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Craig Vetter injured

lmo1131

New member
I've just received an email from a former co-worker of critcal injuries sustained by Craig when his Streamliner hit a deer Thursday afternoon.

Right before noon today, Craig hit a deer while riding the streamliner. We are at Natividad in Salinas. He is still unconscious They will keep him sedated because of the breathing tube down his throat. He just got moved to ICU. I saw him move his right arm. All the bones around his left eye are broken. Eye ball still in place. Head trauma, broken clavicle and most ribs on his left side too.

An update from his wife Carol.

Hi all, Carol here. This is day three for Craig. All his numbers are going the way they should. He has a brace on his neck to steady his head because of a C2 fracture. We are hoping to avoid surgery. He has some swelling in his brain so they decreased the sedation and he started wiggling around as we hoped. He is not in a coma.. Looking forward to removing the ventilator down his throat which helps him breathe. All the ribs on his left side are broken so breathing will be painful. Hoping he will wake up today so we can talk to him. It will be a slow process, but he will recover. I am so grateful for all the love and care and prayers. Thank you all so much. This is a great trauma center. We could be here for many weeks. I'm praying we won't be.

Prayers to all.

He's been into high-mileage stuff for years.

web-July-2-Vetter-Streamliner95.jpg
 
We heard him speak at the Lima Rally Sunday morning service. Really a great guy, y'all pray for him!
 
Like many here, I had one of his fairings in the mid 70's

Very creative guy.

I'm hoping he heals up well.
 
Craig Vetter, he's been a significant name in the motorcycle industry for many years. Sorry to hear about his accident, best of recovery to him.
 
Best wishes

Hoping for a complete and speedy recovery for you Craig.
Had one of your Windjammers with the lowers on a 1978 BMW R80 great fairing and you had a great vision for the future of motorcycling when you created it.
 
This was posted by Duane Ausherman on another forum...Duane and Craig are pretty good friends:

Around mid day the docs decided to bring him back. They cut the meds, removed the breathing tube and eye patches. He can see and move everything. He is complaining about the pain and wants to go home, so that shows that his brain is about normal............ for Craig.

They put him on a drip to reduce his discomfort. He is able to rest more or less in a comfortable fashion, but of course is now fairly sleepy.
 
Just got this update:

CRAIG VETTER ::
Duane Austerman just spoke with Zak just as he returned from sitting all night with Craig. He is dead tired and about to hit the rack.
Craig is now breathing plain air on his own. He is getting a variety of drugs, some for pain and some for his psych.
He makes little sense and Zak reported that only three times did he ask and respond in a way that made sense. Nearly all of his words are drivel. The docs attribute some of the nonsense to the Morphine and some to the brain damage. The amount of brain damage is not known and it may take weeks or months to clear up............ hopefully.
He now has some fluid/blood on his lungs and they worry about infection. They are now considering the "least bad" route to go from here.
Craig is not out of the woods just yet. Carol is so tired that she just stopped answering all of the texts about Craig. Please pass the word on.
 
power of prayer

From first hand experience, after a serious injury, there is almost as much strain on those close by lending support.

If we all remember Craig & Carol in our prayers, the results will be astonishing.
 
I saw another update by Duane Ausherman...he references info from Craig's oldest son, Zak:

Craig was moved out of the ICU a couple of days ago and was doing well. Wife Carol walked into the room this morning and found him very agitated. She had him instantly moved back into the ICU. I got the call from Zak while on his way to the hospital to find out about the emergency situation. The update is that he had a spike in his sodium level and now they are getting it back under control.
 
The Facebook page only works if you are one of her friends.
Would someone that is, give an update on Craig's current condition?
Thank you, Steve Handeland President BMW Owners Club of Minnesota
 
The Facebook page only works if you are one of her friends.
Would someone that is, give an update on Craig's current condition?
Thank you, Steve Handeland President BMW Owners Club of Minnesota

Strange are the ways of Facebook. I'm not a FB friend, but I can see it.

Latest update:


September 1 "This afternoon Craig was moved to the medical/surgical unit He has a "sitter" Someone is watching him all the time. This may allow us to have a little time in between when the boys and I are here for him. Both of them have their hands full with business and their dad.
This room actually has a cot for us, our own bathroom, and lots more room. Unfortunately Craig cannot see outside. The window is down kind of a corridor to his left. I think this is a good move. We'll see.
He wants to get up. I'm hoping PT will be more aggressive now.
Tomorrow is a new day."
 
From Duane on the /2 list:

Craig is doing better and even asking a few questions that make sense. They are concerned about his losing weight though. He didn't have any extra when the crash happened and now has lost a lot.
 
From Buzz Kanter's FB page:
5 September at 07:35 ·
Craig Vetter report from his wife Carol:
"Craig enjoyed an exciting and restful day with his sister. He now gets teaspoons full of water by mouth and got to eat some applesauce. He got up with a walker and I suspect he will begin walking soon if he gets some real food. I have said this before and hope I don't have to say it again, but as awful as yesterday was, today was that much better. I suspect this may be the way of head trauma. Ugh.
Poor Arlene got so hungry she actually ate in the cafeteria. That probably won't happen again. Since they are closed weekends, we will have to figure out how to feed her as she is doing days.
I am so grateful to you all. I read precious notes sent from all over the world. We've gotten notes from people we haven't heard from in years... Particularly you Joe M. Craig has missed you so. He is going to be really happy you sent a note. Thank you for making us feel so loved. Thank you for feeding us. Thank you for lifting me up when my armor starts cracking. Tomorrow will be a great day."
 
Prayers for Craig

Our thoughts and prayers are with you, Craig. Loved your fairings in the 70's. The best made then. Also, I had a Vetter Terraplane on my '75 Gold Wing.

Anybody can read Carol's FB but you can't reply and post unless you are a "friend".
 
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