It took a week, but I found him. The number that Chris Watts gave me turned out to be good, but it took a while for Ron to call me back.
We shot the B.S. for about an hour last night. He sounds just like the Floater we all know and love. His spirits are high and he can't wait to race again. More than anything, he's disappointed that his injury prevented him from being able to buy Doc Stein's SV!
Apparently Floater lost the front tire on some sand as he exited the infield onto the NASCAR banking. Then the front tire bit, causing the rear to whip around and highside him about 15 feet into the air. He landed square on his shoulder, I think he said the left one.
At first the doctors thought that it was just a separation, so they bound him up in a rig to let it heal. When it didn't heal, they did an MRI and performed surgery. When it still didn't heal, the went back in and did another surgery on the rotator cuff. That was only like last week or something. I don't exactly remember what Ron told me.
The worst part is that Ron has been off work this whole time. He raved to me about the Wegman Fund, saying that he'd be homeless now without it. I always knew that Wegman was a pretty nice thing, but I've never had someone I'm close to benefit from it before. As Ron said, "If you ever need it, you'll be damn glad it's there."
Typical of Floater, he's all worried about being able to race again before the summer is out, but it sounds like the reality is that he'd just like to be able to get back to work before then.
Ron doesn't currently have e mail, and replied "Oh Gawd no!" when I asked if I should post his phone #. Those of you who really feel that you need to call him can pry the # out of me on a case-by-case basis. I promised him that I would write up our phone conversation and post it to the board, so here it is. I'm just glad the old coot is still breathing!
Thanks Chris.
Dawn :)
The Wegman Fund has helped racers and their families all over the country. It is truly a blessing that this organization exists. Here is their site for more information.
http://www.wegmanfund.org/
Dawn :)
Hey Chris ,
Thanks for the update
Its nice to know he is on the mend.
It just wouldn't be a race weekend without Floater around.
Thank God for the Wegman Fund