October 13, 2009; a month and a day since I broke my mountain bike helmet and it seems like a good time to let everyone know how I am feeling.

Grateful. (I believe this could have been one of Scoutmaster Russell’s Word of the Year)

Not everyone who comes off a mountain bike at 30 to 35 MPH is able to so easily write or talk about such an experience. I am grateful that the medical care I have received has been so good. The emergency care and resulting surgery have gone well. My surgeon had at least three churches helping him with their prayers (Cross Word Baptist, Mission San Luis Rey parish, and East Vegas Christian) and I am sure many individuals were praying, too. No doubt about it, God does answer our prayers. I will be using a sling to rest my left shoulder for at least one more week.

I am grateful for the first aid I receive at the accident scene. Due to the concussion I suffered, I did not realize how much potential there was for this situation to become very dangerous. In the days and weeks since the accident, I have had conversations with many of the scouters and scouts and have learned how the troop performed and responded to the situation at the scene. Many of the actions, in my opinion, could not have carried out any better. I have lost about 2 hours memory from that day; from maybe 20 seconds before the accident to a couple of hours after, so I am still learning about many of the things that were done to help me.

I am most grateful to the Lord for giving me the wisdom to put on a bike helmet. The helmet is broken; crushed and cracked at least five places, with a small rock still embedded in it. [Photos of the helmet are in the image gallery; 2009/Brian Head Mtn. Biking] For anyone who does any activity like bike riding (motor or otherwise), rock climbing, any contact sports including football, hockey (and even lacrosse), WEAR A HELMET.

For those of you who don’t know what happened, here is what happened? (I told you I don’t remember most of this, so any text in italics this is based on what many have told me and I probably still don’t have all of it right).

On September 12, 2009 B.S.A. Troop 256 was enjoying a mountain biking activity in southwestern Utah in the vicinity of Brian Head ski area in the Dixie National Forest, Utah. There were 33 bike riders (23 scouts and 10 adult scouters) from the troop; all riders were wearing helmets. The riders were all traveling on the same trail, the Sydney Peaks/Bunker Creek Trail, which is 12 miles in length. The trail begins at Brian Head Peak, elevation 11,307’, and ends at approximately 8000’ elevation. I have been on this trip the previous eight years and have ridden this particular trail six times before. So I was very familiar with the trail.

At 2:15 P.M. on the Bunker Creek Trail below the fork of Bunker Creek, the troop began the last leg of the trail a little less than 5 miles from the end. This part of the trail is relatively smooth and double-tracked whereas the first part of the trail is a steep, technical, single track. About half of the group took off, spaced out with 100’ to 150’ feet between each rider. Three adults, Alejandro Corral, Jason Letkiewicz, who are both Assistant Scoutmasters, and Alex Sánchez, began the ride next with Letkiewicz and Sánchez together and Corral about 100’ behind. After riding for no more than three quarters of a mile, Sánchez was about 40’ behind Letkiewicz and closing and had called out twice that he was going to pass on the left. A smooth bump (8 inches high) in the trail was ahead as the riders were traveling 30 to 35 M.P.H. downhill. Sánchez landed the jump and attempted to stop short of hitting a small tree which was laying across the left half the trail but his bike ends up with the front and rear tires skidding sideways right up to a rock that was exposed to the surface but mostly underground. Sánchez hit the rock with the front wheel turned sideways, propelling him over your handle bars to his left side. Letkiewicz hears the impact of Sánchez hitting the ground and turns to see Sánchez sliding on his head and left shoulder and passing him. Letkiewicz stops quickly and checks on Sánchez who is breathing but not moving and not responding to verbal questions. Letkiewicz did not move Sánchez because of the position his was in, and feared he might have neck injuries. Letkiewicz notices Corral coming down the train and calls to stop him and any other riders. Corral rides up as Letkiewicz calls to the next group of riders to stop and asks Mike Rush (Assistant Scoutmaster) to keep them from riding into the scene.

After Sánchez became conscious he exhibited signs of suffering from a concussion (nausea, retrograde amnesia, confusion, unable to remember the immediate conversation) for the next 90 minutes to 2 hours. During this time it was determined that was no serious physical injury to the Sánchez’s head and neck and that he was able to move on his own. It became apparent that the left shoulder was injured and a compression kit and jacket were used to put together a rudimentary sling to immobilize the shoulder. This also protected the injured ribs (fractured and bruised) although these injuries were not know at the time.

A U.S. National Forest ranger who was patrolling in the area on an ATV motorized 4-wheel bike arrived at the scene after about 90 minutes. He became aware of the accident by radio after the accident was called in to the 911 dispatch service. Sánchez was transported on the ATV for 4 miles to the end of the trail where an ambulance was waiting. The medical personnel examined him for skull and spinal injuries and then private transportation (Mr. Jarvis’ truck)was arranged to take Sánchez to the hospital in Cedar City, UT (35 miles away), which was better prepared to treat the potential head injury. (The ambulance was required to take any patient to a smaller hospital in a different direction.)

Sánchez arrived at the emergency room in Cedar City, UT at about 6:30 P.M. (about 4 hours after the accident). Computer tomography (CT) scans done at the Cedar City hospital indicated there were no skull or spine fractures and that there was no bleeding in either of these areas. At about 8 P.M., Mr. Sánchez was released to responsible adult care with instructions to monitor him for the next 24 hours including checking to see if he can be awakened every 2 to 3 hours. Ten days later reduction and fixation surgery on the left clavicle (bone alignment and stabilization by use of a plate and screws) was performed in Las Vegas, NV.

Injuries suffered during the crash included:
grade 3 (moderate) concussion (victim unconscious less than 5 minutes);
shattered left collarbone (two fractures and six fragments);
one fractured left rib;
neck and upper back sprains;
bruised left ribs, left shoulder, upper left arm, left hip, and left thigh;
skin abrasions on the left shoulder, left side of the back, left hip, left thigh, and left knee.

And I broke the bike helmet.

After thoughts:
(1) I realize it took about 4 days for the effects of the concussion to fade away. I know now that I had trouble concentrating on a single task for extended periods of time (5 – 10 minutes at first, up to 30 minutes after a few days). Yes, Donna, you are right; I should not have driven myself to the doctor appointment three days after the crash.
(2) Don’t let anyone tell you, “It will feel better after the surgery.” They are lying. What they should be saying is, “It will feel better 48 hours after the surgery.” The worst pain during all this happened in the first 48 hours after the surgery, which was ten days after the accident. But I’m still grateful that I had the surgery.
(3) If I had not crashed, then I would have passed everyone in front of me on the trail and finished in first.