That's terrible news.
Prayers for him and his family.

My thoughts and prayers for DD.

Jen and I send our thoughts and prayers to DentonDoc and family and our hope he has a quick and full recovery....

Sad news indeed.  I send my wishes for a good recovery.  It is also a reminder that we need to live life to its fullest because you never know when the opportunity for that trip will be taken from you.

Sad.  Very sad.  Wishing Wayne the best.  You can do this DD!!

.......Mike

PD,

Thanks for "filling in" while I was "away."

PJ,

Sorry for the slow response.  Like at least a few of you that I know about, my access to QJ over the past 3 days has been nil.

No, I am unaware of any financial need.  DD is on pretty solid footing there, I believe.  Should I learn otherwise, I'll get back to you.

All,

Looks like DD's challenges will be considerable.  Frontal lobe "bruising" limits his cognitive abilities, though the doctors remain hopeful for his recovery.  He will require substantial neural therapy, it appears. 

Fortunately, DD's spouse has been able to stay with him in the hospital.  I believe their daughter is now able to provide some relief with that demanding role, too.  I can only imagine how much a drain such a happenstance can have on a family.

In short, the family remains guardedly hopeful for an eventual full recovery.  I suspect this will be a slow process.

I'll share what I can as information becomes available.  DD's wife has been very kind to take time out to respond to my (and Wally13's) inquiries.  I'm quite certain your continuing thoughts & prayers are very much welcomed.

Jimbo   

Sad news. Thoughts and prayers for a full recovery.

Thanks, Jimbo, for updating us yesterday.  I just saw it this morning.  Like you, we were "off" the messageboard for several days.  I don't think I realized how seeing the POD to start my morning every day was something I would miss so much!

Sorry to hear that DD is having these issues and he and his family will remain in my prayers for a long time to come.  Appreciate the updates and if you could post a snail-mail address I would like to send a note and a card.

Watch your footing, folks!  A fall can be a very dangerous thing sometimes.

All,

Well, DentonDoc has had some new swelling.  This required brain surgery, to which he appears to be responding somewhat well.  Though his response times are slow, he recognizes "family" and can respond to commands via "hand squeezes", etc.  He & his family will continue to welcome your thoughts and prayers as his will be a long road ahead via traumatic brain injury rehab.

Mrs. DentonDoc has been kind enough to share a link for a site on "Caring Bridge" where you may find updates.  It is: (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) .

PJ, I've been assured that DD's insurance is covering their needs thus far.  Again, if I hear differently, I'll post something.

Mrs. DentonDoc has expressed her sincere gratitude for the caring, prayers and support of DD's friends here on QJ.

FYI

Jimbo   

This is the first I've logged on for a while. So shocked to see this news. All of my prayers are with Wayne and his family.

Sounds like he's in good hands.

I will keep him in my thoughts.
ml

Update - I went out to the Caring Bridge site. When I was setting up my account, the CAPTCHA screen asked me to identify pictures of boats. It seems so fitting. 

Thx, Jimbo.  That is really welcome news!!  Jen and I are thinking of him every day and hoping for the best.....

PK.

Maybe every picture we can find of him. Especially on trips.  I only have a few.  We could print them and mail them to him.

When I first I met DD, he mentioned he'd be in town and I picked him up at some downtown hotel and promptly took him to Wolski's tavern. He didn't flinch as I recall..

Months afterwards, my wife was still having great fun when people asked where's Dave. She'd say: "I don't know, probably at some bar with some guy he met on the internet again."

I'm not positive but I'm fairly certain I never took my wife to Wolski's. Shit happens to good people sometimes too.

Prayers and good thoughts never hurt anyone either to my knowledge.

I still think it could of happened in a worse place so I'm very grateful he went down in his own driveway.

I’ve been away from here and this is the first I’m reading about it. Sad to read but glad he’s making progress. I never met him personally but always enjoyed reading his posts and PM’d with him a few times. I missed meeting up with him on Cirrus lake two years ago due to our early exit because my son broke his hand.

Great news concerning DD. 

DB.....never been to Wolski's but I think I saw it featured on some WI PBS show?  If memory serves it's been around like...forever?

Like some others, I have not been to the forum here in a long time and was shocked to read about DentonDoc. As was said by Jimmar, "I never met him personally but always enjoyed reading his posts". I'm keeping him and his family in my thoughts and wish him a full and speedy recovery.

4/3 update:
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Hello everyone and many thanks for the thoughts and prayers sent my way. 

I've been out of the hospital for about a week now so I feel certain that the most critical stages of my recovery toward survival are over.

To explain the "accident...  On February 12th,there was a major ice storm in my area.  Not unheard of in central Texas, but not unusual.  As I was setting at my office desk facing the street, I noticed one of my lady neighbors out walking her dog.  As she got directing in front of my house, down she went.  Concerned for her safety, I quickly donned some appropriate clothing and went out to assist.  By that time a couple of other neighbors who had witnessed her fall had gathered and together we got her to her feet, and convinced that she had no injuries, we assisted her on her way.

I remained outside for a few more minutes, chatting with my neighbors before the conversation ended and all returned to their homes.  I wanted to check out the icing in front of my house, so I remained for a few more minutes. 

The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital 3 weeks later.  Apparently, I had slipped and fallen in the street, crushing my skull.  My next door neighbor noticed me lying there at some point and assisted me into my house (none of which I remember). 

Emergency services were called and in a matter of minutes I was on my way to a hospital specializing in brain injuries. (This is one advantage of living near a major metropolitan area.)  The doctors decided that the best immediate course of action was to open my skull to allow for the brain swelling that would certainly follow.  in a few days in which more swelling was detected, they decided to remove sections of of skull.  Of course, sections of my brain were attached to the skull, so they were removed as well and placed in a freezer to minimize deterioration awaiting future replacement.  It was during this stage my "lights came back on.  I must admit that I wasn't making a lot of sense at first, but I was recognizing family and understood I was in a hospital  And thus began my first recovery therapy sessions.  These were meager at first, but ramped up in the days that followed until I was able to walk the hospital hallway and eat most meals in a dining room with a little assistance.

The third surgery was about 2 weeks after the second, after MRI's and CT's to insure my parts still fit my head.  The good news is that they did, so they were replaced (along with a titanium plate and screws) so the shape of my head was more like a human that the creature from the lost lagoon.

The therapy sessions kicked up another notch and more cognitive tasks were introduced.  I found that I tended to tire quickly during longer sessions, so they scaled back  to shorter duration activities. 

Even, with obvious limitations, all the staff echoed the same theme:  remarkable recover given the extent of injuries.

I still have lots of therapy sessions ahead o me, but I'm not doing things that were well beyond my abilities just a couple of week ago. 

The brain is an interesting organ with amazing potential.  I can tell that some of the sections that were "disconnected are now beginning to knit new pathways to allow me to function a higher levels each day.

Yes, I have a long way to go, but every day is a clear step forward.

Again, thank you for your thoughts and prayers.  I feel certain that whey were instrumental in turning what could have been and end-of-life scenario to one that hat a promising future.

And, thanks for your concern about financial support.  We happen to be blessed with an excellent health plan.  It has covered all our hospital and medical and pharmacy bills to date and it is paying for all of my therapy sessions (both at home and in medical facilities).

So, While I'm in no shape to take a canoeing trip this season.  I'm not ruling out next year!

Keep paddling, my friends!

Wayne

It's good to have you back with us, DD!  Thanks for ending the suspense and giving this thread a happy ending!

Jimbo   

P.S.  I have ice cleats that can be slipped over one's boots (size 13).  They have served me well for many years.  I don't expect to need them where I'm headed.  Would be happy to mail them to Texas....

Welcome back! Thrilled that you posted. Congratulations.

DD, Glad to hear that you are on the mend. You have a resilient noggin! Look forward to toasting your good health at the next 'Copia 

So happy you're back DD!  Hope your recovery is speedy.

Fantastic to hear from you Wayne. Maybe a nice plane ride and basecamp trip to Atikaki would be a good easing back into the routine.

Very glad to hear you're getting things unscrambled, DD. You had us all worried.

PROTECT YOUR HEAD next time!

Great to hear.   

Good to see you're back online Wayne.  I gotta admit, I was a bit worried for you.  You're attitude is great and that will serve you well.  Hope to see you canoeing or maybe at Copia next year.