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Timmy is in the hospital (kitesurfing accident)

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NHKitesurfer
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Timmy is in the hospital (kitesurfing accident)

Postby NHKitesurfer » Tue Dec 22, 2015 8:56 pm

On December 19th the forecast called for strong winds out of the west - a perfect day to kiteboard the Seabrook Inlet in Seabrook NH.

The local crew was out late morning with about a half a dozen kiters hitting the water and braving the brisk 35 degree temperatures. As the morning went on one of the local riders, Carmine arrived at the inlet to watch his friends on the water.

At some point, from the comforts of his vehicle he noticed one of the riders face down in the water with his kite down. He quickly signaled to another rider (Jay) for help. Jay raced in and dropped his kite near the lifeless body and managed to drag him to shore. The unresponsive kiter was Timmy Bernard, a local NH rider.

Jay quickly sprung into action and began administering CPR to the lifeless body while Carmine called 911. Jay continued to try to bring Timmy back to life and miraculously he was able to get Timmy to cough up seawater and he began to take short breaths.

The ambulance arrived and Timmy was first transported to Exeter hospital. Once they realized the severity of his injuries he was transported to Portsmouth Regional Hospital where he'd spend the next 3 days in the ICU and remains in the hospital today.

Timmy drowned and ingested seawater into his lungs, causing an infection. On Sunday the Doctors were giving him a 40% chance of surviving. In addition to the seawater ingestion he had 3 cracked ribs and required 15 stitches to his face.

On Monday his condition improved and the Doctors expect a full recovery, however Timmy remains in the hospital, hoping to be home for the holidays with a long road to recovery ahead.

While no one knows exactly what happened and Timmy does not remember a thing, it's likely while he was jumping he was lofted into one of the 65ft commercial fishing vessels moored in the harbor. His board was snapped so whatever he hit, it was a violent impact.

He's in good spirits and looks forward to getting home and recovering so he can return to work and hopefully return to kiteboarding soon. But he needs our help.

I can only imagine what his medical bills will look like for transport to the ER, 1/2 day in the ER and a few days in the ICU plus whatever they are charging him to be there for the next day or two.

He's a carpenter by trade and told me he'll have to sell his tools to help pay for the medical expenses. I don't want to see this happen and I hope we can pull together as a community during this holiday season to help raise money to help pay for his medical expenses. I know he'd be first in line to help another rider.

Please donate what you can - $10 or $20 from each member in the community will go a long way and he'll greatly appreciate our kindness and generosity. It's good to know he has friends like us looking out for him with a special thanks to Jay Oczkowski and Carmine Colangelo for literally saving his life.

We've set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for his expense - please do what you can to help. https://www.gofundme.com/ung59qz8

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Toby
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Re: Timmy is in the hospital (kitesurfing accident)

Postby Toby » Tue Dec 22, 2015 9:16 pm

Glad to hear he made it!

Happy to help...but I prefer to donate with Paypal...such donation sites get blocked by my CC company.

Please let us know if he has a paypal account...and let us know here the email address.

Thanks
Toby

NHKitesurfer
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Re: Timmy is in the hospital (kitesurfing accident)

Postby NHKitesurfer » Tue Dec 22, 2015 9:22 pm

Thanks Toby. I'll check with him to see if he has a PayPal account and will post the email address.

Cheers,
Joe

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Re: Timmy is in the hospital (kitesurfing accident)

Postby plummet » Tue Dec 22, 2015 9:50 pm

Wowa. That's a close one. Full credit to the blokes who saved his life.

On a side note. What a backwards third world country charges your arse for accident hospital admissions? What do you pay your taxes for?

Also if you live in this third world country which charges for medical bills for accidents and you indulge in a risky sport wouldn't you engage some medical insurance to cover your risky activity?

If you choose not to have that insurance to cover accidents then you must accept the costs involved when/if accidents occur.

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Bille
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Re: Timmy is in the hospital (kitesurfing accident)

Postby Bille » Tue Dec 22, 2015 10:20 pm

Hope the guy is going to be OK !!

Bille
Last edited by Bille on Wed Dec 23, 2015 8:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Timmy is in the hospital (kitesurfing accident)

Postby plummet » Tue Dec 22, 2015 10:31 pm

The "greatest country in the world" is a tad fucked up in their priorities....

NHKitesurfer
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Re: Timmy is in the hospital (kitesurfing accident)

Postby NHKitesurfer » Tue Dec 22, 2015 10:38 pm

Please keep this on topic if possible. It's great he'll be ok and GREAT to have riders alongside you ready to save your life if necessary.

While he has insurance through his employer he will be responsible for paying deductibles, paying what his insurer does not pay when he reaches his payout ceilings and he'll be on short term disability for a bit while he recovers and this pays out only 60% of your income.
Last edited by NHKitesurfer on Tue Dec 22, 2015 10:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Frank82
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Re: Timmy is in the hospital (kitesurfing accident)

Postby Frank82 » Tue Dec 22, 2015 10:39 pm

One of the many reasons why I would never want to live in the States, ridiculous health care system.

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Re: Timmy is in the hospital (kitesurfing accident)

Postby Do-it » Tue Dec 22, 2015 10:41 pm

I'm going to need to see some x rays. :naughty:

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Re: Timmy is in the hospital (kitesurfing accident)

Postby plummet » Tue Dec 22, 2015 11:00 pm

NHKitesurfer wrote:Please keep this on topic if possible. It's great he'll be ok and GREAT to have riders alongside you ready to save your life if necessary.

While he has insurance through his employer he will be responsible for paying deductibles, paying what his insurer does not pay when he reaches his payout ceilings and he'll be on short term disability for a bit while he recovers and this pays out only 60% of your income.
I'll be honest. This does not seem like there are need for donation. A guy crashes, almost dies, stays in hospital for a couple of days he has medical insurance and has to cover the excess himself. He doesn't have any major life changing injuries.

That is the risk you take when indulging in a risky activity. Take the risk on and withstand the consequences when it goes wrong.

My buddy crashed off his mountain bike yesterday. He dislocated and broke his wrist in 3 places and cracked his pelvis. He's going in for 2 operations on the wrist and one on the hip to get it pinned. He'll be layed up for some time.... Our system pays for hospital expenses and 80% of income. Should we set up a fund for my buddies lost 20% of income while he recovers?

The answer is no.

On a side note. If the topic is kept completely on topic it will slide down the page and be lost in a short time. So... Off topic discussion keeps the topic at the top of the page and more likely hood of more donations to your buddy.


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