Here’s a sad cycling story that happened to me and my wife this week…
Nancy and I went out for a quick ride this past Wednesday morning. We headed out for a short 6 mile ride through a nearby nature preserve to get the day started. (Hey even a short ride's better than no ride at all)
We were at the halfway point of our ride and I slowed down for a second and grabbed a drink of water. Nancy passed me as I coasted around the cul-de-sac at the end of the park's road. As I came out of the curve she was a couple hundred feet up the road. So I started to pour on the gas to catch up to her.
I started to sprint and had my head down cranking and watching the monitor get up to speed. I had a reference point in mind knowing it would be a little more distance to catch up to Nancy as she's typically riding between 18-20 on this part of the ride. So there I am building up speed looking down for a few good pedal strokes. When I looked up all I could do was grab the brakes and let out a scream!
Nancy had seen a rabbit on the side of the road. She had slowed down to a crawl as she was looking at the rabbit. (She’s a major animal lover) And I wasn't paying attention since I expected to remain in chase mode for another couple hundred feet or more. But when I looked up - I was literally like two feet behind her back wheel. I grabbed the brakes, swerved and screamed! Tragically, running into her side was unavoidable.
We both went flying. I actually twisted around sideways and landed on my back. My head slammed backward onto the road. Nancy got it worse though. She was slammed onto the ground and landed squarely onto her hip. She knew right away that something serious was wrong. I got up and tried to help her stand up, but she was in way too much pain. (I later checked our Garmin computers and saw that I was riding at 21 mph and she was coasting at 13 mph when I hit her)
Within a minute on the side of the road the mosquitoes found us. We were absolutely covered with ‘em. It would have taken too long to ride back home and get the car with all the mosquitoes sucking her dry, and we didn’t have a phone with us either. So I very gingerly helped her back onto her bike and helped her ride the 3 miles back home. Nancy pedaled with her left (good) leg, and where it was possible I pushed her along as she coasted. When we got home I helped her off her bike and carried her into the house.
I then helped her get cleaned up and carried her to the car and headed to the hospital. The ER was empty so they took her right in. They took her down for x-rays. When the doctor came back in to our room the news was not good. “You have a broken hip” Nancy started to cry. My heart sank too. It sure wasn't the news we wanted to hear, yet we weren't surprised by it either.
A friend of mine had recently had good orthopedic surgery so I called and asked him who his doctor was. The ER called the doctors office and set us up to see him. We were really fortunate to be able to get a top-notch surgeon on such short notice! Surgery was sheduled for the following day.
Thursday afternoon they operated on Nancy’s hip. They made an incision and installed 3 pins into her hip. The surgery went really well! But she’s still in a lot of pain! It’s a real heart breaker to see her like this. Today she made a couple of good walks down the hall. Her strong cycling legs are a mess. The operated leg is so stiff and sore. She’ll be in the hospital for a couple more days and then we start with home health care and rehab. I know her leg will eventually return to normal with a lot of rehab and exercise. Nancy is determined to work hard because she wants to recover ASAP and she’s really looking forward to riding again.
Well this whole thing’s been a crazy experience. One minute you’re enjoying a nice ride with your wife, the next minute she’s lying on the road wreathing in pain. Tell ya what – keep your head up when you’re riding. I know I will. I learned my lesson the hard way. Seeing someone I love injured because I wasn’t watching the road really sucks!
.
Nancy and I went out for a quick ride this past Wednesday morning. We headed out for a short 6 mile ride through a nearby nature preserve to get the day started. (Hey even a short ride's better than no ride at all)
We were at the halfway point of our ride and I slowed down for a second and grabbed a drink of water. Nancy passed me as I coasted around the cul-de-sac at the end of the park's road. As I came out of the curve she was a couple hundred feet up the road. So I started to pour on the gas to catch up to her.
I started to sprint and had my head down cranking and watching the monitor get up to speed. I had a reference point in mind knowing it would be a little more distance to catch up to Nancy as she's typically riding between 18-20 on this part of the ride. So there I am building up speed looking down for a few good pedal strokes. When I looked up all I could do was grab the brakes and let out a scream!
Nancy had seen a rabbit on the side of the road. She had slowed down to a crawl as she was looking at the rabbit. (She’s a major animal lover) And I wasn't paying attention since I expected to remain in chase mode for another couple hundred feet or more. But when I looked up - I was literally like two feet behind her back wheel. I grabbed the brakes, swerved and screamed! Tragically, running into her side was unavoidable.
We both went flying. I actually twisted around sideways and landed on my back. My head slammed backward onto the road. Nancy got it worse though. She was slammed onto the ground and landed squarely onto her hip. She knew right away that something serious was wrong. I got up and tried to help her stand up, but she was in way too much pain. (I later checked our Garmin computers and saw that I was riding at 21 mph and she was coasting at 13 mph when I hit her)
Within a minute on the side of the road the mosquitoes found us. We were absolutely covered with ‘em. It would have taken too long to ride back home and get the car with all the mosquitoes sucking her dry, and we didn’t have a phone with us either. So I very gingerly helped her back onto her bike and helped her ride the 3 miles back home. Nancy pedaled with her left (good) leg, and where it was possible I pushed her along as she coasted. When we got home I helped her off her bike and carried her into the house.
I then helped her get cleaned up and carried her to the car and headed to the hospital. The ER was empty so they took her right in. They took her down for x-rays. When the doctor came back in to our room the news was not good. “You have a broken hip” Nancy started to cry. My heart sank too. It sure wasn't the news we wanted to hear, yet we weren't surprised by it either.
A friend of mine had recently had good orthopedic surgery so I called and asked him who his doctor was. The ER called the doctors office and set us up to see him. We were really fortunate to be able to get a top-notch surgeon on such short notice! Surgery was sheduled for the following day.
Thursday afternoon they operated on Nancy’s hip. They made an incision and installed 3 pins into her hip. The surgery went really well! But she’s still in a lot of pain! It’s a real heart breaker to see her like this. Today she made a couple of good walks down the hall. Her strong cycling legs are a mess. The operated leg is so stiff and sore. She’ll be in the hospital for a couple more days and then we start with home health care and rehab. I know her leg will eventually return to normal with a lot of rehab and exercise. Nancy is determined to work hard because she wants to recover ASAP and she’s really looking forward to riding again.
Well this whole thing’s been a crazy experience. One minute you’re enjoying a nice ride with your wife, the next minute she’s lying on the road wreathing in pain. Tell ya what – keep your head up when you’re riding. I know I will. I learned my lesson the hard way. Seeing someone I love injured because I wasn’t watching the road really sucks!
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