The weekend trip to the North Hills Sand Dunes was full of surprises. We hit a wicked hail storm on the way out but as Friday night drew near the skies turned clear and the Wyoming sunset was ours for the taking. We headed out with a crew of 15 or so MX and ATV peeps. Friday night was a blast we rode into the night and partied fireside till the wee morning hours. Next day we got an early start in the sand and it was SWEEEEET!
It wasn’t till Saturday afternoon when things got scary…
Primalfly’s own Erin (pictured above) got into a near-fatal accident, and it was a traumatic nail biting experience for the entire crew. Erin is a highly experienced rider, but sometimes “shit happens” - in this case it did so tenfold. While driving out to the dunes, Erin accidentally hit a washout and flipped over her handlebars. She put her arms out to break the fall and royally jacked her left one. The elbow bent 180 degrees backwards, ripping through her skin, pulling all the muscles, tendons and ligaments away. Additionally, she severed the main artery in her arm, and started bleeding profusely. Luckily, Brother Jon found Erin only minutes later and applied a tourniquet. She was out of it and in shock in a matter of minutes - paramedics arrived promptly and called an airlift in immediately. Unfortunately, a tornado warning delayed the chopper, so we waited urgently in the ambulance. An hour had went by and still no chopper - I said dude…WTF! We have to go! NOW! So, with that said we began the arduous 6 mile trek down the bumpy dirt road, only to wind up pulling a 90 mile trip to the nearest hospital…in Laramie Wyoming.
Let me just tell you, when paramedics start losing their cool about stablizing someone…especially when it’s a loved one….this is a conversation that leaves a gaping hole into your soul.
We arrived at Laramie and doctors told me she is lucky to be alive, but she will lose the arm. We are not out of the woods yet…she needs life-flighting to a trauma facility that can treat these injuries accordingly. We are just not staffed to handle this type of trauma. FUUUUCCCCKKKKKK!!!!!!!!! An hour later, Erin gets a helicopter ride to Loveland Trauma Center, Colorado. They didn’t have room on the chopper for me, but luckily our mini-bitch Gracie hit overdrive, pulling a four and a half hour round-trip to scoop me up.
Erin ended up with a massive five hour surgery, and had some angels in her corner. The doctors were amazed to have saved her arm. They cut some veins out of her leg to splice the severed artery. She is now stable and on the road to recovery. The bike is trashed, but who cares - Erin is one tough chick to grind it out. You can see from the pictures this was no carnival.
In closing, I expect extreme personalities will remain in a state of flux, searching for the next level of fulfillment…and in turn sometimes be contempt by those consequences. I guess that’s the chances we take to lead an adventurous lifestyle.
I’d like to add, there is something to be said about living regret free: don’t sweat the small stuff. Try and love everyone around you and don’t hesitate to be righteous when the opportunity arises. People, friendships, family…it’s all that really matters. Be good to each other - you could easily blink an eye, and it could all be gone.
Much love and respect for all who lended a hand these last few days.
James
