This guy lives in Oceanside......!

[Chief Gunner 2]

I just came across this and I'll be making a donation. ......

We often forget that tragedy may strike at any time as we attempt to cross the finish line. We ignore the possibility that this very well may be our last ride. Unfortunately, sometimes we endure tragedy.

While pre-running for the 40th annual Baja 1000, our team experienced an extremely tragic incident. After dropping Robert off at race mile 1015, we predicted that he would return at approximately 3:00 pm that afternoon. We waited for Robert at Santa Rita, which would have been the point where the next rider would have taken over. After a short while, we figured he was running behind a few minutes, no big deal. After all, Robert had a few years of experience under his belt, having raced the Baja 1000 five times before.

After a couple of hours went by we began to worry. As the sun began to set, our worst fears had begun to come true. Although he was carrying a satellite phone, it was pretty much useless, as he was discovered by the Mexican police unconscious underneath the motorcycle for what appeared to be hours. He was discovered three miles from the point where we initially parted ways.

Although the incident was not fatal, he lies in a coma, with severe brain injuries, and a very unclear future. Although his accident was extremely unfortunate, it was a brutal reminder of how dangerous our beloved sport can be. Our team decided it would be best for us to continue on with the race on Robert’s behalf. We believe that this is what he would have wanted.

We are asking for your help in Robert’s time of need. Any donation, no matter how large or small, would greatly be appreciated as the costs of Robert’s medical bills are increasing dramatically every day.

Robert's site can be found here:

http://www.rjmsdonationfund.com/

[Chief Gunner 2]

Update.....

Yes, Robert fortunately has insurance yet we need to raise a substantial amount of money to pay for his deductible's, monthly premium and out of network expenses. I am learning that his Airlift/airbus flight from La Paz into San Diego may not be covered by his insurance. That bill alone is nearly 30k. The monies are also to be used for child care and hopefully to preserve his home in Oceanside, CA.

I will try an post an update to all forums I have posted his website info on. Here are a few brief details: Robert suffered a major brain injury called DAI. "Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) causes shearing of large nerve fibers and stretching of blood vessels in many areas of the brain. Though diffuse axonal injury seldom leads to death, the outcome is frequently coma with over 90% of patients with severe DAI never regaining consciousness (Wasserman, 2004). Those who do wake up often remain significantly impaired."

Robert came out of his coma approximately 6 weeks after injury. He is currently in a very fine facility located in Escondido, California that specializes in Brain Injuries. He is slowly recovering but has a very long road ahead of him. He currently receives Physical, Speech and Occupational therapy. He shows movement from the right side of his body and no noticeable movement from his left side. He is starting to speak, but can only whisper.

Please continue to spread the word about Robert and keep him in your prayers and/or good wishes.

Yours Truly,

Kathleen Hankins"

Robert's little sister

www.RJMSdonationfund.com

aka RDR Web Chic (www.reddingdirtriders.com)

and from very early this morning:

"Unfortunately Robert has been terminated from his employment. He is not eligible for CA SDI since his employer was out of state where no SDI benefits are paid. His employer unfortunately didn't seem to know what they were doing or how to do it. In any event, we finally got the appropriate COBRA paperwork done by the hairs of our chinney-chin-chin. The Air lift issue will have to be looked into further. We also need to repay his buddy Steve and Robert's girlfriend the amount of money they shelled out for Robert. The hospital in La Paz would not release Robert until they were paid cash and the insurance wouldn't do anything until his 2500 deductible was paid in full."

[KIP 0]

Maybe we should start an auction on this site or advrider and have the $ go to him. Is there a organization that the money could go through so that we could take a tax write-off? I have a car that I was thinking about donating to charity.

Update - Here is a site that might help http://www.riderdown.org/forum/showthread.php?t=210

[Joliet 0]

I sent in a paypal donation yesterday and a short email letter today. It would be nice if we could make a difference. Ken

[Barry 0]

If you do a lot of riding on or off road, especially out of the country, here is something you should consider. MASA, Medical Air Services Association, if you are a HRCA member the fee is $240/year for a single and $360/year for a family. This will cover a serious illness transportation also. Some of the services are; emergency air transportation, commercial air transportation, recuperation/repatriation, return transportation, ground ambulance transportation, escort transportation, minor children return, mortal remains transportation, vehicle return, organ retrieval, and organ recipient transportation.

One of the Vikings Club members was injured in a race this fall in Johnson Valley OHV area. The Helo ride to Loma Linda was just over $20,000.

www.medairservices.com