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Well that was 10 days in the hospital with a chest tube. The doctor surgeons had multiple meetings on my situation for the best course of action. Most were stumped because after being on suction for a couple days, I no longer had air bubbles in my system but when they took me off suction, air bubbles returned. They said they rarely see that and felt after multiple attempts of doing the same thing over again without a different outcome that they needed to try alternatives with options. The main surgeon was great and explained everything to us and exactly why he choose the path. I knew the next step depending on the outcome, what was involved and recovery times depending on how the scenarios played out. They were trying to avoid surgery unless absolutely necessary.
Well after 2 hospitals and being medical evac air lifted to a 3rd and final trauma hospital, I was released last night around 9pm. We stayed in a nearby hotel to the hospital incase I had any complications.
We found a rental car about 30 minutes away and thankfully my mom who wanted to help knew someone in the Denver area and drove up to get us and take us to to get the car. I could not find an SUV rental with reasonable rates so we could grab the remaining parts that Noah and Ben took off my truck in the salvage yard. Travis in Littleton was holding the parts for me but there was no way to fit them in this Toyota Camry rental. My mom’s friend Lenny who gave us a ride tells us that he is planning on going to Missouri next week and he will grab the parts and bring them to me, Wow!
I plan on selling all my GEN1 take off parts to help with medical expenses too as I have no idea what these bills will entail. The hospital put most of the stay as an in-patient and our insurance only covers emergency service for out-of-network hospitals. So we don’t know what is covered and what is not. It’s definitely going to be a mess.
We are currently on our way home crossing boring Colorado / Kansas on Interstate 70 to Kansas City then will head south to Springfield. We will probably take our time and stop halfway to rest for the night near Salina, KS and be home tomorrow.
Once home, we are getting with a local trauma surgeon for a follow-up to make sure everything is well.
What an adventure that I never want to experience again.
Thanks everyone for listening. My wife is still so impressed with the raptor community that she wants me to get back on the dirt and she even said she will ride with me again. This is absolutely the best group of folks and community that I have ever belonged to and have made so many friends. I am still so truly humbled to be amongst all of you.
From the bottom of both our hearts, THANK YOU!