62
Just Send
ORR his Thrasher
THRASHER
MAGAZIN
Post Office Box 884570
San Francisco, CA 94188-4570
rule*62
what seemed like an eternity to write it
down. They praised Ronnie and his friend
Tony Froude (who was driving at the
time) for wearing their seat belts. I phoned
the hospital (Indian Reservation Clinic)
and spoke first with Tony, who told me
the wheel had come off the rear driver
side, causing the vehicle to roll 3 and a
half times, coming to a rest on its top.
Tony was not injured but said Ronnie was
in a lot of pain. He said I could probably
speak to Ronnie-what a relief he was
alive! It took a while for Ronnie to say
anything, but when he did, his voice indi-
cated to me that he was in bad shape. I
asked to speak to the doctor and she said
they did X-rays and ran some tests. They
could find no serious
injuries and would
release him with pain
medication. I asked her
to be sure he was OK
before releasing him
because he sounded
very bad. She said he
was very lucky, but had
been through a serious accident, and
would take a while to feel himself again.
Tony and his other skater friends who had
been travelling behind them literally had
to carry Ronnie out of the emergency
room because he couldn't walk. They got
a room for the night and tried to keep
Ronnie calm and comfortable, which was
almost impossible. I spoke with him that
night but he kept insisting his back was
really hurt. I prayed most of that night. His
vehicle was totalled. All his belongings
were scattered along the highway or
ruined with glass and blood. Where do we
go from here? Tony called the next day to
say they were going back to Durango to
regroup and try to figure out what to do.
When they got to Durango, Ronnie could
hardly move and was in so much pain that
they took him to the hospital. He was
diagnosed with two compression frac-
tured vertebrae in his back and a broken
finger. I knew I had to go get him and
bring him home to recover. His grandfa-
ther and I drove nonstop to Durango to
pick him up and bring him home. One
thing I will never forget about that trip
was when Ronnie had me drive by the
shop that worked on his truck and said,
"there is the place that changed my life
forever." When the truck was serviced the
lug nuts were not replaced correctly, caus-
ing the wheel to come off. After getting to
Oklahoma and visiting several doctors we
learned that he also had a concussion.
The tissue between his jaw and skull was
injured so he has to wear a mouthpiece
and there was another
fracture in his neck. He
has to wear a brace
contraption that straps
around his chest, neck,
and head to keep his
head immobile. If it
weren't for his love of
skating, his faith, his
friends, and his plan to someday be back.
at it, I really don't know what would
become of him. We both know things
will never be the same for him physically,
and even though I've tried to get him
focused on furthering his education and
maybe trying to judge skating events, I
know what keeps Ronnie Hodges going is
his love of skateboarding
God bless you and please keep
Ronnie and his family in your prayers.
Kitte Lewark
Lawton, OK
PS. I'm sending one of the last pictures
taken of Ronnie skating. When I looked
at it I started crying because even.
though I do not believe in omens or
superstition, in the cloud formations
there are three faces of death. I'm sure
you can find them.
the debut album
featuring "drown" & "I wish i was"
available everywhere
©1998 Maverick Recording Company www.maverickre.com
On sale at all:
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