Thanks for the kind wishes, recovery is a month in. a few setbacks, as an active body does not like being suddenly bed ridden, but excellent medical care is making the best of it for me. I'll be another month of "non weight bearing" while ankles heal, then rehab from there. As I re engage with life around me, I'm doing more, but this has taken more out of me than I would have imagined.

Many life lessons learned, and family and friends are so important. We fly, but our relationship with loved ones is more important....

Good to see you back up DAR, and hope recovery doesn't leave you with anything physically long lasting. A thought to your family, loved ones, and close friends who also would be affected by your escapade. :ok:

Happy to see you surfacing back here DAR:ok:

Perhaps a winter in sunnier climes will accelerate getting back in shape - takes longer for us older folks. I am sure that you are getting more lessons in patience than anybody would ever want.

It's good to see you back. Keep getting better!

Pilot DAR,

I'm glad to see you back on PPRuNe. Get well soon.

Good to know you are recovering....shows wearing a life jacket can come in handy!

Some details that appeared in "Kathryn's Report" that may interest you....the Air Ambulance was contacted, but "stormy weather prevented them from responding"..... so weather conditions may have contributed to your accident.

Also in same report, chap named Dylan McKee jumped in his boat and helped with the rescue.

The float plane declined to keep floating, and will have to be recovered from underwater.

A glider pilot friend of mine splashed down at dusk in December in a reservoir near Talgarth in Wales...he told us next day when we went to recover the glider that he had chosen to land on the shallow end of the lake, he unfastened his parachute, but was still strapped in when the glider sank near the shore! he got out and had to wade through snow to find help from a nearby farmhouse, soaking wet. When we went to recover the glider next day, it was floating again, but limp. After a year it was rebuilt and now still flying in Wales.

Good news that you are recovering. My friend Colin Hales who is trying to fly his plane around the world, crashed on a golf course in Japan, is presently in a japanese hospital, his plane is in bits. The worst thing about a crash is the embarassment....even Alcock and Brown managed to bend their aircraft on touching down in Ireland.



Mary

Yes Mary, wearing my lifejacket (subject of a recent thread) was the life or death difference.

Weather was not at all a factor in our accident, conditions were perfect. I was later told that I could not be flown onward for greater medical care, as a front was carrying rough weather through at that time.

I'm sorry to hear of Colin's accident. I met him last year in Nome, when he was trying to secure permission to cross Russian airspace. Hope he's mending and that the plane can be patched up,

Get well soon Dar,
Having read so many of your wise words , I'd like to advise you to rest as well as possible.
A long stay in care is tough on your and your loved ones,please try to go easy on yourself.

I recall having a prang in my fathers car way back when I was a teenager, his words have stayed with me to this day "we can always replace a car, your health is your wealth".

Cheers,
Fionn