Help heal Uncle Bob, he was hit on his bicycle
Donation protected
He may not be our biological Uncle, but he's still, without a doubt, all our Uncle.
Uncle Bob is one of those people you can always ask for help, whether you know him or not. Whether by bringing food and cooking for everyone, bringing beer for friends even though he doesn't drink himself, or organizing catch and release fishing tournaments, Bob enjoys making a positive impact in our community in many ways. As a loving husband, father, and grandfather, and as an Air Force Veteran, martial artist, surfer, drummer, race car driver and mechanical engineer, he embodies the traits of a role model and he is always willing to be a teacher, that's why we call him UNCLE Bob.
On 3/30/19 Uncle Bob, aka, Robert Tull, was participating in his favorite hobby racing motorized bicycle's at Apex Kart Racing in Perris, CA. Bob was racing really well in his class and the 59 year old finished 6th out of a class of 12, showing some youngsters a thing or two about racing.
As the checkered flag came down Uncle Bob prepared to exit the track with his arm raised in the air as an exit signal. Unfortunately the racer behind him was both unaware of the checkered flag and unaware of Bobs hand signal and crashed right into him at full speed which instantly broke multiple ribs as the handle bars jabbed him in the chest. Upon impacting the ground Bob's right shoulder was shattered (he's right handed.)
Of course Uncle Bobs initial reaction was to pop his dislocated shoulder back in and shrug it off, but soon after he started swelling incredibly fast, closing up his vision and restricting his breathing. At that point he was rushed to the ER where they discovered his broken ribs had punctured his lung, and the escaping air was getting trapped underneath his skin causing a great amount of pain and swelling around his esophagus, nearly stopping his breathing completely.
Bob spent 3 days in the ICU where they had to constantly keep his lung from collapsing and treat his swelling. The swelling you see in the picture is nearly 24hrs after the impact, the hole in his lung would just not close up! After 2 days in the ICU they determined that he was in well enough condition to perform surgery on his shoulder. Thankfully I can say that the surgery went well and Bob is now stable and out of the ICU.
Timing is everything. Uncle Bob recently got a great new job and quit his old job for a brighter future. Unfortunately the new jobs health insurance and old jobs health insurance did not overlap, leaving a few days where he was uninsured. This is the period of time the accident happened and now Uncle Bob is in serious need of financial help as soon as possible as he is stuck with the hospital bill in its entirety, likely over $50,000, and will not be able to return to work for months.
Please take a moment and consider the Uncle Bobs in your life, i.e. the people that have been there for you and helped unconditionally, and please consider helping Uncle Bob as a way of giving back to the givers in our community. No one needs to help, but hopefully, some of you get to help.
Donations will be used by Robert Tull, aka Uncle Bob, directly to pay for his hospital bill, which will include 3 days of ICU, treatment for his collapsing lung, and reconstruction surgery of his shoulder, along with accompanying gas and other expenses he and his wife incur.
On behalf of Robert Tull, aka Uncle Bob, his closest friends and family, and his racing team TeamRebelBikes, thank you for the outpouring of love, prayers and support shown over the past few days, and undoubtedly over the months to come. Even just a share on social media can be a major help.
Sincerely,
Sander Sindell (Teammate) (April 2, 2019)
P.S. You can friend Uncle Bob on Facebook if you'd like to stay up to date on how he is doing. He shares this FB page with his wife Denny:
https://www.facebook.com/denny.pontestull
You can also learn more about his racing team TeamRebelBikes by visiting:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1188724474473634/
Uncle Bob is one of those people you can always ask for help, whether you know him or not. Whether by bringing food and cooking for everyone, bringing beer for friends even though he doesn't drink himself, or organizing catch and release fishing tournaments, Bob enjoys making a positive impact in our community in many ways. As a loving husband, father, and grandfather, and as an Air Force Veteran, martial artist, surfer, drummer, race car driver and mechanical engineer, he embodies the traits of a role model and he is always willing to be a teacher, that's why we call him UNCLE Bob.
On 3/30/19 Uncle Bob, aka, Robert Tull, was participating in his favorite hobby racing motorized bicycle's at Apex Kart Racing in Perris, CA. Bob was racing really well in his class and the 59 year old finished 6th out of a class of 12, showing some youngsters a thing or two about racing.
As the checkered flag came down Uncle Bob prepared to exit the track with his arm raised in the air as an exit signal. Unfortunately the racer behind him was both unaware of the checkered flag and unaware of Bobs hand signal and crashed right into him at full speed which instantly broke multiple ribs as the handle bars jabbed him in the chest. Upon impacting the ground Bob's right shoulder was shattered (he's right handed.)
Of course Uncle Bobs initial reaction was to pop his dislocated shoulder back in and shrug it off, but soon after he started swelling incredibly fast, closing up his vision and restricting his breathing. At that point he was rushed to the ER where they discovered his broken ribs had punctured his lung, and the escaping air was getting trapped underneath his skin causing a great amount of pain and swelling around his esophagus, nearly stopping his breathing completely.
Bob spent 3 days in the ICU where they had to constantly keep his lung from collapsing and treat his swelling. The swelling you see in the picture is nearly 24hrs after the impact, the hole in his lung would just not close up! After 2 days in the ICU they determined that he was in well enough condition to perform surgery on his shoulder. Thankfully I can say that the surgery went well and Bob is now stable and out of the ICU.
Timing is everything. Uncle Bob recently got a great new job and quit his old job for a brighter future. Unfortunately the new jobs health insurance and old jobs health insurance did not overlap, leaving a few days where he was uninsured. This is the period of time the accident happened and now Uncle Bob is in serious need of financial help as soon as possible as he is stuck with the hospital bill in its entirety, likely over $50,000, and will not be able to return to work for months.
Please take a moment and consider the Uncle Bobs in your life, i.e. the people that have been there for you and helped unconditionally, and please consider helping Uncle Bob as a way of giving back to the givers in our community. No one needs to help, but hopefully, some of you get to help.
Donations will be used by Robert Tull, aka Uncle Bob, directly to pay for his hospital bill, which will include 3 days of ICU, treatment for his collapsing lung, and reconstruction surgery of his shoulder, along with accompanying gas and other expenses he and his wife incur.
On behalf of Robert Tull, aka Uncle Bob, his closest friends and family, and his racing team TeamRebelBikes, thank you for the outpouring of love, prayers and support shown over the past few days, and undoubtedly over the months to come. Even just a share on social media can be a major help.
Sincerely,
Sander Sindell (Teammate) (April 2, 2019)
P.S. You can friend Uncle Bob on Facebook if you'd like to stay up to date on how he is doing. He shares this FB page with his wife Denny:
https://www.facebook.com/denny.pontestull
You can also learn more about his racing team TeamRebelBikes by visiting:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1188724474473634/
Organizer
Sander Sindell
Organizer
San Francisco, CA
