Countless times we read about a bicyclist injured in a collision with a car, consider it a blessing the person wasn't killed, then never give it another thought.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, however, published a thought-provoking story this weekend about the suffering and rehabilitation facing a young woman, Alison Delgado, who nearly died after she was hit by a car in October.
What makes the story so inspirational is how Alison, and her husband, Tim, [that's them at left] have faced the hardships together. What makes it so moving is that Tim was the physician on the med-evac helicopter called in to transport the unidentified bike crash victim from one hospital to another.
Chilling discovery
Here's how the reporter for “Cycling accident tests couple's resolve” describes Tim monitoring his patient's dwindling vital signs and coming to the realization that this is his wife:
[Tim]Delgado, an avid biker, noticed the woman's Team Hungry uniform shorts and light blue shirt, the same uniform he wears when he rides. “There are only two females on our team,” he thought, his gaze moving to the woman's bloody face, her eyes shut.
“That's my wife,” said Delgado, 30. He did not yell or scream. It was a simple statement of fact: “That's my wife.”
He walked out of the room, leaving the attending doctor, two emergency nurses and his flight nurse with his wife, Alison Delgado, 27.
Replacement called
A second helicopter with another physician is called in, because he cannot treat his own wife, and he rides as a passenger in the chopper with her to the emergency room at his hospital.
The story unfolds into a series of medical hurdles the couple must jump through as she slowly comes out of a coma but suffers aneurysms, seizures and other problems that require surgery and rehabilitation.
Fund
She's a fighter and is making plans to eventually return to cycling and running and her job as a medical resident at Children's Hospital. She graduated from UC medical school in 2009 with her husband.
Alison has health insurance, but it won't cover all her medical bills that amount to some $800,000 at this time. Occasional fund-raisers are held, and a website — Alison Delgado Fund — has been set up for anyone wishing to make a donation.
I hope to read about her getting back on a bicycle and working again at Children's Hospital.
Photo above from the Alison Delgado Fund website.
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