Coco is recovering from his second amputation and is recovering in Guerrero Negro where he will apparently be residing for some time ahead....the
following is an update (read the entire thread if you are interested by going to "page 1"):
Great to see a big smile on his face...I hope they treated him right at Los Caracoles...when was that photo taken? thanks for the update.
And still that great smile!!!
thebajarunner - 5-11-2008 at 04:00 PM
We saw him in February at Catavina- I think I started the first thread about his latest problems.
He was really hobbled that day, struggling with his crutches, but still that big smile.
Truly a classic
Hope he is able to tend his "Corner" for many years to come.motoged - 5-11-2008 at 04:17 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by shari
Great to see a big smile on his face...I hope they treated him right at Los Caracoles...when was that photo taken? thanks for the update.
Shari,
I believe it was several days ago....read last page of the ADV link I posted above for a letter from the folks who took the photo.
GedDavid K - 5-11-2008 at 04:19 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by motoged
Nomads,
Sorry....here is the link:
Thanks Ged... I appreciate your actions and sharing this with us here!Santiago - 5-11-2008 at 04:46 PM
Thanks for the update.BAJACAT - 5-11-2008 at 07:02 PM
Coco is truly and amazing guy.I hope he returns to his corner,soon I would like to meet him in person,last time I went by he was in GN Ken Cooke - 5-11-2008 at 09:57 PM
I can't wait to see him back at the hacienda...
bajamikey - 5-11-2008 at 10:23 PM
coco allways with a smileDavid K - 5-12-2008 at 07:59 AM
Yep, happy Coco! (Nov., 2006)
Corky1 - 5-12-2008 at 03:38 PM
Heres a picture about a month ago.
We were talking about teaming up for Class 60 in the Baja 500.
Corky (Corcho)
[Edited on 5-13-2008 by Corky1]bacquito - 5-12-2008 at 04:07 PM
I truly hope to finally do some traveling and meet these fine people such a Coco. My wife and I have a lot with a house on it and some other land in
Ensenada and it seems that all we do is work on the house and the land! I have traveled Baja a couple of times but my interest is to travel alot. Coco
sounds like a person I would like to meet. Good luck to him.motoged - 5-12-2008 at 05:24 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Corky1
Heres a picture about a month ago.
We were talking about teaming up for Class 60 in the Baja 500.
Corky (Corcho)
Corky,
Downshift and reload that pic you promised...
A BIG thanks to you again for bringing this effort to the ADV Rider site.....Murray has indicated that funds are now just over $5000 and it appears
that the replies so far support Coco using the donations as he sees fit for his current circumstances....
The man has a lot of folks rooting for him....
Now, go roost somebody....TMW - 5-12-2008 at 06:00 PM
["Murray has indicated that funds are now just over $5000 and it appears that the replies so far support Coco using the donations as he sees fit for
his current circumstances...."]
I thinks so too. His immediate needs must be met.CaboMagic - 5-13-2008 at 06:46 AM
Glad to read this update .. never been to Cocos Corner and never met the man .. it was clear that he gives more than he can whenever asked.
Considering what he is living thru, as re: donations being used as he see fits, full support and no opposition whatsoever from this pnut gallery on
behalf of our team.shari - 5-14-2008 at 06:22 PM
I LOVE THIS BOARD!!! I saw Coco's picture here and happened to be at Los Caracoles to see my amigos staying there when I see Coco's smiling mug behind
the wheel of a station wagon in the parking lot. I was in a big hurry as I had a doctors appointment I was late for...but I couldn't resist
introducing myself to this Baja Star....WELLLL...I'm sooo glad I did because Coco is one wild dude and one of THE most amazing people I have ever
met...my kind of amigo for sure...top notch...great sense of humor...get up and go guy. I ended up chatting for a good long while and would like to
relate some of the things he told me.
Coco was hoping to sort things out at the bank so he could access some of the funds people had been sending his way as he is totally and completely
broke...I gave him some gas money which he said he'd rather buy some tequila with...whatever gas gets him to where he needs to be! A nice gringo lent
him the car for awhile which is really cool....get this...he was figuring out how to drive it with no legs...he had 2 sticks he was using to press the
gas pedal and the brake...kinda tricky but he's getting the hang of it now...but holding the 2 sticks and the steering wheel is not easy and he cant'
open a beer while driving either...haha...I was totally amazed at how he could drive like this...anyway...he proceeded to tell me more than one
outrageous story and yep I was late for my appointment but he doctor saw me anyway. Turns out Coco lived in Asuncion in the late 50's and worked as a
diver.
He told me about his operation and how they screwed up and when I asked him why he didn't go to Ensenada for better doctors...he grinned and pointed
at the maid at Los Caracoles and said he came to Guerrero hoping to win her heart!!!!! Rascal I guess that's why he hangs around Los caracoles...what a guy eh!
I mentioned the efforts on Nomad to raise funds to help Coco and he related to me how he had helped so many gringos over the years that hopefully the
tortilla would be flipped and some of his unconditional kindness would come back to him to help him in his time of need. His pension is 1,500 pesos a
month...barely enough for beer!
It was an honour to have finally met one of baja's true heros. Someone HAS to do a COCO book...so dig deep into your hearts and pockets nomads to help
this deserving man. (I sure hope he gets the girl in the end)
Bad news is that Coco's corners has been vandalized, robbed and all his beer stolen...bummer...Ken Cooke - 5-14-2008 at 07:29 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by shariBad news is that Coco's corners has been vandalized, robbed and all his beer stolen...bummer...
This is beyond words. I can't even visualize someone or a group destroying Coco's home in his Valle de Coco. shari - 5-14-2008 at 07:39 PM
No chite...Coco thinks it was some punks from GN as they know he's there and not at his place...dirtbags. Too bad someone couldn't camp out there and
look after his place or all his tools will disappear soon.motoged - 5-14-2008 at 11:11 PM
Shari,
Thanks for the update....
But the news makes me sick....shari - 5-16-2008 at 07:03 AM
I was sthinking....and wondering...I hope Coco's plight is well advertised on the racing sites and message boards...perhaps some of you involved in
that area could make sure that this update gets passed on...it's just not my area of expertise...thank you racing types!!!Paulina - 5-16-2008 at 03:59 PM
Shari,
I copied your message to RDC. There's a large group of people on that site who are interested in Coco's situation as well.
P<*)))><shari - 5-17-2008 at 08:01 AM
way to go amiga...that is EXACTLY what I had hoped for...gracias.David K - 5-17-2008 at 08:09 AM
Coco watching Baja Angel sign his guest book (Jan. 2005)...
Hurry home Coco!!boe4fun - 5-17-2008 at 09:34 AM
> Hola Nomads. We're back home from Baja after about 4 1/2 weeks. Brad
Farrow and myself drove down in my new (to me) 2005 GMC 3500 1 ton 4X4 diesel
pickup with an old pop up camper on the back. We left on April the 10th and
stopped at the border to obtain our visas, then drove on to Ensenada to meet up with Nomad Debra and spend
the first night. The next day we drove down to San Quintin and had cold beer
waiting for the Flyings Samaritans as they all landed on the dirt runway at Los
Pinos Ranch. Saturday we had the Flying Sams clinic, and a group
of patients had driven down from Ensenada but arrived at about 5 PM cause they
had 2 flat tires along the way. So we ended up working until 9:30 that night and
casted/measured for 7 legs. The next morning we returned to the landing runway
to bid our chapter of the Sams goodbye, but they had already left.
Unfortunately, one of the planes from the Arizona chapter of the Sams (who also
use this runway for landing but service the clinic in El Rosario - about 35 miles to
the south) drifted off the runway and broke off a wing. No one was injured
though, and the plane was repaired and gone by the time we made the return trip
back up.
> We next spent the night in Bahia de los Angeles, and some of the best fish and
shrimp tacos in all of Baja at a little taco stand we always frequent when we go
to BoLA, and then were off to Guererro Negro to look for a local Baja legend
named "Coco."
Anyway, he's a diabetic and was having his second amputation (done on his "good"
leg) so he now is a bilateral below knee amputee. We checked at the hospital in
GN but he wasn't there and I had read on one of the Baja chat boards that he
might be down at La Paz since at that time he was unable to get a room at the closer
hospital. So we headed off down the road and visited some friends in Mulege then
on to spend the night at Loreto (also home of some of the best tacos at
"McLulu's").
> The next day we drove south and ended up at the clinic in La Paz in the early
afternoon, so we decided to offload some of the parts and equipment we had
brought down, including a 340 pound electric wheelchair for a quadriplegic. Dr.
Bob Haining had went to medical school in Tasco, Mx. and one of his schoolmates,
also a doctor doing research now, ended up a quad, so Bob got this wheelchair (I
think he said it cost about $30,000.00 US new) donated for his friend. What a
pain to offload this from the back seat of my truck, but we had taken down a
couple of metal ramps and with the help of some locals we got it out. The next
4 days were used to clean up the shop and organize, and also fill and modify the
molds we had taken in SQ at the Sams clinic, as well as assemble 6 legs and 1
arm for Guatemala. They already had the sockets laminated, but lacked the other
parts of which we have an abundant supply in our La Paz lab. We added the
necessary knees, suspension belts, knee extension assists, pylons and feet so
these systems can be delivered this July in Guatemala by Brad and Bob.
> Sunday came and we finally had a day to play. The local Rotarians ("La
Balandra") have been sponsoring the clinic for 3 years now, and hold a couple of
fishing tournaments a year to generate funds for the clinic. This tournament
was for mainly Yellowtail, and I'm happy to say that our boat took 3 trophies:
1 for first fish at the weigh in, 1 for biggest fish caught by a female
(Theresa, who is Humberto's wife), and the biggest fish caught in the contest.
Brad, myself, and Jim Thompson (another clinic volunteer) had agreed before hand
that if any one of us caught a fish with a cash prize we would return the money
to the Rotarians, so that night at the awards ceremony Jim gave back the cash
prize of $1000.00 US for the biggest fish caught to the Rotary club.
> Monday started the first day of the clinic, and the word must be spreading
down there, as we had one little girl come to see us who lives in Santa Rosalia,
about an 8 hour drive. Another child came from the state of Oaxaca, which is on
the mainland Mexican's border with Guatemala! She had family who lived in La
Paz and arranged for her to come over and be seen at the clinic for leg braces.
3 1/2 weeks and about 45 La Paz patients later we finished at the clinic and
headed back home.
> The La Balandra Rotarians are all Mexican citizens and a great group of
people, providing us with rooms at a nice local hotel which included breakfast
every morning and bringing us a nice lunch on most every clinic day. We also
had the opportunity to spend one Sunday afternoon at Alejandro (he's a PM&R
Doctor who is the prime mover in this clinic project) and his wife Malvina's
house in El Triumfo. The house is VERY old, probably a couple of hundred years,
is made of adobe and covered with a type of plaster. It has walls about 2 1/2
feet thick. It's up in the mountains and is many degrees cooler than down in La
Paz.
> Our drive back home provided stops at Mulege, San Quintin, and then home. We
stopped at the Flying Sams clinic in SQ to drop off the legs fabricated in La
Paz and a set of extra parallel bars we had down there. We were unable to see
Coco and cast for a new prosthesis for him as we were unsure of his location.
While in La Paz I had Alejandro check all the local hospitals to see if he was
down there, but had no luck so he'll have to be a project for a future trip.
> All in all a great trip. We logged about 3000 miles total and my new truck
worked great, getting about 14 1/2 miles per gallon even though loaded with over
a ton of equipment, parts, supplies, food, water, pop up camper, etc. Another
plus is that diesel fuel in Mexico translates into about $2.05 a gallon US, so I think
I'll be heading down there for most all of my fuel needs. Oh, I forgot to list the clinic members:
Brad Farrow, Louise Farrow, Dr. Bob Haining, Frank Rodriguez, Jim Thompson, and
myself. Vaya con Dios muchachos! Paul BoeGadget - 5-17-2008 at 10:05 AM
Bless you for your worthy efforts!
Sounds like many important needs were met by your crew.
The Rotarys in Baja are a great bunch. My son and I had the pleasure of working with some during hurricane John reliefe in Mulege. A dedicated and
selfless bunch for sure.gringette - 5-21-2008 at 03:11 PM
i was just telling a friend about Coco's ranch and all the cool car part sculptures and stuff he had. sorry to hear he's had further health problems.
looking for a link to the paypal page, but not finding it?? am i blind?Iflyfish - 5-21-2008 at 03:18 PM
thanks for the update Corky - I went to paypal and entered the "coco.21@live.com" email to send some money, but it said
"To
coco21@live.com
This recipient is not yet registered. PayPal will send an email to the recipient explaining how to complete your transaction."
??? is the paypal account still live? do i have the correct email addy?TMW - 5-22-2008 at 04:45 PM
Ditto, same for me.Corky1 - 5-22-2008 at 04:54 PM
I'm working on it!!!!
Corky
Edit 6:26 PM
Try it again. Its working for others?????
[Edited on 5-23-2008 by Corky1]
It worked for me!!!!!
Dear Corky Behrle,
Your payment for $XXXX to coco.21@live.com has been sent.
[Edited on 5-23-2008 by Corky1]TMW - 6-5-2008 at 06:58 AM
A friend told me they saw Coco in a wheelchair at contingency for the Baja 500 last Friday.tunaeater - 6-5-2008 at 02:50 PM
Yes Tom
Coco was at Contingency and the awards promotion for the Baja 500. He seemed like the same ol Coco. laughing and in good spirts. He had a can
collecting donations at the awards.
Roy had his Coco's corner shirt on and they were talking for a while.dtbushpilot - 6-5-2008 at 02:56 PM
I talked to him on the side walk on the main drag in Ensenada the day before the Baja 500. He didn't have anything good to say about the doctors in
GN. Said that he was going to have another surgery in Ensenada to fix things up. He was up-beat and looked good in spite of everything....dt
I guess that's why he hangs around Los caracoles...what a guy eh! 
