Scott Doohan Update

[Stan Dilcher]

I visited the Northeast Georgia Medical Center
around noon on Saturday to check on the
condition of Scott Doohan who has been in a
coma and on a ventilator since his accident at
the Road Atlanta Superbike race. I had a hard
time picking out a get well card since few are
appropriate for such dire circumstances. I
finally picked out one which talked about the
healing power of prayers and signed it for our
club (Southeastern Sportbike Association). I
arrived at a lucky time since Scott's wife
Jadie just happened to be taking a break in the
intensive care waiting room. I introduced myself
and asked how Scott was doing. It's tough to ask
a question like this when you are aware of such
devastating injuries. Needless to say, I felt
uneasy. Luckily, her response relieved me greatly.
That morning Scott had finally come out of his
coma and looked around the room and tried to talk
(still has many tubes in throat and lungs). Jadie
and Collin (Scott's other brother) told him he had
an accident and he understood. They told him Mick
had qualified second for the GP of Argentina and
he gave the thumbs up. He then twisted his wrist
(throttle hand) as if to ask if he could race again!
It's hard to describe what great news this was to
me having seen Scott explode the haybales directly
beneath me. What a relief! Scott is still on a
respirator, but they were going to try to take him
off of it. He had punctured a lung in the accident
and had quite a bit of fluid buildup. His left arm
is broken in two places above the elbow and he may
have re-injured a knee. Plans are to send him to the
specialist in California that did Mick's leg as soon
as his condition has stabilized. Brad Hazen (the other
rider to go down) had been released from the hospital
earlier in the week. I will continue to post as I get
new info on Scott's Recovery.

Stan Dilcher <sdil...@lasc.lockheed.com>