Got a semi-frantic call from my mom telling me that my dad was in an ambulance on the way to the hospital in my town (they live in a rural area 40 miles away) and to meet him there. Pretty scant on details. She isn’t great with relaying info, particularly medical, particularly when she is stressed. I knew he was in an accident and they couldn’t find him for a while after it happened but that was it. Didn’t know if it was a broken leg or if he was probably dead and they took him in ambulance to let hospital declare it.
As it turns out, I think he will be ok. He still farms, and does more than he should at 70. He had an ATV accident in the middle of a field. They knew roughly where he was but not exactly. The initial diagnosis is a severe concussion. He was able to call my mom and convey to her that he had a bad wreck, but not where he was and then he hung up and wasn’t coherent enough to answer his phone. It took them 2 hours to find him, and heat exhaustion and probably dehydration were making things worse by that point. Probably fortunately his knee was hurt enough he couldn’t walk, so he was still by the ATV and easier to find. I think otherwise he would be wandering around in circles until he got tired and lay down to die somewhere. 90 degrees humid and no wind where he was.
I know one of the EMT’s who brought him in (he is also their neighbor who found him), and he said that my dad was a lot more coherent by the time they got to the hospital, probably because they got him cooled down and some fluid in him. They are keeping him in the hospital overnight, then probably he will go home tomorrow.
I worry about him about as much as my boys, sometimes he uses similar judgement as a 20 year old on safety. I told my wife I’m lucky he survived long enough for me to be born, and I’m 48. I know he isn’t a cat, because he has been through way more than 9 lives.
Now the challenge will be to keep him in a quiet dark room for a few days. He is already giving (semi-coherent) instructions for things that he wants people to take care of before he gets home tomorrow, I’m sure he is thinking if they let him out in the morning he can have a productive afternoon.
How scary for him, your mom, and you! Glad he seems okay for the most part. Your dad sounds a lot like mine. My father is 85 and does a lot more than he should, always full of energy and wanting to do stuff himself, climbing on ladders, out in the yard, etc. He’s had a few accidents and we ask him to hire more out but one a boy scout, always a boy scout I guess. In several ways, I do think it keeps his mind and body younger than his age.
How scary for all of you! Your dad does sound like a tough guy, but sometimes tough guys don’t realize they can’t do the things they once did with ease. I’m glad he’s okay.
Thanks for all the kind wishes. No real new news the last few hours, which is probably good. My mom said his knee really hurts, so I guess the fact that the one issue my mom reported on is the knee is a good sign.
Good idea about Life 360. Good grief, it is a bit like a college kid. Yes I trust you, yes you are an adult, but I would feel better if I knew where you were.
I don’t know if 911 would have been able to track him or not. I think the big issue was that with the concussion he didn’t recognize how serious the problem was. Then when heat exhaustion kicked in her still didn’t recognize the danger. He just thought he needed to sit and rest for a minute and he would be fine. He remembers none of this by the way. Last thing he remembers he was working, then he was in the ambulance. The 2 hours in between is gone.
When I was a little kid I thought he was way tougher me, but someday I would grow up and be the tough adult. Then I grew up and realized I was wrong. He is 70 and still tougher than me.
Oh, that work ethic. When my then-83 y.o. mother was hospitalized with seizures she was in a coma for days. Her first words out of it were about mowing her lawn.
I hope you can convince him that the gentler he is to himself the first couple of days, the faster his recovery will be. Glad that the accident wasn’t worse!