Surgery

[klkak]

I had surgery today to have the screws and steel rod taken out of my right leg (which was broken in September of 2006). I had some troubles with anesthesia ie. vomiting and difficulty breathing and waking up. I do have some localized pain around the incision site's but other than that I am doing really good.

[crashdive123]

Glad you're doing OK. Is it normal to take out the hardware after that long?

[grundle]

surgery is no fun.

Recovery is always the worst part.

I hope you get welll quick!

[Ole WV Coot]

Been a long time. You should be eligible for a handicap ATV sticker.

[klkak]

Glad you're doing OK. Is it normal to take out the hardware after that long?

I had it taken out because it was causing me so much pain.


surgery is no fun. Recovery is always the worst part. I hope you get well quick!
Thank you for the get well wishes


Been a long time. You should be eligible for a handicap ATV sticker.
If I should be eligible for "Cripple People Parking" then you should already have "Older Then Dirt Parking"

You are old :wheelchair:, I'm a gimp:gimp:, And we both ride ATV's :scooter:

[Sourdough]

Hope you get well soon......Did you get to keep the screws and pin......?:scooter:

[pgvoutdoors]

Wish you a fast recovery.

[klkak]

Hope you get well soon......Did you get to keep the screws and pin......?:scooter:

I didn't think to ask for them before I went home.:(

[Ken]

I didn't think to ask for them before I went home.:(

Glad you're doing okay, Klkak!:)

[Pal334]

Well, at least you won't set off metal detectors :0 . Good health to you

[nell67]

Glad you are doing ok klkak! I too have issues with anesthesia,hate the stuff,and hate the pain meds they try to give you afterwards.

[Dennis]

Wishing you a get well soon.

[chiye tanka]

Klkak, glad to hear things went well (but the spilling out). I hope you heal fast and if you or Coot come to FL, I'll see what I can do for your otd and crip stickers.:)

[tsitenha]

Good to hear your doing OK in spite of the anesthetics, take it easy for a bit till you get used to your new condition.

Then run like the wind :)

[klkak]

My leg hurts so bad today I'm bout ready to cry or something. Pain meds aren't helping much. I'm only taking one pill at a time and it dont help much but if I take two then I get sick and start puking. I think I'm gonna go back to bed.:(

[Alpine_Sapper]

break the second in half. maybe it'll keep you from getting sick if you only take 1.5.

[Rick]

Is this the same ankle the city slicker broke or the other one. Man! You're tough on yourself. Wish you a speedy recovery.

Try take the meds with food or calling your doc.

[SARKY]

Be glad you weren't awake for that, I was, they just used a local. Then the first screw started coming out it was as if someone was repeatedly kicking me in the shin. The second screw wasn't any better.

[klkak]

Is this the same ankle the city slicker broke or the other one. Man! You're tough on yourself. Wish you a speedy recovery.

Try take the meds with food or calling your doc.

No, this is my right leg. I broke it in September of 2006 while moose hunting with AKS. The hard ware was giving me some complications so the doctor advised taking it all out.


Alaska moose hunt turns into rescue mission
By Craig Medred
Anchorage Daily News — Oct. 12, 2006

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The blood-curdling scream left no doubt about the violence of the accident Steve Kosterman had just witnessed.

What he'd seen had been scary enough without the noise — the four-wheeler tumbling downhill, bouncing and then flying into the air only to land rack down on the leg of 43-year-old Kevin Kidder.

"I knew it was bad," Kosterman said. "The whole rig was standing up on end on his leg, and then it fell over."

Only hours after setting out on a moose hunt in late September, all thoughts of hunting were gone. All Kosterman could think about now was what he needed to do to save Kidder.

"I tried to stay as calm as possible for him," Kosterman said, "but my brain was spinning."

Kosterman scrambled uphill to the longtime family friend. Kidder's leg was mangled and bent obscenely, but there was no serious bleeding.

As a staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force back in Alaska on leave from a base in Japan, Kosterman, 29, had taken an annual first-aid refresher course. His training had taught him what he had to do in situations like this: stay calm, assess the situation and treat what you can.

Quickly, he checked Kidder for other injuries, then tried to make him comfortable. Clearly, there was no way the older man was going to ride his four-wheeler almost 20 miles back to the trailhead.

And if there was going to be any hope of getting help to him before dark, Kosterman was going to have to act quickly.

"I treated him for shock," Kosterman said, and made sure he had shelter to keep off the pounding rain.

Then Kosterman jumped on his own four-wheeler and headed for Wolf Point, several miles down the Knik River valley. Cell-phone reception was available there.

All Kidder could do was hang on, wait and pray.

"It was getting dark and raining like crazy," he said. "(And) I was in a tremendous amount of pain."

Without what Kidder described as the "really thin but tough," 8-by-10-foot tarp he carried in his emergency kit, he would have been vulnerable to the weather.

With the tarp rigged for protection, he was comfortable enough that he pulled out the saw from his emergency kit and started cutting logs for a splint while Kosterman was on the trail pursuing help.

When medical personnel finally arrived, Kidder said, they thought he'd done a good enough job of splinting that they didn't even bother to put on their own.

A retired airman now living in Chugiak, Kidder once taught wilderness-survival skills for the U.S. Air Force.

He knew a lot about accidents from the rescuers' perspective but never thought he'd end up a victim — especially not as the result of a four-wheeler crash in such familiar territory so close to home.

"I was in a tremendous amount of pain. The doctor (later) described it as taking your windshield and hitting it with a hammer.

Kidder was talking earlier this month from his bed at Providence Medical Center, where he'd been for five days. Doctors had to put a stainless-steel rod in his leg to hold together the shattered pieces of bone.

He's expected to be on his back for another six weeks. After that, he faces two to three months of rehabilitation.

And, yet, he considers himself lucky.

"I'm glad I had somebody with me," Kidder said.

He is equally glad Kosterman had a cell phone. Kosterman was able to call 911 and get Alaska State Troopers to send Providence's LifeGuard helicopter and crew.

With night coming on and heavy rain falling, Kidder used a flare to paint the sky.

"It was getting dark and raining like crazy," he said. "I heard what I thought was a helicopter, and I saw what I thought was a flashing light."

He aimed his laser flare in that direction, "and that helicopter turned right on me," he said.


This story does not do Justis to AKS's involvement in saving my life. I have played the scenario over and over and I still don't think I would have made it out without Stephen being there with me. That night he was my guardian angel and he will always be my hero. Stephen received an "Air Force Commendation medal" for his efforts in saving my life that night. I wish he'd of gotten an "MSM" Meritorious Service Medal or higher.

[klkak]

Be glad you weren't awake for that, I was, they just used a local. Then the first screw started coming out it was as if someone was repeatedly kicking me in the shin. The second screw wasn't any better.

I don't even want to imagine what it would have been like if I were awake. 5 screws and one 2ft. long steel rod. Makes me want to puke just thinking about it.

[Rick]

Man, you have to stop playing with ATVs. Seriously. And how ironic would it have been if you accidently shot the chopper down with the flare? Yeeeeoooow!

[Ken]

Klkak, you tough %astard - I'm surprised you didn't come back with a moose in that chopper. You held up well, my friend. We're all proud of both of you guys.

[klkak]

Man, you have to stop playing with ATVs. Seriously. And how ironic would it have been if you accidently shot the chopper down with the flare? Yeeeeoooow!


It was a laser flare made by Great land lasers.

The first pic is what the beam looks like. The second pic is a couple different models. The third pic is what it looks like from almost 20 miles away.

[AKS]

Kevin, you gotta hurry up and quit hurtin your self. We won't be able to do anything when I stop by in July if your laid up again when I get there. Well, maybe we could go fishing in the handicap area at the Russian...:scooter::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

I don't think I want to go shooting:m107: with you if you're on pain meds:high::nono: