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Thank goodness they didn't video tape the operation. If I were to ever actually see how they got that plate inside me, and worse, how they drilled those screws through my backbone, I don't think I'd ever sleep again!
How It Seemed...
Jon Winslow, Chief Operating Officer of Ion Global sent the following note out to the leaders of Ion just after the crash which got much more to the point...
To: Ion Global Leaders
From: Jon Winslow
Date: 5/07/2001
All, I have some sad news to pass on. Mike was in a ultra-light plane on Sunday that lost power and fell about 200 feet to the ground. He is alright but he will need at least two operations on his back over the next week and there is a 50% chance that he could be paralyzed from the waist down. I spoke with him for about 10 minutes this morning and he sounded as good as could be expected. I told him that I'd like to inform all of you of what happened to him; he was fine with this but he did ask that any personal or business inquiries, etc., be routed through either Steve or me for the next 10 days or so.
Jon
News Stories on the Crash (Chinese)
ET Today
ChinaTimes
Yahoo
Formosa TV (early breaking news)
Formosa TV (later)
Ion Air [Mike's Miracle Escape]
by Sunil Narayan
In early May, intrepid adventurer Mike Rogero, Managing Director of Ion Global Taiwan, decided he needed to get away from it all. Mike drove his MG down-island to a little airstrip to continue his ultralight lessons. He and an instructor went up, flew around for a while, then came down again [albeit in a rather non-standard way]. Mike: “My life flashed before my eyes. It was wearing a trenchcoat.”
On approach for landing, Mike realized that the ailerons were broken. He handed over the controls to the instructor, who decided that they were going too fast and promptly shut the engine off. The ultralight then dropped nose-first like a brick from 200 meters. Technically, since they hit the concrete runway, this counted as a landing. At any rate, Mike's relief was momentary because the frame immediately collapsed and the entire engine block landed on his back. Mike: “Contrary to popular belief, it's not the height that kills you. It's the ground.”
He somersaulted into the stretcher (very difficult with a broken back, the judges gave it 9.5), then tried to sell the paramedics an Enterprise Portal. Mike was especially pleased that his sunglasses had survived without a scratch even though he himself had been twisted into a pretzel. Mike: “I'm a Yoga black belt. No pain, no gain.”
Half of Ion Global Taiwan rushed out to the countryside hospital, where they found Krusty the Klown and his astonishingly incompetent staff in charge. The team took over, issuing orders and instructions to doctors, nurses, and policemen alike. Paul Ou from the UX department decided enough was enough, pulled strings at 2:00 a.m., and got Mike transferred to the best hospital in Taiwan. Paul: “It's not just who you know, it’s how much fear you can put into them. I used my Darth Vader voice.”
The cops wanted Mike to sign a written confession for endangering public safety [written by them] but BSS Manager Joseph Pan threw them out. Joseph: “I made them an offer they couldn't understand.”
Drugged to the gills, Mike smilingly agreed to all budget requests from the management team, including the one for the office swimming pool, and asked Ion's System's Integration Manager Sunil Narayan, the one person in the whole company who doesn't have a driver's license, to take care of his beloved MG. Sunil: “The proceeds from the sale of the MG will go towards my department's new PlayStation2 and gymnasium.”
The doctors told him he had crushed, splintered, and slipped a vertebra, and had a 50/50 chance of ever walking again. One operation later, Mike was back to his usual tricks, remote-controlling the office from his bed, making deals, networking with Regional, driving everyone crazy. He's now back in the office, stalking around with his cane (which he uses to whack the management team when they're silly enough to move within range). Mike: “That which does not kill you only makes you stronger. So stand still, damn it!!!”
As one of the nurses said about Mike, “He's very fussy and a big pain in the butt but I like him anyway.”
Which pretty much sums up what the rest of us think.