My First Visit With Motorcycle Survivor Don Hoult About seven weeks ago, my friend Don Hoult was proceeding on a green light into a major highway on his Harley motorcycle (first bike trip with his girlfriend Adele), when a reckless, uninsured driver ran the red light—striking Don broadside at 50 miles an hour. In most cases, such a hit would have been a death sentence for any mortal, but Don is not any mere mortal. No. In fact, he is an amazing human being for many reasons. But I will get to that in a minute. The accident broke his right leg, arm, several ribs, his nose, his occipital orbs and his right ankle. I think his right hip was involved too, but I forgot to ask. He was in an induced coma for weeks, just to minimize his pain. He is still going through a series of operations to fix what happened. Inside his face, there are titanium plates. He’s had to have a tracheotomy due to complications with pneumonia (it will eventually reverse itself and he will be able to speak on his own again.) He is still on a couple of heavy-duty pain meds, but his spirits are high and his will is off the charts strong. I walked into his room at Beaumont Hospital not knowing what to expect. I’d been called down to tune the guitar he has in his room. He has aspirations of playing that guitar soon, so I took the trek down Woodward, eager to see my good friend. You see, about five years ago, Don started showing up to many of my gigs. It didn’t take too long to gain his friendship and he has been a beacon of light at so many different gigs that I have played. In due time, everybody I know fell in love with the man. He is positive and brings happiness to everybody. He has always loved live music, so I have been slipping live CD’s of various things into his hospital room, since he has been unable come out to gigs since his accident. Like all of my friends, I wish for a total recovery. Don has been so loyal and such a good friend, I want to do whatever I can to make his journey back to “normal” life as good as possible. One might think that such a break of bad luck would turn a man sour on the world, but Don has not allowed that to happen. This morning, he was remarking to Adele about how magnificent the sunrise was. He endures his present discomforts, dreams of having a cup of good coffee (that the hospital docs refuse to allow), and looks forward to the end of the year, when he will get to finally go home, rehab and have Adele by his side to help him through the long process of recovery. And, through it all, he carries a jovial and positive outlook. Nothing’s gonna get Don down. Both Adele and myself are amazed at the resilience of the man. Keith Richards finally has a strong competitor. Cancer couldn’t kill him. A 50 MPH automobile couldn’t kill him. The pain and damage of the accident could not dampen his pure spirit. Hell—he’s bound to live forever! Yes—he has a ways to go. Surgeries to the right foot wait in a few weeks. Other things need to heal and the medicos need to keep an eye on the overall picture, but I know this—Don Hoult is making an amazing comeback. When he is ready—only then and not before—there is going to be not one, but a series of parties in Southern Michigan. There will be a long list of attendees that love the man for who he is. I definitely plan to be one of those in the celebration! He is an inspiration to us all.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 06:38:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015