David, Thank you for providing us with such a detailed report of Hal's condition. I know that we were all anxious to find out his status.
His fall came as we were riding along Ellis Chapel and were about 1/4 mile from the right turn onto Cassam. This is open country, so to speak, so it is easy to get a bit complacent because we tend to turn off that yellow light of caution whenever we are away from civilization and traffic. There was no real formation; everyone was just speeding toward the upcoming turn when Hal suddenly began to lose control of his bike. At first I thought that he hit a pothole, or something in the road since he was not on anyone's wheel at that point. His fall was violent, and his head took much of the force of the fall. I do not need to jump onto my bully pulpit now and extol the virtues of wearing a helmet. Suffice it to say that once again that funny looking cap that we all wear did it's job. Hal was unconscious, but slowly came out of it and was diplaying rational thought which was re-assuring. (As I struggled to get his wife on his cell, Hal took the phone and dialed it for me...this was a very good sign, both of Hal's cognitive skills and my lack thereof...) Dr. Kevin Dougherty was right at this side providing him with comfort and valuable medical assistance, and I thought that the entire group on this ride did their part in giving Hal the best care possible under these trying circumstances. A special thank you must go to the gentleman who lived in one of the few houses on this stretch of road who literally gave us the shirt off his back! He offered it up to act as a cushion under Hal's head which was lying directly onto the hard surface of the road. He also provided us with valuable geographical information for 911. It is my hope that we somehow find out who this was and offer him a big Gryo thank you. Another thank you to you, Carol for offering to go with Hal in the ambulance and providing such a valuable service to Tina by keeping her informed. We can all imagine her concerns! And, lastly, to the Paddy and Mary who went back to the fire station in Bahama to pick up Hal and Carol's bikes. The Gyros are truly a family, and, anyone who has been in need (both Don's, Wendy and Cliff, myself, etc...) had found out what a caring bunch we are. Let's keep Hal in our thoughts and prayers, and wish him a quick recovery. Things will not be the same without him on the roads, but he will be back blowing by all of us in a final sprint!! Rick ---- David Bender <[email protected]> wrote: > > I just got off the phone with Hal's wife Tina. Hal will be spending the > night in the hospital. Tina was able to join Hal at the hospital shortly > after he got there. His daughter came as well. Tina will be returning to > the hospital early tomorrow morning. > > > > The doctors are monitoring Hal closely and have another CT scan scheduled for > around midnight tonight. He apparently has some blood pooling in his brain > and they want to be sure it does not continue. In addition, Hal has a broken > clavicle and a number of abrasions on his head, shoulder, hips and legs. > > > > Hal was in a lot of pain on his ride over to the hospital. They gave him > morphine on the ride over. The broken clavicle was causing him a lot of pain > and he was experiencing some memory loss. Apparently he began having severe > headaches this afternoon in the hospital and they are now giving him some > morphine derivatives to help with the pain. His wife said he was resting > well when she left the hospital just a short while ago. > > > > For those who do not know, shortly after the A- ride separated from the A > ride this morning, Hal took a nasty spill. It would appear that Hal hit a > small piece of wood that was on the road which caused him to lose control and > flip over his handle bars. He landed on his head and shoulder then proceeded > to skid some distance down the road. He was unconscious for a period of > time. 911 was called and an ambulance and fire truck showed up very quickly. > He was transported by ambulance to the Duke Emergency Center where Tina, his > wife as able to meet up with him. I rode with Hal to the hospital and stayed > with him and his wife until his daughter arrived. > > > > It was reassuring to see how everyone on the ride did what was necessary to > ensure Hal received appropriate care while we waited for the ambulance to > arrive. A family that lives across the street from the accident was also > very helpful and definitely biker friendly. Also, thanks to Derrick and Mary > for picking up our bikes and dropping mine off at my house and Hal's off at > the Trek store. > > > > Please keep Hal in your thoughts and prayers. Tina asked that I thank > everyone for their assistance today. She promised to keep me appraised of > Hal's condition. > > > > Carol > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > The New Busy is not the too busy. Combine all your e-mail accounts with > Hotmail. > http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?tile=multiaccount&ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_4 > > -- > You received this message because you subscribed to the Gyro email group. > To post to this group, send an email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe, send an email to [email protected] -- You received this message because you subscribed to the Gyro email group. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send an email to [email protected]
