Hospitalized but now at home

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lcrken said:
Good to see you finally on the recovery trail, John. I've been hoping you would be able to ride again. Wouldn't be the same on the Norton club rides without you to chase.

Ken
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How are you doing Ken ?
 
An old roadracing friend from my Griffith Park Street racing days came over and spent two days with me Saturday and Sunday his wife came with them and she was a wonderful help, especially since he is walking around on two artificial knees . We sat around and remember the good all days and laughed about things that happened 40 years ago

thanks again for all of your kind comments. Each day, so far, I accomplish little bit by bit improvements in my left arm’s Abilities
 
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xbacksideslider said:
Thank you all for your kind comments. It Will take time before I can ride again as my left arm is quite compromised in my right arm while functional has lost muscle strength both arms seem to improve with physical therapy and occupational therapy and I am optimistic about being fully functional soon. At this point I am ambulatory and I can get around without a walker although I am more safe and confident if I use the walker. This is a matter of muscle strength and loss of my sense of balance after being on my back in bed for five months

I lost weight, dropping from 275 pounds to 188 pounds between October 15 and March 13 the last day I was in the hospital.

as for the details of the accident, I cannot say because I have no recollection of what happened. I first became conscious about five weeks after the date of the accident when I came out of the drug induced coma that I have been placed in. The highway patrol officer who wrote up the incident was not a witness and his statements were cursory and indeterminate. All I know is that I was going slow in the slow lane because I was on a dirtbike with short gearing and white handlebars so my suspicion is it someone came flying through thinking there was a wide open spot to the rightAnd I just got run over. No one knows for sure
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Sounds like you are lucky to be alive. I hope you continue to improve. Did you get the bike back? Was there any clue as to what happened from the wreckage? Sounds like there should be witnesses but I'm guessing no one bothered to get involved.
 
Yes, bike recovered and repaired at no great expense. Gifted it to a friend who helped me greatly by selling off my old cars and old bikes while I was still in hospital.

My insurance covered 90 days of care on the ventilator and after that 90 days it expired and I had to pay $10,000/month but could get Medicare/MediCal to pay for it BUT I didn’t qualify for it because I owned too many vehicles! So six or seven cars and five or six MCs had to be sold.

Anyway, now there’s more room in the garage and lots more space in my big yard and my physical therapy progress continues and I hope to be riding again in 2022.
 
Glad to hear you’re back on top of things John and sincerely hope you get back in the saddle soon.

Stories like yours certainly put our NHS into perspective !
 
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Glad to hear of your progress John. Hope to see you back on one of the upcoming NOC rides. That is crazy they made you sell some of your vehicles. I wouldn't have ever thought they would look at DMV records to count your number of vehicles?
 
Thanks
I missed SoCalNorton ride. Could easily have gone to Hansen Dam in the car but forgot! the date. Missed you and Ken and others !

Tomorrow, BTW, is SoCal BSA all Brit dirt bike ride,
 
Fast Eddie said:
Glad to hear you back on top of things John and sincerely hope you get back in the saddle soon.

Stories like yours certainly out out NHS into perspective !
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Thank you Eddie. Perhaps this should be in a personal message but I’ll say it here anyway - It’s always a pleasure to read your well composed contributions on here. I have to admit, there are one or two who I have learned are not worth the effort to read. Yours, by contrast, always get my close attention.

With reference to NIH - My health insurance of many years has been and remains with Kaiser. They automatically provided me with a detailed statement of all services and charges that they provided for me from October 2020 to my release in March 2021 - $1.4 M. All related to the accident. They are still paying for my outpatient physical therapy and now are scheduled to pay for/provide me with two new cataract lenses for my eyes.

My wife was taken by cancer in 2019. Kaiser similarly paid for her care. That struggle went on for years. Kaiser went all out for her. Heroes.

My deductibles are limited to $4000 per year. For 2020 and 2021 I paid $8000 in deductibles.

For many years and Until I reached 65 years of age, I paid about $2000/month for me and a bit less for my wife. She passed before reaching 65 so I paid full rate for her all the way, Since reaching 65, Kaiser gets paid by/out of Social Security.

Now, if I hear someone denigrate Kaiser, I go out of my way to correct them.
 
xbacksideslider said:
Yes, bike recovered and repaired at no great expense. Gifted it to a friend who helped me greatly by selling off my old cars and old bikes while I was still in hospital.

My insurance covered 90 days of care on the ventilator and after that 90 days it expired and I had to pay $10,000/month but could get Medicare/MediCal to pay for it BUT I didn’t qualify for it because I owned too many vehicles! So six or seven cars and five or six MCs had to be sold.

Anyway, now there’s more room in the garage and lots more space in my big yard and my physical therapy progress continues and I hope to be riding again in 2022.
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great to hear you are continuing to progress. I must admit to being shocked at the cost of your medical bills, something that us in the UK don't have to contend with ( yet anyway) all the best for the future John.
 
Sam, I should clarify. I was released before that 90 day deadline ran out. So, the sale of my old bikes and cars turned out to have been unnecessary.

I did not have to pay that $10000/month because I got well before the 90 days ran out.

All I paid was the $4000 annual deductible but I had to pay it twice, once for 2020 and again for 2021 because my hospitalization happened occurred within each of those years.
 
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xbacksideslider said:
Sam, I should clarify. I was released before that 90 day deadline ran out. So, the sale of my old bikes and cars turned out to have been unnecessary.

I did not have to pay that $10000/month because I got well before the 90 days ran out.

All I paid was the $4000 annual deductible but I had to pay it twice, once for 2020 and again for 2021 because my hospitalization happen occurred within each of those years.
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Ah right , I understand now and agree , really good service from them
 
xbacksideslider said:
Sam, I should clarify. I was released before that 90 day deadline ran out. So, the sale of my old bikes and cars turned out to have been unnecessary.

I did not have to pay that $10000/month because I got well before the 90 days ran out.

All I paid was the $4000 annual deductible but I had to pay it twice, once for 2020 and again for 2021 because my hospitalization happened occurred within each of those years.
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John,
Glad you are on the mend.Being raised in the SFV I have always read your posts and hope you will be able to get in some seat time.Get better and enjoy that SoCal weather!
Mike
 
Just seen this thread, sorry to learn of your troubles, glad you're on the road to recovery. I learned that each state has their own rules regarding medicare/medicaid. My Mom had Parkinsons and had to live in a nursing home aftermy Dad died. We retained an elderly care attorney who helped us navigate the process. She was allowed to have a house and a car and earn no more than $2,000 a month. If her income went to 2,000.01, she would be responsible for the months services at the nursing home, which was a tad over $5,000 a month. Anyway, very glad you're on the mend, and starting to get out and about. Cj
 
xbacksideslider said:
Thank you Eddie. Perhaps this should be in a personal message but I’ll say it here anyway - It’s always a pleasure to read your well composed contributions on here. I have to admit, there are one or two who I have learned are not worth the effort to read. Yours, by contrast, always get my close attention.

With reference to NIH - My health insurance of many years has been and remains with Kaiser. They automatically provided me with a detailed statement of all services and charges that they provided for me from October 2020 to my release in March 2021 - $1.4 M. All related to the accident. They are still paying for my outpatient physical therapy and now are scheduled to pay for/provide me with two new cataract lenses for my eyes.

My wife was taken by cancer in 2019. Kaiser similarly paid for her care. That struggle went on for years. Kaiser went all out for her. Heroes.

My deductibles are limited to $4000 per year. For 2020 and 2021 I paid $8000 in deductibles.

For many years and Until I reached 65 years of age, I paid about $2000/month for me and a bit less for my wife. She passed before reaching 65 so I paid full rate for her all the way, Since reaching 65, Kaiser gets paid by/out of Social Security.

Now, if I hear someone denigrate Kaiser, I go out of my way to correct them.
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So YOU’RE the one that reads my ramblings !?

Kind words you wrote there John, but seems to me those meds must be strong ;)

That‘s certainly a good explanation of how it all panned out. Like Sam, I’m a tad shocked at the cost to be honest, but I can certainly see why you hold Kaiser in high regard. Nice to hear that some of the big boys still understand the concept of fairness and upholding their end of the deal.
 
Good to hear that your health is looking up. Best wishes that continues.

Both my parents and my step dad were physicians for HMOs in the US before they retired. I also had great insurance thru my jobs in hi tech, so have never wanted for quality health care when I was living in the US.

That said, I wouldn't trade for a second the public health we get here in NZ. And I am so glad that EVERYONE here gets the same.

THAT said, I wish dental was included for adults, not just school age kids.
 
Sorry to hear about your nightmare experience, John, but glad that you are on the mend. During the last couple of years there have been many more serious accidents on the roads in Hong Kong, where I live, as people starved of the opportunity to travel are out on the roads with high performance vehicles going crazy. I hope you soon feel strong enough to get back on a bike. A couple of us have been riding older bikes and having a great laugh going slow quickly!
 
Happy to have you back on the board. Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery!
 
HI John. Glad to hear that you are still improving. I just checked out the SoCal Norton club calendar for 2022. First ride is to Dan Shoenwald's private museum party on 23rd of this month. Any chance you will be up for it? I try to make it every year. Dan's place is only 6 or 7 miles from my house, so not much of a ride. But it gives me a chance to visit my old PR, which was restored by a friend many years ago, and is now in Dan's museum.

Next up is the Ojai ride, leaving from the Cactus Patch cafe in Moorpark on 20 February. The cafe is also only 6 or 7 miles from my house, so I usually make that one too.

Hope to see you at one or both of them. If you get to either of them, please consider dropping by my place for a visit to check out the latest bike craziness.

Ken
 
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