On Thursday 8/28, my husband Russell Clark, experienced a freak accident leaving our neighborhood in Telluride. While exiting the gas pumps at Conoco at a very slow rate of speed on his dirt bike, his rear tire slid out. He put his right foot down to catch his momentum which resulted in spiral fracture of his femur.

Russ received emergency care by the rockstars of Telluride EMS and Telluride Fire as well as friendly faces on the scene. His injury was obvious to the professionals who also complimented him on being crazy tough, a "bad ass," for not passing out at the scene. He was quickly transported to Montrose Regional Health and was in surgery about 8 hours later. The "Shredn' Yeti" has a big titanium rod through the middle of his femur with 4 screws holding it into his femoral head and above his knee. The surgery took 4.5 hours as this was a very complicated procedure. He was in the Hospital for 4 days receiving attentive care from CNAs Lupita, Kodee, and Nurse Cat. He is still in an unbelievable amount of pain and is doing his absolute best to adjust to life back at home using a walker and being fairly immobile and dependent.

The Clarks need your help!

The big guy won't be moving beer kegs around Telluride for at least 12 weeks. Russ is uninsured and we are seeing big bills coming in already. Yes, we are applying for local support programs as well as FAMLI Colorado Medical funds. However, this will not even begin to put a dent in the medical bills after emergency surgery, the ambulance transport was $4,000 alone.

Russ has been a fixture of the Telluride community for over 13 years. Working most recently as Telluride Brewing Co's production manager and part of sales and deliveries team, he is beloved by his TBC family and all of the bar and restaurant accounts he works with weekly, and of course his wide group of friends and family from North Carolina to New York to Colorado to Oregon.

Russ is known for being an avid moto-enthusiast, having owned dirt bikes since 2019. Not only is this his preferred transportation 6 months out of the year, he has shared his love of riding with many friends, his "dirty bike gang," and completed 1000's of miles on mountain passes, dirt roads, single track and sand hills. Dirt biking and snowboarding are more than mountain sports for Russ, they are his solace, a way to reflect and process, his personal expression, a way to socialize and what brings him peace.

Please consider helping us as the loss of wages and bills will greatly affect our small family. Getting Russ back to his healthy, adventurous lifestyle is the main goal and your support will help us immensely.