Close call for my son

Tincanfireman

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So, my son decides to go ATVing yesterday with some friends in the National Forest not far from the house. He and his friends are all in their 20's and fairly experienced riders, but my son has been off them for a couple years due to job requirements (meaning; too busy to ride). Anyway, on the way to the forest he makes the best decision of his life and goes to Wal-Mart for a new helmet. $50 later they are out riding and having a wonderful time. Miles of trails and hours pass and they find themselves back near the trucks, tired but OK. Approaching the trucks, they spy a bank of dirt that has been shaped into a curving bowl by riders on an adjacent trail. Deciding "one last jump" is appropriate before calling it a day, the first guy catches air and lands safely. My son then approaches *but missed third gear on the manual shift rig*!. Over the top he goes, but too slowly. On landing, he caught the front wheels in a small ditch at the bottom of the bowl, driving him forward and into the handlebars. He was able to get up, albeit with a swollen, bloody nose and lip, assorted scrapes and a horribly bruised ego. More importantly, the full-face helmet he was wearing was pretty much destroyed, with the chin guard split completely in two from impacting the bars. I cannot imagine what his injuries would have been without the helmet, but I will guess that it would have been more than a swollen face and a blood blister inside his upper lip. Kind of like the old MasterCard commercials:

Gas for the ATV: $10
New brainbucket for the ride: $50
Preventing thousands of dollars in hospital bills and permanent disfiguration: Priceless!!!
 

MMiz

I put the M in EMTLife
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I read through your post trying to skip ahead to see how it turned out. I'm glad his injuries were relatively minor.

I've heard of some absolutely horrible injuries that have happened on ATVs. I even had a partner that nearly lost her son on an ATV accident. He spent months in the ICU at a children's hospital.

I'm glad it worked out, and I'm glad he bought the helmet. I would suggest buying a new helmet. Through my PR education at the ambulance service I work for, I know that helmets can break and it's not visible until the person gets in another accident, and the protection isn't there.

Take care,
 

Celtictigeress

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glad to know hes alright...hope the ego fixes itsself soon
 

dross

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That's great that your son is okay. I've flipped four wheelers, and three wheelers over, and it's never fun.
 

Chimpie

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First, I'm glad you're son is okay.

Second, I'd write and send pictures of the helmet to the manufacturer. Many times they can improve on a product after a real-life incident. They may even send you a new one free.
 

EMTBandit

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Wow, glad your son is ok and not hurt anymore than he was. I can only imagine how it would have turned out if he hadn't of been wearing that helmet.
 

TheDoll

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i am sooo glad that your son is okay. what a smart kid you raised for him to wear a helmet! i always appreciate hearing stories that might get someone to think twice about getting on certain vehicles without one.
i had a friend in highschool/college who died from riding her mountain bike without a helmet. she had a major head injury that a helmet most certainly would have prevented.
i have another friend who was in a motorcycle accident a few years ago, and he will never be the same bc he didn't wear a helmet. he will never practice law again. in fact, he will just barely hold a really low level job for the rest of his life. also, his personality is so different that some of his older friends don't really like him as much as they used to.
so, thank you for this thread, and hopefully it will get some more people to use helmets!
 

SwissEMT

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You've got a kid with a good head on his shoulders bud

Glad to hear he's okay.
 
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Tincanfireman

Tincanfireman

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Ironically (and tragically) a 15 year old boy was killed the same day in a neighboring town. He was apparently riding a go-cart (no helmet) when he stopped short and an ATV that was behind him didn't stop, driving the kid's head forward. He was removed from life support the following morning due to massive brain damage. They said that a helmet might have made all the difference... :sad:
 
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