On Friday, May 29, I fell from a ladder onto a concrete surface approximately 15 feet below.
I landed face-first.
The result was a broken nose, broken wrist, broken elbow, a broken tooth, two chipped teeth, and a deep gash in my shin that required multiple layers of stitches….and a broken ladder. Surprisingly, I never lost consciousness. After emergency responders arrived, I was loaded into an ambulance and transported to Fort Wayne—about an hour away.
As I lay on the stretcher during that ride, every bump in the road got my attention.
Over the following days, I gained a new appreciation for how much punishment the human body can take—and how much difference a smooth ride can make. My left wrist was broken, my right wrist sprained, my face was smashed, both sides of my body hurt, and every pothole seemed determined to introduce itself personally.
A few days later, I underwent surgery to repair my nose. Thankfully, everything went well. During one of my follow-up appointments, a doctor remarked that falls from twenty feet can have a survival rate as low as fifty percent. Whether that statistic is exact or not, the comment left an impression on me and reinforced a feeling I had already been experiencing: gratitude.
Gratitude for skilled first responders.
Gratitude for excellent medical care.
And gratitude for being able to keep moving forward.
Oddly enough, the experience also gave me a new appreciation for one of InSource’s customers: LiquidSpring.
Making the Ride Better
Before coming to InSource, I never spent much time thinking about vehicle suspensions. Like most people, I simply expected vehicles to get me from Point A to Point B. But companies like LiquidSpring spend every day thinking about ride quality, stability, safety, and driver comfort.
LiquidSpring develops smart suspension systems used in vehicles such as RVs, emergency vehicles, buses, and work trucks. Their technology continuously evaluates vehicle conditions and adjusts suspension characteristics in real time to help provide a smoother, safer ride. [liquidspring.com]
That may sound like a luxury feature—until you’re the person lying in the back of an ambulance.
Suddenly, ride quality feels a lot more important.
Where InSource Fits
This is where InSource enters the story.
Our team has the privilege of manufacturing products that support LiquidSpring’s systems, including wiring harnesses and electronic control assemblies. While most drivers and passengers will never see these components, they help connect the sensors, controls, and systems that make modern intelligent suspension possible. Internal InSource records describe LiquidSpring as a growing customer relationship involving both harness and ECU-related products.
It’s one thing to build a product inside a manufacturing facility.
It’s another thing entirely to understand how that product impacts people in the real world.
A Different Perspective
Thankfully, my injuries are healing, and I have much to be thankful for.
But the experience gave me a different perspective on something I previously took for granted.
For an RVer traveling across the country, an EMT transporting an injured patient, or a worker spending long days behind the wheel of a service vehicle, ride quality isn’t just about comfort. It can affect fatigue, safety, confidence, and recovery.
Companies like LiquidSpring are working to improve those experiences every day, and InSource is grateful to play a small role in helping make that happen.
Sometimes it takes an unexpected event to help us see the value of the products we build.
For me, that lesson came one bump at a time on a one-hour ambulance ride to Fort Wayne.