[OKDXA] And I Thought I Had Problems

[Coy Day]

18 Dec 2002
>From "Les Buchholz - KL7J" <lbuch@gci.net>

I lost my 160 Inv L to a moose today.   Got into it and broke it off at tree
top level leaving the ropes entangled in the tree tops so now I have one
part hanging in multiple tree tops and the other part a pile of wire under
snow.

I am off 160 mtrs for now.  How to get that pulley rope back down that broke
off up there and restringing it is something I will have to see if we
can shoot the remainder with a bow and pull it down to restring.  For now, I
am outta business on 160. I'll see if I can get some help, as I can't do
much with this broken back yet.

I broke my back near the Harding Ice Field near Seward.  I snowmachined off
a 40 foot cliff and with very little incline to feather out in bad
light.  The machine hit nose first and tossed me into the ground then
"mauled" me.

They took me out by medical rescue helicopter and I was at 94 degrees body
temp, so they flew me to Anchorage.

I shattered two vertebrae, mashed a third, crushed 4 ribs, tore one knee up
and had to have seven bone fusions.  They put two rods and two cross
braces in my back attached to my ribs for life to hold me up and I spent 12
days in hospital in ICU.  A miracle that I was not paralyzed with  shattered
vertebrae around the spinal cord.  I am limited to 10 lbs carrying weight
for a year.  Just came off drugs two months ago for pain.  Quite an ordeal.

Les