Bad choices equal a broken back, punctured spleen a collapsed lung.....

[Zach]

Well I had my worst ever wreck on my 350x a few months ago at some sand dunes. I made a few bad choices. I went out alone at night in a place I had not been in a year so was not very familiar with it. I stopped to pee and when i got back on ended up being a little farther down the dunes than I realized, I went up a good size dune and instead of a nice gradual hill off the back side it was an 8 ft drop off. I went over the handle bars and my 350x landed on top of me. I laid there for about ten minutes trying to catch my breath before I got up and flipped my bike back over, I was in alot of pain, but was alone so I got on and after another 5-10 minutes finally got it started. Probably another 10 minutes to get back to camp, by the time I got to camp I couldnt get off my bike or even really do anything more than make animal type noises. My wife called an ambulance that took an hour to get there. The most awsome thing was they had no pain killers on this ambulance to I had to wait an hour long ride ot meet up with an ambulance that had pain killers on it. I eventualy was airlifted from the eastern half of Washington state to a trauma hospital (Harborview) near Seattle

I ended up breaking my back in 2 places, had a collapsed lung, 2 punctures in my spleen, a broken left ankle that now has a 6 inch plate and 6 screws in it, and 6 ribs broken in multiple places. Because of the collapsed lung I had to have a chest tube in for almost 2 weeks to suck fluid out and keep my lung from collapsing again. The tube they insert directly in your side and use thepressure from two ribs they spread apart to hold it in place (very painful)

Another painful lesson learned, I should have listened to that little voice in my head that kept saying "this is a bad idea"

[hawaiirider]

sorry to hear that... i live in the dunes and know them like the back of my hand but still dont ride at night much, its just dangerous. a 350x is a heavy bike, reason my buddies and i all ride 200x's. get well

[phantomtracer]

Wow! That sounds horrible. Glad you are ok, did you crest the dune going fast?
Were you drinking alcohol?

[kazander]

That's gonna hurt for a while. get well and try it again the daytime. I hope all goes well during healing.

[atc007]

Really sorry to hear this. Hope you get back on your feet soon. You are obviously one tough SOB. You had injuries that would have left a lot out there to die. To mention kickstarting a,,,,350X,,, to make it back. Good luck. :)

[keister]

......To mention kickstarting a,,,,350X,,, to make it back. Good luck. :)

That was the first thing that popped into my head. What if we would have broken his right ankle instead? This story might have a very different outcome.

Hope the healing process goes well.

[knappyfeet]

Well I hope you heal quickly and well. I am too old and fat to do what I did in my stupid youth....I've learned my lessons. Now I just have fun trial riding and limited dune stuff...just for enjoyment.

A customers brother n law fell off his quad what she described as "not violently" ....... But violent enough to break his shoulder and rupture his aorta where he internally bled to death at Glamis....I think glamis. Ever since I heard that I've been a little more reserved.

[Mr. Clean]

I made a few bad choices.


a 350x is a heavy bike, reason my buddies and i all ride 200x's.

Your lucky your not dead and it has nothing to do with trikes or style of trike you were on.

[Ol Deuce]

Because of the collapsed lung I had to have a chest tube in for almost 2 weeks to suck fluid out and keep my lung from collapsing again. The tube they insert directly in your side and use thepressure from two ribs they spread apart to hold it in place (very painful)

Another painful lesson learned, I should have listened to that little voice in my head that kept saying "this is a bad idea"

I hear you on the chest tube ...............They put one in for 3days it came and out then they put another in and that stayed for 2 weeks!!!!! Sure hope things are betternow after that mishap!!!!

[christph]

Wow, with an injure list like that you are lucky to be alive. I had a similar experience but it wasn't nearly as serious. I was alone on my motocross bike in the Arizona desert and crashed hard and broke my collar bone ripped some tendons in my leg. Like you it took 10 minutes or so for me to catch my breath. I managed to ride my bike back to the loading area and luckily there were a couple of guys there to load it for me--their was no way I could have done it myself. By the time I got to the hospital an hour later my body was completely locked up and I literally couldn't move my legs more than an inch with each step. That little adventure cost me 3000 bucks; your's sounds more expensive.

[honda atc guy]

WOW! You're a very lucky man. Take it easy and get well soon.

[jb2wheels]

Damn. That's a lot of hurt.

One of the reasons I rarely ride alone. I'll drive 500 mile to ride dunes with somebody...

Glad you're alive to tell the tale.

[hawaiirider]

my roomate (jumpiing jon) was absolutely nuts jumping trikes a yr ago, he sold his slow 200x to get a faster 350x, wrecked once on the 350x and sold it to go back to a 200x, weight does matter when it lands on you, i can personally say this as my big kx500 ended both my military and motocross career in one wreck when it landed on me. stay strong.

[UPNATM]

Damn, im glad you were able to ride back for help considering the amount of injuries you had.
Get well soon man...

[Ghostv2]

That's some eye opening stuff, considering 95% of the time I ride alone since I live right next to the woods. I've had experiences with broken bones and atv's and when your adrenalin wears off, that body part quickly becomes useless. Mine was nothing that serious, so the worse part was waiting to ride again since it was my throttle hand.

Speedy recovery my friend, the back is no joke and I can attest to that first hand. I hope it all heals up and doesn't give you problems for the rest of your life. That's what I would be worried about at this point. Even something like a broken ankle can change your life if it doesn't heal up well.

You are a trooper, I would of laid there and cried lol.

[greenhuman]

I stubbed my toe the other day........

[YTZ drew]

Sorry to hear of your crash, but glad you made it out of there! As everyone else has already said, you're a tough one!

Your story is making me think twice about some of my own riding habits. I too live right on a trail, and tend to venture out ~5 miles or so, usually alone.

[Mr. Clean]

my roomate (jumpiing jon) was absolutely nuts jumping trikes a yr ago, he sold his slow 200x to get a faster 350x, wrecked once on the 350x and sold it to go back to a 200x, weight does matter when it lands on you, i can personally say this as my big kx500 ended both my military and motocross career in one wreck when it landed on me. stay strong.

Yeah your right. I would rather have a 30 pound lighter machine get dropped on me from roughly 8 feet (as estimated by the original poster) added to the momentum of the machine in motion.

[Degoragon]

Wow, I'm amazed you lived, much less rode back, well then again, my grandpa drove himself to the hospital while having a stroke, so it just comes to show you how resilient the human body can be at times. Hope you can ride again!

[sledcrazyinCT]

Take care of yourself and give your body the time to heal. Thankful you were able to recover after the accident and get back to your campsite for help!

Please keep us updated on how you recuperate from this accident. Also let us know if you need any parts to get the 350X back together.