A Martin ukulele (and our son) in a motorcycle accident

Just 3 months ago, one of the boys in our family got very excited to learn the ukulele. He had gone to the Thailand ukulele festival and claimed he wanted to play ukulele by the next ukulele festival.

So, I bought him a Martin and he didn't know much about it but he did know that other guitarists and ukists coveted what he had.

So I haven't seen that boy much because of circumstances.

Last night we heard he got into a motorcycle accident and we will be driving up shortly to see how he is.

I asked all the hows and whys and learned he had gone out with his uke (and a guitar) to play music with a friend.

This made me strangely happy that he is pursuing music and the accident wasn't about goofing off drinking beer as I would have done. As an optimist, I feel it will be a battle scar, a good story. The reality is his arm has multiple fractures and we'll need to take a look at the x rays of his head. If its just a concussion and broken limb, I'll feel relieved. I'll know more later.

So, besides the boy, I am interested to see if the Martin survived. They come with a soft carry gig bag.

Prayers for your son..................and his Martin as well.

I hope your son is not badly hurt and heals quickly!

On Groundhog Day, 1978 I had a serious motorcycle crash. It would be easier to count what was NOT broken than what was. I died on the way to the ER and had so many broken ribs they couldn't do CPR so they took a chance and gave me a jumpstart with a shot of adrenaline directly to my heart. So here I am today on my 60th birthday, a little creaky, but still here and still playing. Among my injuries was my left arm broken through the elbow joint (serious ow) and my left ring finger nearly severed (so badly it had to be reattached). I was nearing graduation from college and had a head injury that pretty much put me back in the 7th grade. Fortunately, I was able to get into an intensive relearning program and got back almost all of what I lost, graduating with a 3.420 average. I had spinal compression injuries at C-5-6-7, T-5, and L-4-5. I don't walk so well so I mostly use a wheelchair and my fine motor skills on my left hand are kinda weird (thanks to the cervical compression, finger reattachment, and broken elbow). I can fret just fine, but can't pick up a coin with my left hand. Go figure. There's no rhyme or reason to how I recovered. Most of my memory returned, some is gone forever. I lost the ability to do fractions in my head, but I can use a calculator. I have a hard time memorizing music I didn't know before my accident so I often play with cheat sheets. A friend who's a physical rehab counselor calls them my "brain prostheses." No matter. I'm happy to be here, I'm still playing music and life is mostly good. I have a body that is a better weather predictor than the guys on TV.

Our bodies are truly amazing works of art and can take a lot more abuse and come back from MUCH more serious damage than we can sometimes imagine. I will keep your son in my prayers. Keep us posted on how he is.

If the uke us damaged, let Martin know and let them know the circumstances. The folks at Martin are some of the finest folks there are and sometimes they'll go out of their way to help a Martin player (see page 4 of Martin's official company magazine "The Sounding Board," volume 30, January, 2011).

Hoping for a speedy recovery for your Son!

Aloha SH,
Sorry to hear the bad news...hope he heals fast and recovers from his injuries...most of all....as for the martin, it's replaceable...his health not... many blessings to him...MM Stan

Oh no! I'm sorry to hear about the accident! Hopefully it's just a couple of simple fractures to your son and he'll be up playing that uke again in no time!

After riding for 20 years, I'm putting all my bikes up for sale myself. It's just not worth it to me anymore. Besides, ukuleles are much safer.
I hope your son has a full and speedy recovery.

Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery for your boy. I hope it's comparatively minimal (he was wearing a helmet???) and repairable. What a shock and also scary for all of you. Please tell him UU is thinking of him.

My hubby and I have talked about selling the motos, but we love riding the canyons. There is something so meditative and restorative about riding. We don't use the bikes for commuting. I did for a year once a week but every other trip someone almost hit me. Few drivers pay attention behind the wheel of a car anymore. They are still in spite of the laws talking and texting on cellphones, working on laptops, putting on makeup and reading the newspaper and eating. In our city it's as dangerous to be on foot and MORE dangerous to be on a bicycle.

Everybody out there try to be extra aware and stay safe.

Sorry to read about this Frank. Me, Eugenie and the kids will remember your family in our prayers tonight brother.

Sending prayers for your son and hope he (and the Uke) make a quick recovery and come out of it with as few scars as possible...please keep us informed on how he is doing.

A uke and guitar on a bike. I ride and I can't imagine how he did that one. Hope he is OK and hope he was wearing a helmet. I always do myself.

I hope all is well with your son! Definitely keep us posted!

Very sorry for what happened. Praying that all is all right with your son!!!!

Any more news ? How is he ?

Prayers...

We just returned from our trip up north. The boy is pretty banged up; but, he looks better than I had anticipated. They put 2 pins in his humerus, and his foot and head show no fractures, nor broken ribs. THe other rider supposedly lost his teeth; but, I don't know if he had teeth to begin with because they released him the next day.

I was told the motorcycle he drove was totaled but now we're told its fine; which makes sense because its a lowriding scooter - I'm talking inches off the ground with a steel frame made in the 70s. Apparently the boy went flying and the scooter planted into the ground at the foot peg and just fell over. I had warned him not to ride that thing until the wheels were moved lower. He didn't listen. I told him to wear a helmet. He didn't listen. In fact, he was issued a ticket for not wearing a helmet last April and I told him he always needs to wear a helmet. I told my wife what the new motorcycle rules are; but, you gotta know this is rural Thailand and they think riding a scooter is a priviledge, license or not. Hopefully this is a wake up call.

We couldn't stay a second day as I have critical things to do for my new job that I travel for tomorrow; so, we don't know the condition of the uke. I had given his father a Mainland Mango uke so if the Martin is damaged, he can play Mango until the Martin recovers.

Now... I got the chance to see a rural hospital chock a block full of patients. There were beds in the hallways. THere were families sleeping on mats in many of the halls. He shared a room with 50 other patients, all in various shapes of recovery. The staff was swamped. People waiting in queues. The emergency room filled with 12 beds of people waiting for treatment. eyeopening stuff really.

I did bring my uke and let the other sick and injured kids try my uke if they wanted to. I played a little both on uke and harmonica just to give them something different to bear than laying on a bed amongst others injured and their families. Some children liked it. Some were too shy to try. I also had to be mindful that perhaps others may resent music while they are in pain.

While walking the halls I played muted chord runs just to put something differnet in the halls. It felt good - better than just having to view that type of reality without a good distraction.

Don't take your health services for granted.

Dawhealer, I hear you. I had a good friend who was smarter than me get into an motorcycle accident while we were in college. Basically changed his life. He required brain surgery and was not the same afterwards. I finished college, he has persisted to get certificates in technology but did not get the college engineering degree he was aiming for before the accident.

mds725 said:

I hope your son is not badly hurt and heals quickly!

Click to expand...

What he said.

Sending prayers and good wishes for healing...