I am sure some here may already have seen this horrid news from NZ…
PROJECT ON HOLD UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE:
Hi all, just putting this up here as I’m going to have to call a halt to things for a week or seven.
My father was involved in a massive accident in his Elise today, where he was hit behind while stationary by a Porsche after stopping to avoid some horses that had escaped onto the road. He has a broken neck and is very lucky to be alive. He’s not paralysed but it’s a miracle that he’s not. He’s not quite out of the woods yet, but he’s been in surgery and is now in traction, where he will be for a few months at least.
Obviously the Elise is worse for wear, how bad we’re unsure but it doesn’t really matter… with what’s gone on in my project lately and now with my father coming to grief, I’m not really feeling very Lotusy right now… I’m sure I’ll be back on the horse soon enough, but for now I have other things that need my urgent attention.
It’s hard to take and we’ve a struggle ahead… the best news is that based on the info we have, he should be able to eventually make a full recovery… we’re just doing our best to get him through the hellish time he has ahead of him.
So far he’s got a halo screwed into his skull and weights and pulleys trying to hold his neck straight to allow the bones to move where they need to before things start knitting… he’s got what is known as a “hangman’s break” as it’s the same sort of break you have when you hit the gallows… he knew something was wrong when he got out of the wrecked car and his head was all wobbly and felt like it was falling off his shoulders … I shudder to think.
We’ll struggle through and I’m sure we’ll come through stronger. Just taking it day by day right now and trying to be there for eachother.
Off to collect the wreckage of the Elise tomorrow… want to see it to get an image of how big the accident was in my mind, and to try and find out how dad’s managed to cause the injuries he has.
All the best for the recovery…
I broke my back in 1998 , spent 7 weeks in a spinal unit with a further 6 weeks in a cast … no paralysis thankfully …
Was in a fantastic place btw …Oswestry orthopaedic …
