On Tuesday May 15, 2007 Don Davidson got in his Toyota Tundra heading to La Veta, Colorado to attend the Ricky Tims’ quilt retreat. He was also anticipating being one of only 4 students for Justin’s pre-retreat dye class. Leaving his home of Marlin, Texas (30 miles SE of Waco, Texas) the truck was loaded with all of the things he felt was needed. The camper had his luggage, fabrics and an ice chest filled with beverages. On the back seat were boxes of assorted threads, cutting mats and his Bernina sewing machine that had been packed in its foam traveling case. He was ready for a relaxing and creative vacation.
The trip to Colorado was without event. The weather was great, traffic wasn’t a problem, and he had the vehicle on cruise control (75 MPH), and was making great time. Sixty miles outside of LaVeta, Don was distracted by the scenery (it is quite breathtaking to see the mountains set so starkly against the open prairie) when suddenly he noticed a truck in front of him pulling a flatbed trailer traveling at a much slower speed. Reality check (or should I say “brake check”)!
Unable to react Don’s truck drove up and onto the flatbed trailer ramp, then rolled over and fell back down onto the driver’s side. It all happened in an instant. There had not been time to get out of the way to avoid the accident. Thank goodness Don was wearing his seatbelt. After the initial realization of what happened he checked to make sure he was ok. Everything seemed in order other than his shoulder was in considerable pain, and the fact that he was unable to get out of the truck.
Within a few minutes the Highway Patrol and EMS team had arrived on the scene. Due to the extensive damage they were not going to be able to have him just get up and out of the vehicle. Don used the cover of his thread box to shield his eyes from the flying glass as they broke the window. He then used his cutting mat to shield his entire body as the team broke out the windshield. Don was then removed from the truck, strapped to a backboard and transported to a nearby hospital in Trinidad, Colorado.
Treated for a broken shoulder and admitted for observation Don knew he would definitely miss the dye class and probably the entire retreat as well. Needless to say the truck was totaled and towed into town. So much for a nice creative vacation!
With no usable vehicle and unable to return home Don decided to make the best of his recovery time by “hanging out” with the retreat quilters. Upon his release from the hospital, friends from Pueblo helped him sort through what was left in the truck that now sat parked at a salvage yard. All of the fabric was wet due to the ice chest falling over. Most of his thread was scattered around and ruined by glass shards. The cutting mats were no longer usable due to glass shards as well. His Bernina looked intact, but it was a mystery at this point as to whether or not it would function.
Don arrived a day into the retreat battered and sore but in good spirits. You can’t keep a Texan down for long. Justin was great and helped set up a table and chair that would allow Don to work while wearing his new arm sling fashion accessory. Talk about challenging yourself when you sew, this man was on a mission. But the question still remained, would his Bernina work after going through that horrific accident?
The machine was plugged in and ---drum roll please---hummed into action. Way to go Bernina! You would have never known that it had withstood such tremendous impact. So, the next time you travel with your machine to a retreat, class, or lecture you can rest easy knowing this piece of equipment will withstand a lot. Pack it well and it will give you many hours of sewing pleasure.
In case you’re wondering Don is recovering quite well, still a bit sore from internal bruising from the seat belt, but otherwise getting back to normal.
Don is a retired Occupational Therapist who enjoys spending his time quilting in his studio (converted former childhood home of his wife) and participating in local town activities. His quilt interests lean mostly towards traditional friendship quilts, but he does enjoy art quilts as well.
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