Stories from Texas - Day 15

We woke up and got ready to race... It was our last day at Oak Hill Raceway... Kieffer had 5 mains to race... That in itself, is really good because a racer has to top 15 in their last race to make it to the main! 

He had 5 chances to bring home a championship. 

Of course, as usual, Kieffer was one of the first races of the day... I don't know why that always happens! UGH!!

In his first race he did really well and took a 9th place [whoo hoo trophy]The next race was his best race... 450cc stock Novice.  This was the race he took a 3rd in at Lake Whitney and the one he had holeshot earlier in the week. 

 Sam was down on the starting line with him. I was up in the grandstand seating area.  I suddenly noticed, I was sitting next to my BIL Ciro and Nephew CJ.  It was windy and cold... My nephew was cold so I was rubbing his back trying to warm him up. Then Kameron showed up on his bicycle.

The gate dropped and Kieffer got a good start.... He worked his way up to 3rd... We were going crazy cheering for him! He swabbed out in a turn

[just leaned the bike over too far and fell over] Kieffer jumped back up and kept on riding... Thankfully he had kept his bike running somehow... [Four stroke motorcycles are tricky to start again if the motor stalls]

Whew... he had lost two places when he went down and he was charging to take them back...

As he was coming around by the finish line, he tripled [meaning jumped over 3 mounds, but suddenly the guy in front of him came to a dead stop, he had missed jumping his mounds correctly and was stuck on the top ofthe mound.

Kieffer had no where to go and hit the rear of the guys bike. The sudden stop and impact sent Kieffer over the bars... just as he was coming down the guy behind Kieffer hit Kieffer's leg. 

[This sounds like it was in a high rate of speed but it wasn't it was actually in a slow part of the track]

Ohhhh No! I couldn't believe it! It was all happening less than 10 feet in front of my eyes!

Suddenly, I see Kameron hurdle the fence so fast it startled me! Wow I thought he definitely was in track during high school!

Kameron was by Kieffer's side in a flash.  They were trying to get him off the track... Luckily, the EMT's just happened to be sitting at that part of the track in a mule.

They helped Kieffer into the mule... When they took off his helmet I could see he was in pain... I was heartbroken for him... He was doing so well!

Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! 

My brother in law thought maybe he torn an ACL or had done something to his knee... We were trying to figure out what was wrong!

By now, Sam was by his side too.  Ciro, C.J. and I were on the other side of the fence and track watching...

They decided to take Kieffer back to the EMT tent in the mule... I yelled at Kameron like "What is going on?" and he gave me the thumbs up as if to say "He will be ok"...  Then Kameron yelled at CJ to ride his bicycle to the EMT tent because Kameron had to ride Kieffer's motorcycle.

So we meet up at the EMT tent and it is obvious to me Kieffer is in pain... My heart sank! They cut his mx pants up to his thigh and Kieffer was trying to get his boots off... I had to walk out of the tent when he started grunting in pain, getting that boot off. I think... right then... I knew it was broken...

Once he got the boot off, he had to take his knee braces off...

[his$1,000 each leg... knee braces] then the EMT took this tuning fork and placed it on his ankle... [I had never seen that done before] she asked "Where does the feeling travel too? Your knee?"  Kieffer said "No half way up my leg" Then she said "Ok listen, we do not have a xray machine here... so I use the tuning fork.  If you feel the humming of the tuning fork from one joint to the next usually there is no broken bone from one place to the other however because you do not feel it from your ankle to your knee and it stops half way up your leg. I would guess your leg is broken and you need to go to the hospital.  Do you need to go by ambulance?" 

We told her we would drive him... The EMT's were really nice... I was kind of happy my nephew and brother in law were there to see Kieffer being so good about a broken leg... I mean we were laughing at some of the stuff Kieffer said... He can make you laugh even when something like that happens. It doesn't have to be all drama and freaking out parents either...

It is, what it is, lets just get through it yanno...

So I went to get the truck at the trailer... I passed by the trophy place and picked up Kieffer's trophy from his first race that day...

 

 

 

I didnt know when or if I would be back at this track...  I knew it was broken I was just praying he didnt need surgery! I should have realized Kieffer NEVER breaks anything just a little bit... Damn it!

So off Sam, Kieffer and I went to the new Presbyterian Hospital.  They put us in the biggest emergency hospital room I have ever been in

 

 

[and trust me on this I have been in a few emergency rooms... Hell I should evaluate them as a job!] 

Ok... Now... I love Texas and I love the people in Texas... but I have to say... their laid back lifestyle is irritating in a hospital type setting... 

I just wanted to step in and say... "Can we get some xrays stat, some morphine stat, and then...be all laid back and slow moving...C'mon people we are the only patient here WTH?" 

Seriously I have never been to such an empty but beautiful emergency room!

Very Frustrating... and the emergency room Dr. was very irritating... he wasn't making sense to us...

 

"Well now... ya'all can take him home to his orthopedic surgeon for surgery because you have to wait for the swelling to go down" 

 

[there was NO swelling so we were confused]

 

"but Dr. there is no swelling?"

 

WHOA you'd have thought we just committed the ultimate sin...  Not taking the ER Dr's words as gospel!

He was so taken back by us questioning him it was bizarre!

 

"Where are the Xrays we would like to see them?" 

He was not use to this at ALL...

He was floored... stammering...

We started thinking... Never mind... we do not want him to have surgery here, we will take him home.

We asked him to call our orthopedic surgeon and explain what is wrong so he could schedule surgery accordingly...  and he did...

 

So they splint cast Kieffer up to his thigh for a plane ride home... and the Dr. hid from us Crazy California parents...

After getting Kieffer's meds filled at a pharmacy we had to return to the hospital for his xrays... Hey... we paid for them.. and I didnt want to pay for more after getting home yanno...

 

 

Uh Oh... here comes the crazy California Mom again...  I guess no one asks for their xrays either... 

So back to the trailer at the track we went...

we started packing up to go home...

Thank God my Brother in Law Ciro was there...

 

 

 

He took Kieffer to a hotel that night and put him on a plane the next morning for home...

I have to say that was hard for me to do... Not be with my baby when he had a broken leg!

I would have flown home with Kieffer but a direct flight from Dallas to Palm Springs was over $500! OUCH!  I knew Pam [Sam's cousin would take good care of him till we got home] but it was still hard to do... and I couldn't get home fast enough...  the trip home seemed to take FOREVER!!!

We left the track at 9pm at night and drove until 2am...

 

I will never forget spending Easter on the road while Kieffer was flying home...