The well known member The Russian, AKA Mike Martinez, suffered a serious injury 4 weeks ago. As he was walking up his elevated front stairs, two of the neighborhood cats who sort of live on his front porch, came running down toward him. He took a small step backwards to avoid contact and the railing behind him gave way with "no resistence". He went head over heels about 8 feet to land on his head on the grass(missing concrete by 1-2 feet). Eventually tests showed that he suffered a fracture of the First Cervical Vertebrae, known as the Atlas. This is a very serious injury often associated with quadraplegia or death. Indeed when someone is hanged the mechanism of death is by fracture of the Atlas- called the Hangman's fracture.Very fortunately, Mike suffered neither of these, just some temporary paresthesias (numbness) which passed within a few days. He has been on bedrest and braces since, with considerable pain. Unfortunately the fracture has not yet showed any signs of healing and is judged to be unstable as is. He will find out within a few days about the likelihood of an operation to fuse the fracture- this would be a very serious procedure with possibility of complications, but let's hope not.I wish and hope the best for Mr Mike- among his many accomplishments are 31 years spent in the US Army, exiting as a full Col. I am sure everyone feels the same. Mike
Best of Luck go's out to him with prayers
wishing and praying for Mike. He is a nice guy.
Best wishes Mike! Get well soon!
PVON
Sorry to hear of this unfortunate accident & sincerely wish Mike all the very best for a full & speedy recovery!
Wishing him a quick recovery and all the best.
Prayers and best wishes for a quick recovery. We all hope to see him post again, as he is a great credit to the hobby. God willing and very soon we hope to see him at the Max Show. Get well soon Mr. Mike.
Indeed Mike is a true gentleman in the hobby, guys like him are rare!
Wishing you well my friend!
Wishing you the best Mr. Mike!!! We hope and pray all goes well for you in your recovery!!!
Rich
Mike: wishing you a full and speedy recovery.
Best wishes for a fast recovery Mike!!
…but this does confirm my suspicions about the dangers of cats...
Wishing a full and speedy recovery Mike.
Serge
Thank you all for your sentiments - who knew that such a relatively small fall could lead to so much pain and incapacities. Thank you all again Mike
Mike,
God speed to your recovery.
John Pepera
Mike,hope you recover as quickly as possible and that you have no complications!
I broke my neck in 1996,c6-c7,and still have some numbness in a few fingers on my left hand.I was told at the hospital that if I had moved just a hair more I would have been totaly paralized(sp).The pins in my neck let me know that they're there in bad weather,but that's about it.Three months after the accident I was back to work and six months after the accident I was up to 50' off the ground helping a crane set the crossarms on ski lift towers.
Mr Mike underwent a decompression laminectomy and screw fixation of the vertebral body of C1 on Mon Jan 14- no graft- at least that is what I was told as I have not yet seen the xrays- the operation went well and he is progressing OK but is still a little dizzy and in ICU- too soon to talk about discharge- Mike
Sorry to hear that hope you get back on your feet mike
Mike has improved to the extent that he has been discharged and allowed to come home. He is in good spirits and awaiting the day he can return to normal activities. I will be seeing him tomorrow and will bring good wishes from all his German Dagger friends- Mike
Best wishes for a full recovery
Mike,
Please send Mike my best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Wishing you a speedy recovery. Stay strong!