This is my husband Steve (http://imgur.com/a/4k87L). On November 25th he was involved in a cycling accident. Please share his story in hopes of raising awarness of safety on the road. (https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/2OXZc)
Before this event, I thought my life was pretty perfect, and I had everything figured out. Sunday morning I went to my sisters house to hang Christmas lights. The kids were playing in the background and my mom and I were talking about my desire to start training for my first marathon. Moments later I received the phone call that would change my life forever. Steve does a solo ride every Sunday morning. That morning his alarm went off and he dozed right trough (a moment I would grow to appreciate). I encouraged him to go out and ride even though he had gotten up later then planned. I kissed him goodbye, said a quick little "love ya" and away he went.
After repeating two hill climbs up Cantelow Rd. Steve made his final climb and began his decent. After reaching 38 miles an hour at the end of the decent a sharp turn came up quick (a turn he had journeyed many mornings before). After realizing he was traveling too quickly he grabbed the brakes and began to slide. Steve lost control of his bike which sent him careening off the rode. Steve crashed into a tree head first. Since Steve had left late that morning there were other cyclist on the road. A woman who had been descending in front of Steve stopped to help Steve and dialed 911. Had he left at his usual ride time, he would have died on the side of the road that morning. I received a call from the Fire Captain of Fairfield who stated Steve "had taken a spill" on his bike and broke his left leg. I hoped in my car and began frantically calling family to make them aware of the accident. After beginning the longest drive of my life, I received a call from the EMT in the ambulance stating the Steve was in route to a trauma center in Sacramento. Why was my husband headed to a trauma unit for a broken leg??? 15 minutes before arriving at the hospital I received a call from the Emergency Trauma room, Steve had arrived.... and he was beginning to get feeling back in his toes. Wait, what?? "OMG he broke both of his legs"... this is where my mind went. I walked into the trauma room and there laid the love of my life, lifeless. I walked up to him and put my hand on his head. His eyes welled up with tears and his lips parted "baby I'm so sorry.... I broke my back... I don't think I will walk again" And the earth cracked. Steve was paralyzed from the hips down.
Moments later a doctor came in a stated that Steve had broken 14 ribs, a vertebra in his neck (C7), bruised and collapsed his right lung, and had a burst fracture of his T10 vertebra. Steve was headed to surgery and the prognosis... he would most likely never walk again. After a long 5 hour surgery Steve was the proud new owner of 2 rods and 8 screws that would now stabilize his spine. They were unable to save the T10 Vertebra and it was replaced with a bone graft. And hour after surgery he had regained feeling and minimal movement in his right leg. Steve would have chest tubes to keep the fluid and blood from causing internal complications to his lungs and breathing treatments to warn off pneumonia. We had a long road ahead of us. As the next three days crawled by we wondered if the motor function would ever come back to the left leg.
The days were full of tests, x-rays, labs, MRI's and very little sleep. Steve fought a fever every night and they had a hard time managing the pain. Day Three... Day Three was magical. The day went great, minimal pain, no fever and new sense of strength. My husband never stops fighting. "babe... babe.. I think I'm moving my foot....will you look?" With little enthusiasm I walked to the end of the bed... and then suddenly a wiggle. Oh my GOD... he moved his left leg foot. Over the past 8 weeks my life has been changed! Steve was discharged on December 14th ... WALKING! Rehab predicts 1-6 months before he is rehabilitated and he will return to work no sooner than one year. . Still unsure if he will ever cycle again, but life has a brightness now. A brightness I never knew it could have. God has blessed me with a new understanding of love. I owe it all to you, those of you who have rallied around my family. The prayer, well wishes and donations are what have kept us focused on the road to recovery instead of focusing on survival. I feel as though saying thank you doesn't do this feeling of thanks justice. So I leave you with this, a promise, to never stop fighting, to always pay it forward and never loose sight of why we live.
Before this event, I thought my life was pretty perfect, and I had everything figured out. Sunday morning I went to my sisters house to hang Christmas lights. The kids were playing in the background and my mom and I were talking about my desire to start training for my first marathon. Moments later I received the phone call that would change my life forever. Steve does a solo ride every Sunday morning. That morning his alarm went off and he dozed right trough (a moment I would grow to appreciate). I encouraged him to go out and ride even though he had gotten up later then planned. I kissed him goodbye, said a quick little "love ya" and away he went.
After repeating two hill climbs up Cantelow Rd. Steve made his final climb and began his decent. After reaching 38 miles an hour at the end of the decent a sharp turn came up quick (a turn he had journeyed many mornings before). After realizing he was traveling too quickly he grabbed the brakes and began to slide. Steve lost control of his bike which sent him careening off the rode. Steve crashed into a tree head first. Since Steve had left late that morning there were other cyclist on the road. A woman who had been descending in front of Steve stopped to help Steve and dialed 911. Had he left at his usual ride time, he would have died on the side of the road that morning. I received a call from the Fire Captain of Fairfield who stated Steve "had taken a spill" on his bike and broke his left leg. I hoped in my car and began frantically calling family to make them aware of the accident. After beginning the longest drive of my life, I received a call from the EMT in the ambulance stating the Steve was in route to a trauma center in Sacramento. Why was my husband headed to a trauma unit for a broken leg??? 15 minutes before arriving at the hospital I received a call from the Emergency Trauma room, Steve had arrived.... and he was beginning to get feeling back in his toes. Wait, what?? "OMG he broke both of his legs"... this is where my mind went. I walked into the trauma room and there laid the love of my life, lifeless. I walked up to him and put my hand on his head. His eyes welled up with tears and his lips parted "baby I'm so sorry.... I broke my back... I don't think I will walk again" And the earth cracked. Steve was paralyzed from the hips down.
Moments later a doctor came in a stated that Steve had broken 14 ribs, a vertebra in his neck (C7), bruised and collapsed his right lung, and had a burst fracture of his T10 vertebra. Steve was headed to surgery and the prognosis... he would most likely never walk again. After a long 5 hour surgery Steve was the proud new owner of 2 rods and 8 screws that would now stabilize his spine. They were unable to save the T10 Vertebra and it was replaced with a bone graft. And hour after surgery he had regained feeling and minimal movement in his right leg. Steve would have chest tubes to keep the fluid and blood from causing internal complications to his lungs and breathing treatments to warn off pneumonia. We had a long road ahead of us. As the next three days crawled by we wondered if the motor function would ever come back to the left leg.
The days were full of tests, x-rays, labs, MRI's and very little sleep. Steve fought a fever every night and they had a hard time managing the pain. Day Three... Day Three was magical. The day went great, minimal pain, no fever and new sense of strength. My husband never stops fighting. "babe... babe.. I think I'm moving my foot....will you look?" With little enthusiasm I walked to the end of the bed... and then suddenly a wiggle. Oh my GOD... he moved his left leg foot. Over the past 8 weeks my life has been changed! Steve was discharged on December 14th ... WALKING! Rehab predicts 1-6 months before he is rehabilitated and he will return to work no sooner than one year. . Still unsure if he will ever cycle again, but life has a brightness now. A brightness I never knew it could have. God has blessed me with a new understanding of love. I owe it all to you, those of you who have rallied around my family. The prayer, well wishes and donations are what have kept us focused on the road to recovery instead of focusing on survival. I feel as though saying thank you doesn't do this feeling of thanks justice. So I leave you with this, a promise, to never stop fighting, to always pay it forward and never loose sight of why we live.
