Todd Palin Update: Wife Sarah Palin Says Husband Has Multiple Broken Bones, Collapsed Lung Following Snowmobile Accident
Todd Palin, the husband of former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, is in Intensive Care following a Sunday snowmobile accident in Alaska. Meanwhile, his wife updated his condition early Tuesday, saying her husband has multiple broken bones and a collapsed lung.
https://www.facebook.com/sarahpalin/photos/a.10150723283643588.424640.24718773587/10154032820153588/?type=3
Sarah Palin was in Florida on Sunday, at the time of Todd’s accident, campaigning for Donald Trump, whom she’s endorsed, according to the Huffington Post. At a town hall-style Trump rally in Tampa, Palin briefly addressed the crowd before catching a flight to Anchorage.
“Thank you guys for your prayers for my husband who is recovering right now in ICU after a little wreck on a snow machine.”
Following, Trump himself had some encouraging words for Todd.
“Her husband is a tough cookie but when you’re too tough, you break ribs every once in a while.”
Todd Palin, an avid outdoorsman, was competing in Alaska’s annual Iron Dog snowmobile race, a 2,000-mile race in which teams of two drivers compete in tandem. Palin has been on winning teams three times, most recently in 2007.
Nome-Golovin winner Tre West earns a free team entry in the 2017 Iron Dog. #irondog2017 https://t.co/0TirobQ6FF pic.twitter.com/F60aWnifiF
— Iron Dog (@irondograce) March 13, 2016
This isn’t the first time Todd Palin has been injured in the Iron Dog. In 2008, Palin struck a barrel that had been covered by snow and was thrown 70 feet from his snowmobile. He was not seriously injured at the time.
In a statement on the Iron Dog race’s website, organizers of the race confirmed that the grueling race can be dangerous, even for accomplished snowmobilers like Todd Palin.
“Todd is a four-time champion Iron Dog racer with a long history of strong finishes in the longest, toughest snowmobile race. Regardless of your skill level or victories in racing, this incident demonstrates that accidents can happen to even the most skilled riders. All riders should be prepared for the worst and always ride with a partner, wear protective gear and a helmet.”
Born in 1964, Todd Palin has long led the life of a rough-and-tumble Alaska outdoorsman and blue-collar laborer. For the better part of his working career, Palin worked in Alaska’s oil fields, both in management and labor, taking some time off here and there to avoid conflicts of interest due to his wife’s political career. When he’s not working the oil fields, Todd heads to the coast to work as a commercial fisherman.
During his time as “First Gentlemen” of Alaska, while his wife, Sarah, was governor, Palin jokingly referred to himself as “First Dude,” according to a 2007 Los Angeles Times report. While other “first gentlemen” of the time period (there were only five in 2007) were college-educated men who focused on issues such as schools, the arts, or public health, Todd Palin encouraged young Alaskans who couldn’t afford college to consider fields in the technical and labor industry. Specifically, Todd tried to steer young people into his own field, the oil and gas industry.
“For those of us who learn by touching and tearing stuff apart and for those who don’t have the financial background to go to college, just being a product of that on-the-job training is really important.”
As MSN notes, this has been a difficult year for the Palin family. Back in January, Sarah and Todd’s oldest son, Track, an Iraq War veteran, was charged with domestic violence following a fight with his girlfriend. Sarah Palin blamed the incident on PTSD and then insinuated that the incident was related to Barack Obama’s alleged poor treatment of veterans.
As of this writing, it is not clear how long Todd Palin will be hospitalized following his snowmobile accident.
[Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]
