Trauma Alpine

On Memorial Day, 30 May 2016, after two hard days on the bike, I was out on a recovery ride on UT-65 headed up Big Mountain when I was hit without warning from behind.   I remained conscious the entire time after I was hit, and I landed so that I was looking at the rear of the car that hit me, so I saw that the driver had not swerved, did not brake, and accelerated as he left the point of impact. I have no reason to believe the collision was anything but intentional.

Site of impact. East Canyon, Utah. 40°48'08.6"N 111°40’41.9”W

The impact paralyzed both of my legs and disabled my left arm. I was lying in the northbound lane, so I rolled off of the road onto the drainage stones. The site of impact was in a mobile-phone dead zone, so even though I could reach my phone, I could not call for help. As I lay there in plain sight and in considerable pain, contemplating spending the rest of my life in a wheelchair, I counted eight cars that drove by without stopping.  A kind woman finally stopped and had someone call 911. By the time the paramedics loaded me into the ambulance, I had been lying on the side of the road nearly an hour.

The car hit me at 15:18:25. I didn’t make it to the ER until 5:20pm.  Around midnight, I had emergency spine surgery.  I spent the next six days in the neuro critical- and acute- care units.  The surgery relieved pressure on my spine, and I gradually regained movement and feeling in both legs and my arm. I should eventually recover. 

​I am grateful to the woman who first stopped to assist.  I thank my neurosurgeon for his kindness and skill, and everyone on the NCC and NAC units who helped my recovery. Most of all I thank Alexa for enduring this with me.

​I am not riding and behind in the shop but lucky to be alive and not paralyzed. We now resume our regularly scheduled life.