruled that out.
During the wait for help Firas told me that he had felt lightheaded and dizzy a few corners earlier and thought he should pull over and figure out what was going on, we all wish he had. Firas told me that he remembers feeling like he was about to pass out and then coming to in the ditch. For these reasons I suspect a medical issue caused the crash. Let's count our blessings that no oncoming vehicles were met.
I'm sorry to be so long winded but I know that there will be many questions asked.
I have Firas's permission to tell the group about his accident and post updates.
As you might imagine it's a busy, exhausting time for Firas, Claribel and his family.
Please post your well wishes here if you're so inclined. I'll be sure to get a link to this thread to Firas.
He's scheduled to have surgery today and I'll post any updates to this post as I can.
I'd like to remind everyone that the mountains are a fun place to ride but a bad place to get hurt. Help is a long way out.
Updated 04/29/19 1845
I just heard from Firas's girlfriend Claribel and the surgeries were lengthy but he came through it well. He now has a collection of plates and screws.
Update 04/30/19 1225
Latest text message from Claribel.
He's doing a bit better . He's in a lot more pain than yesterday but that's because of the extensive amount of work they had to do during the surgery . They are keeping him comfortable. And he's resting
Update 05/01/19
Firas is supposed to be discharged this morning and heading out for the long trip home.
