Craig Vetter Seriously Injured In Streetbike Crash


Carguy1959

Grasshopper
I don't know if Mr Vetter would be interested in this or not. This is a picture of my 2014 CB1100 with a Windjammer installed. I saw the thread with his photo shopped picture of the red 2013. I bought my bike in August 2015 and found this site. His picture made me want to do this.
Thanks for the insperation.
 

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Kynan C.

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Newest Update From Carol Vetter 11-10-2015

FB Saved My Sanity?

Honestly, if I don't write down what Craig does every day... it all fades. I have been struggling with trying to find something Craig can do during the day so he isn't just following me around. His attention span is very short. He cannot focus on anything for very long so reading becomes difficult, so does writing. The only television that seems to capture his attention is Moto GP (motorcycle racing ). He can't focus on documentaries, science programs, Bible studies or even animal stuff. I had recorded several silent movie classics but they don't hold his attention either. My life had gotten so claustrophobic, that I was starting to melt-down regularly. When I feel trapped, I get short tempered.

The night before last he got up @ 3 or 4 a.m. and went downstairs with his sitter in hot pursuit. He reached the front door to see if my car was in the garage, turned around too quickly and fell. It left a mark on the wall which I have not cleaned off and point out frequently. A reminder that he isn't that steady on his feet yet.

Yesterday I asked Zak to set up one of our extra computers on the dining room table for Craig to fiddle with. I introduced him to his FB page.... he was fascinated... wasn't quite sure what to do with it... was he to respond to every post? I spent a little time showing him how to look at what had been put on his page. I think he was on it for an hour! An hour! Who'd have ever thought I would say that FB might be saving my sanity?

I was out today getting a haircut and my teeth cleaned and when I returned home... I discovered he had made himself at home on the dining room table.... One afternoon folks... that is how long it took for him to make this mess! (see photo below).

Craig walked down to the shop twice today. Once with his physical therapist and a second time with Zak to search through his office for a book with photos we needed to locate some pipes at the house. He is starting to become more useful. Between the therapists, the computer, and his friends, we are falling into a new temporary normal. It is temporary because Craig continues to change and get better every day. Sometimes it is his growing strength and other times it is clarity in his mind... his memory. Without those changes I think I might spend my weekends in a padded cell.

Tonight will be the 2nd night I will sleep downstairs in one of the guest rooms with Craig knowing I am here. Hoping tonight is as successful as last. I left a whiteboard on his downstairs walker so when he got up this morning and came downstairs he would see it first thing. I put it there tonight and now it is time for me to hit the sack.

A big hug to the staff at Kris Sottosanti's dental office who gather around the computer in the morning to read my posts. "Was this one long enough?" Thank you for an hour away from home... even if I spent it with Pat scraping my teeth and gums with sharp metal things.

Carol


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Kynan C.

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Craig does frequent the site. He has not as of late because of his injuries from the crash. He will be back to normal soon. Brain injurys take time to heal.
 

aliensatemybuick

Vetter Aficionado
Traumatic brain injuries can be tough for the patient and their families. I sure hope Craig's deficits will continue to improve. I recommend the following book to Carol: "Professor Cromer Learns to Read: A Couple’s New Life after Brain Injury". The following contains a blurb about it:

http://janetcromer.com/media-professionals/press-kit/professor-cromer-learns-to-read-description/

Alan Cromer is the author of one of my favorite books "Uncommon Sense: The Heretical Nature of Science", and the book his wife wrote discusses their experiences following his own traumatic brain injury.
 

Kynan C.

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Traumatic brain injuries can be tough for the patient and their families. I sure hope Craig's deficits will continue to improve. I recommend the following book to Carol: "Professor Cromer Learns to Read: A Couple’s New Life after Brain Injury". The following contains a blurb about it:

http://janetcromer.com/media-professionals/press-kit/professor-cromer-learns-to-read-description/

Alan Cromer is the author of one of my favorite books "Uncommon Sense: The Heretical Nature of Science", and the book his wife wrote discusses their experiences following his own traumatic brain injury.
I have passed this onto Carol for you. Thanks!
 

aliensatemybuick

Vetter Aficionado
Its too late now, but I should add that Dr. Cromer died in 2005, of heart disease...its in the book, but you may want to warn her. Still, I don't think that fact detracts from the story. No one lives forever. Some live more in the time they have than others. Sorry to get maudlin...
 

Kynan C.

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Update From Carol Vetter 11-22-2015

Halleluia

We experienced another God thing Saturday. Craig had taken a short nap on the sofas in the living room and decided to get up and close the sliding glass door to the patio. I was in the back of the house practicing some music and Zak was using the tractor to bring a pallet of wood up to the house. Apparently after Craig slid the door closed he lost his balance and fell over backwards... Zak was there at the exact moment to turn and catch him just before his head hit the corner of the stone hearth. He missed it by inches. I heard something and came running to find Zak standing Craig up and Craig's eyes like saucers. His mouth dropped open and he said... "I don't know what happened... one minute I was standing and the next I was almost on the floor!"

Craig is becoming more and more aware of how his brain is not working right and it frightens and annoys him. He feels worthless... can't build a fire, can't get up and walk around without telling someone, can't make his own food... I think I will get him started in the kitchen this week. He can make his own breakfast. As he "comes back" more and more, we can see the distress in his face.

One of his doctors suggested he start sketching. Today he made his first one and was very disappointed with it. The rest of us think it looks great. Apparently music, painting (not buildings I am afraid), creative artsy things can really help the brain get its functions back.

Craig is not taking any meds now.... He is not even taking the things he was before his accident. As all that stuff gets totally out of his system, we can better see how he is. I think he will heal better without all that stuff.
As for me, today I went to the Carmel Mission with 2 friends for the Messiah Sing Along. I haven't sung in months. It was heaven. There we were in this beautiful old sanctuary singing Handel's sacred music, and I saw friends there I hadn't seen in months.. It doesn't get any better than that.

Thank you Lord....

Carol
 

Kynan C.

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Newest Update From Carol Vetter 12-11-2015

Hurray for Hearing!!!

Craig can hear again!!!! It's true. The guy at Costco looked at me like I was nuts when I asked if he thought they could help. You should see these things... personally I would have bought them in red or some color that would help me find them if I pulled them out and forgot where I put them, but we got a neutral color and you can't even see them... although that doesn't seem to make any difference to Craig. They have a bluetooth hook up to his iPhone so he can control them in amazing ways with an app on the phone. Any phone calls go right into his hearing aids too. Now he can talk on the phone with out looking for earbuds and adjusting the sound. It was just a God thing that they had a pair of what he wanted in stock. Otherwise we would have had to wait another 5 - 7 days. We walked out of there with his new devises in and saw a friend who had no idea there was a hearing problem.... until I yelled, "Bjorn... you are the first guy to talk to him with his new hearing aids!!!" Then he knew. Everyone knew.

It is a new world... but the boys and I can no longer talk about him front of him because he can hear it all. He may hear better than I do now.

I was a little concerned about him taking them out last night (they have to come out at bedtime and before showering or bathing) because I was not going to be home. Morgan and I went to a local production of Cats...by the way locals... if you like that show, do not miss it. It's a PacRep production at the Golden Bough in Carmel. If you don't like the show but enjoy fabulous dancing, singing and costumes... do not miss it.
If you decide to call Craig, take a minute and make sure he knows who you are. Give him your name and then ask him if he knows who you are. If he doesn't, tell him how you know each other. Don't be offended... he slips in and out. He is usually better in the mornings... And if he starts in on what happened to him, you might want to let him know you know all about it... or you could be listening for a long long time.

Last night went well without me... The hearing aids spent the night turned off, in their little box and each got put back in the correct ear in the morning. Praise God.

Today we ventured over to Monterey Peninsula College to find out about classes that might interest Craig and get him out of the house. We have until February to make some decisions. In the mean time, the VNA has signed off on our home health care so next week we start out patient therapy in Monterey. When we find out how often and how long those session are, we can better see if any of the classes at MPC will fit into Craig's schedule.

After meeting with a counselor, we walked around the farmer's market. I got some flowers and some local honey and Craig said he wanted "something sweet". I was surprised when he bought a cherry pie. I had enough money left over for just 2 of my fave Oro Blanco grapefruits. He ate the pie in my car on the way home!

Morgan was at the house when we got back and he tried his hand at a quiche. Oh yes... good job Morgan.
So this was another good day. Craig and I got part of a walk in before the VNA nurse came to sign us off. It is so great to be able to walk with him and not have to speak into that microphone and deal with the cord.

Hoping we can go to church Sunday. And there is a group of motorcycle/scooter guys that we used to have coffee with before church that I am sure Craig would love to stop and see. BHA (before hearing aids) it would have been too difficult to pass the mic around for him to hear what people were saying... That is no longer a problem.

You were right Lisa Landry, Craig is a new man.

Carol

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Kynan C.

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Newest Update from Carol Vetter 12-20-2015

Worship and walking

I am not a happy morning person. I look back fondly to my pre-accident life when I could actually stay in bed until 9 am, roll down to the floor and stretch for 20 minutes then wander downstairs and get my coffee. What a great life...

Tomorrow we start out-patient therapy in Monterey. Because Craig is a morning guy, I scheduled his sessions early. What was I thinking?????

Now I will roll out of bed at 7, (t's hard for Willie too) race to get dressed and cleaned up enough to go out in public without scaring anyone and be out the door at 8:30... It's like having little kids in school again...
No more staying up to 10 or 11 "getting stuff done." I will have to be in that bed at 9 or I will never make it through the morning.

Today we stopped to see "the guys'" at the coffee shop before we went to church. Craig loves this group of smart, irreverent, car/motorcycle/scooter guys. I do too. Oh the stories.

On to church to worship with family. This is a family who has been praying for us, loving us and feeding us for a long long time. Craig says that doing "normal" things makes him feel more normal. Coffee with the guys and worship on Sunday is normal.

The 49ers game this afternoon was so awful we couldn't stand it so instead of being depressed, we walked the doggies down to the mouth of the ranch and back. Craig was in such a good mood he didn't even give me any grief about letting Willie ride part of the way back.

Yes I know, my blogs seem to be more about Willie than about Craig... Sorry, but I can't help myself.
Craig made popcorn tonight (very normal) and is now in the kitchen cleaning up (NOT very normal... but I didn't tell him).

Morgan is here too. He hurt his back loading wood in the fireplace and I think he isn't wild about the thought of riding his motorcycle back home in the cold with a kinky back. We love having him here...
Life really is good.

Thank you all for caring,

Carol

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Kynan C.

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Newest Update from Carol Vetter 12-22-2015

Out Patient Therapy

If I don't write this stuff down, the days go by and I forget what happens. Monday we had to be in Monterey for some sort of therapy evaluation. It was very cool. They strapped Craig in this machine and had him try and balance while the floor moved and the walls moved. Gave me motion sickness watching. The data revealed that his inner ear is not working. Is that right? Well, something like that. He is working hard to recover by himself when he gets off balance, but the tests show the therapists where they need to focus their attention. They seemed to think the body might continue to heal and recover some of what he has lost if we work it hard. Very encouraging. He is so competitive... each time he is tested, he asks the therapist if he was the best... if he scored the highest... was he the best patient they'd ever had. I am sure that attitude will help him succeed.
Today we met with the occupational therapist (no, she doesn't work with designers and inventors). She was testing his upper body strength and when she finished she told him that the other 2 therapy disciplines he is getting will take care of the deficits she saw and that she didn't seen any need for us to work with her. Craig was thrilled. His goal is to get rid of the other 2 and then he will have won. He thinks maybe 2 weeks will do it. hmmmm

Carol

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Kynan C.

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Newest Update from Carol Vetter 01-01-2016

Goodbye 2015

It is time to kiss 2015 farewell. It has been a tough year but full of miracles and blessings. We Vetters will start 2016 together... all 4 of us...No... not doing the Rio Grill Resolution Run which has been my annual routine, but by seeing Star Wars. We get to try out the hearing aids to see just how adjustable they are in a movie theater. We have high hopes.

Latest good news about Craig is that he is now adjusting those hearing aids himself rather having me do it for him. And yesterday he started reading... for over an hour. He has however become a cookie monster. The other day I caught him in front of the fire, with his coffee, his book, his eye patch and a bucket of cookies... before breakfast.

We had our 2nd Tai Chi class today and although Craig doesn't get why we are doing it, I love it. It is hard work! For as talented a designer and great rider and racer as he is, he is kind of a klutz. Not sure Craig could ever walk and chew gum at the same time... At his other PT class, they put him on squishy rubber pods and have him twist and bend and move about. They put him on a treadmill to speed up his walking. They have him shake his head rhythmically as he walks... it's hard stuff!

Up till now I have not revealed the therapy Christmas presents we made. Most have been delivered so I won't be spoiling anyone's surprise... except Jenni Bateman's... We made potholders. Yep... the ones we made as little kids on a metal loom. I can hardly believe they were designed for kids because it took me and Craig hours to do them! He chose the colors and did the weaving and I finished the corners. It took us a month to get them done. They were a labor of love. Nobody guessed, but all seemed pleased.

Happy New Year dear friends... we will be eternally grateful for your love and support through the most difficult time in our lives. This is going to be a great year. God Bless you all

Carol

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Carguy1959

Grasshopper
That is awesome news, sounds like he is well on his way to getting back to normal, or more likely his new normal...
 

Kynan C.

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I hope that the historical part of him remains undamaged. He has so much great information in that head. He hasn't updated his website since July. This worries me considering he used to eat, breath, and sleep his book and website.
 

Kynan C.

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Newest Update from Carol Vetter 02-26-2016

We are still here...


So many of you have been anxious to hear what is happening with Craig's recovery that even though nothing monumental has happened, I will catch you up.

Craig continues with both physical and speech therapy weekly. I am constantly looking for ways to help him with his balance... like emptying the dishwasher is good. He bends down and reaches up. And raking up the sticks after we pruned the apple tree out front was another good balance exercise. One of Craig's pt's is working hard on getting Craig him to catch himself when he starts to fall over. She does this by strapping him in a harness attached to the ceiling on a runner and having him walk the length of the room. As he does so, she body slams him, pushes him and yanks on his harness to see if he can remain standing. He loves it! He is the king of recovery... they haven't knocked him over once.

We walk almost a mile every day on the ranch and occasionally at the Carmel beach. Craig's balance is getting better and he is sleeping so well at night that I am preparing a test to see if our night time help can become daytime help next week. My biggest concern is his dog who has been sleeping on my side of the bed... I hope he doesn't try to bite me when I kick him out.

As for me...there are occasional days that feel almost normal. Today was one of them. Thank God!

Psalm 103 "Bless the Lord O my souls, And all that is within me, bless His holy name!Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all His benefits; Who forgives ll your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things..." and on and on and on. That whole Psalm is comforting... read it


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brianinpa

Five Star Vetteral
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When I went onto Craig's site this morning I saw the "Last Updated July 31, 2015" and thought it's been a while since I have seen an update. Thanks!

Hang in there Craig and Carol... Still Praying for you both!
 

Kynan C.

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When I went onto Craig's site this morning I saw the "Last Updated July 31, 2015" and thought it's been a while since I have seen an update. Thanks!

Hang in there Craig and Carol... Still Praying for you both!
Its not like Craig to be intimately involved with his site, and history. He is the master of archiving.
 

Matt Guzzetta

Grasshopper
Newest Update from Carol Vetter 02-26-2016

We are still here...


So many of you have been anxious to hear what is happening with Craig's recovery that even though nothing monumental has happened, I will catch you up.

Craig continues with both physical and speech therapy weekly. I am constantly looking for ways to help him with his balance... like emptying the dishwasher is good. He bends down and reaches up. And raking up the sticks after we pruned the apple tree out front was another good balance exercise. One of Craig's pt's is working hard on getting Craig him to catch himself when he starts to fall over. She does this by strapping him in a harness attached to the ceiling on a runner and having him walk the length of the room. As he does so, she body slams him, pushes him and yanks on his harness to see if he can remain standing. He loves it! He is the king of recovery... they haven't knocked him over once.

We walk almost a mile every day on the ranch and occasionally at the Carmel beach. Craig's balance is getting better and he is sleeping so well at night that I am preparing a test to see if our night time help can become daytime help next week. My biggest concern is his dog who has been sleeping on my side of the bed... I hope he doesn't try to bite me when I kick him out.

As for me...there are occasional days that feel almost normal. Today was one of them. Thank God!

Psalm 103 "Bless the Lord O my souls, And all that is within me, bless His holy name!Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all His benefits; Who forgives ll your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things..." and on and on and on. That whole Psalm is comforting... read it

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Matt Guzzetta

Grasshopper
Carol, I usually check Craig's site to check up on his latest exploits, but did not expect to find out about the accident. I spent some time reading all your wonderful posts about Craig and his extended recovery, thank you for the detailed information, I await another soon.
I was Don Vesco's partner in Don Vesco Products and had a great time competing in the original economy runs, a great event! I have the same interest as Craig in making Aerodynamic motorcycles, a worthwhile venture and I have followed Craig through the website for quite a few years as he progressed in his quest.
Your detailed description of Craig's recovery is of great interest to me as it is quite similar to my recovery from a stroke in 2005, the same problems happen in a stroke as Craig's injury. You are doing everything needed to bring him back, small balance problems or memory "glitches" may remain, but they do not really mean much when you have the tenacity to work through the problems. Repetitive tasks are wonderful for some therapy, I went through all the nuts and bolts in my shop and sorted them put them in separate bins, the best 2 weeks my shop could ever have. I will continue to follow your missives and hope and pray for Craig's recovery.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and reports on Craig, they are truly appreciated.
Matt Guzzetta
 
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