My Crash !

How one's life can change in a moment.

On sunday Aug. 7th, about 6pm I was riding my bike on a country road
here in SE Wisconsin ... it was sunny and the road was flat and
straight and had more cows in the fields than cars on the road.

Next thing I remember was opening my eyes while laying in a hospital
bed and pushing the button for more pain medicine. I was told that
according to witnesses, I was run over from behind by someone in an
S.U.V. going about 50mph. I remembered nothing of the accident.

I spent 5 days in the hospital, but was lucky to be alive. My helmet
was smashed throughout and has blood and tire marks on the side (bike
or car?). I came away with two fractures in my pelvis and a cut
bladder, no surgery required.

To top it off, I must have rolled numerous times in the country
field/swamp after getting hit because I had cuts everywhere and
developed poison ivy head to toe .... ugh ! Road rash? My face mainly,
and left hip.

Home I went (to live with my brother for a while actually) and was
doing okay ... until I started running fevers. 99 ... 100 ... 101 ....
when at 3am one morning it hit 103.8F ... call 911 ... time to go back
in ! I had some bad infections ... urinary tract, bladder, and a staph
infection in my blood.

7 more days in the hospital and some serious antibiotics and I'm home
again (brother's house). I beat the staph infection but am still on IV
antibiotics for 2 more weeks.

My pelvis hasn't quite healed so I'm still using a walker, but I'm
getting stronger. My bladder hasn't healed either and am still peeing
through a tube (foley catheter) ... but that gets tested on friday. The
poison ivy is healed, and the awful swelling in my legs has almost
dissapeared. I'm off the Prednesone (steroid), the Lovenox (prevents
blood clots during inactivity), and have stopped taking the Oxycontin I
was on (made me feel lousy after a while). I only have the IV
antibiotics left (I'm a registered nurse, so they let me do it myself
through my PICC line).

So that's been my August ... from doing 50 mile bike rides, to using a
walker (and my legs have gotten skinny ! ).

The bike? Well, turns out that the driver didn't stop, the witnesses
were too concerned about me being alive to worry about the license
plate of the guy, and the cops have the bike as evidence. They say they
took lots of pictures .... hopefully one day I'll get what's left of my
bike back ($2,000 Moser).

Fortunately my job is waiting for me when I'm better.

So, bring on the snow, I'll be ready for some fresh air by then and I
have lots of conditioning to gain back this winter !

John Wilke
Milwaukee

Jeeze John, your lucky to be alive. I hope they get the idiot that did this
to you.
Press on regardless.
Lee Fitzgerald
"bjorn" wrote in message
ups.com...
How one's life can change in a moment.

On sunday Aug. 7th, about 6pm I was riding my bike on a country road
here in SE Wisconsin ... it was sunny and the road was flat and
straight and had more cows in the fields than cars on the road.

Next thing I remember was opening my eyes while laying in a hospital
bed and pushing the button for more pain medicine. I was told that
according to witnesses, I was run over from behind by someone in an
S.U.V. going about 50mph. I remembered nothing of the accident.

I spent 5 days in the hospital, but was lucky to be alive. My helmet
was smashed throughout and has blood and tire marks on the side (bike
or car?). I came away with two fractures in my pelvis and a cut
bladder, no surgery required.

To top it off, I must have rolled numerous times in the country
field/swamp after getting hit because I had cuts everywhere and
developed poison ivy head to toe .... ugh ! Road rash? My face mainly,
and left hip.

Home I went (to live with my brother for a while actually) and was
doing okay ... until I started running fevers. 99 ... 100 ... 101 ....
when at 3am one morning it hit 103.8F ... call 911 ... time to go back
in ! I had some bad infections ... urinary tract, bladder, and a staph
infection in my blood.

7 more days in the hospital and some serious antibiotics and I'm home
again (brother's house). I beat the staph infection but am still on IV
antibiotics for 2 more weeks.

My pelvis hasn't quite healed so I'm still using a walker, but I'm
getting stronger. My bladder hasn't healed either and am still peeing
through a tube (foley catheter) ... but that gets tested on friday. The
poison ivy is healed, and the awful swelling in my legs has almost
dissapeared. I'm off the Prednesone (steroid), the Lovenox (prevents
blood clots during inactivity), and have stopped taking the Oxycontin I
was on (made me feel lousy after a while). I only have the IV
antibiotics left (I'm a registered nurse, so they let me do it myself
through my PICC line).

So that's been my August ... from doing 50 mile bike rides, to using a
walker (and my legs have gotten skinny ! ).

The bike? Well, turns out that the driver didn't stop, the witnesses
were too concerned about me being alive to worry about the license
plate of the guy, and the cops have the bike as evidence. They say they
took lots of pictures .... hopefully one day I'll get what's left of my
bike back ($2,000 Moser).

Fortunately my job is waiting for me when I'm better.

So, bring on the snow, I'll be ready for some fresh air by then and I
have lots of conditioning to gain back this winter !

John Wilke
Milwaukee

bjorn wrote:
How one's life can change in a moment.

On sunday Aug. 7th, about 6pm I was riding my bike on a country road
here in SE Wisconsin ... it was sunny and the road was flat and
straight and had more cows in the fields than cars on the road.

Next thing I remember was opening my eyes while laying in a hospital
bed and pushing the button for more pain medicine. I was told that
according to witnesses, I was run over from behind by someone in an
S.U.V. going about 50mph. I remembered nothing of the accident.

I spent 5 days in the hospital, but was lucky to be alive. My helmet
was smashed throughout and has blood and tire marks on the side (bike
or car?). I came away with two fractures in my pelvis and a cut
bladder, no surgery required.

To top it off, I must have rolled numerous times in the country
field/swamp after getting hit because I had cuts everywhere and
developed poison ivy head to toe .... ugh ! Road rash? My face mainly,
and left hip.

Home I went (to live with my brother for a while actually) and was
doing okay ... until I started running fevers. 99 ... 100 ... 101 ....
when at 3am one morning it hit 103.8F ... call 911 ... time to go back
in ! I had some bad infections ... urinary tract, bladder, and a staph
infection in my blood.

7 more days in the hospital and some serious antibiotics and I'm home
again (brother's house). I beat the staph infection but am still on IV
antibiotics for 2 more weeks.

My pelvis hasn't quite healed so I'm still using a walker, but I'm
getting stronger. My bladder hasn't healed either and am still peeing
through a tube (foley catheter) ... but that gets tested on friday. The
poison ivy is healed, and the awful swelling in my legs has almost
dissapeared. I'm off the Prednesone (steroid), the Lovenox (prevents
blood clots during inactivity), and have stopped taking the Oxycontin I
was on (made me feel lousy after a while). I only have the IV
antibiotics left (I'm a registered nurse, so they let me do it myself
through my PICC line).

So that's been my August ... from doing 50 mile bike rides, to using a
walker (and my legs have gotten skinny ! ).

The bike? Well, turns out that the driver didn't stop, the witnesses
were too concerned about me being alive to worry about the license
plate of the guy, and the cops have the bike as evidence. They say they
took lots of pictures .... hopefully one day I'll get what's left of my
bike back ($2,000 Moser).

Fortunately my job is waiting for me when I'm better.

So, bring on the snow, I'll be ready for some fresh air by then and I
have lots of conditioning to gain back this winter !

John Wilke
Milwaukee

John,

I am so sorry to hear about your accident. I'm one of the many skiers
who enjoys your enthusiastic trail reports throughout the skiing season
and have probably crossed paths with you at Whitnal or Minooka. My
thoughts are with you for a speedy recovery. What road did this happen
on?

Doug Boduch
New Berlin, WI

Very sorry to hear about what happened to you. Hoping you can find comfort
in this: Jean Pinard, president of the Mont Orford x-c ski club, had a very
similar accident late October or early November '04. He was back on the
trails in January '05!

BarryT

When they find the guy I will buy a ticket to WI and we go together and
beat the crap out of the idiot.

Two days ago I almost collided head-to-head with a moron who was making
a left turn on a fork w/o seeing me. Both of us were doing about 40
mph. I could almost touch the car.

bjorn wrote:

[horrible crash snipped]

Oh dear, I really hope you'll recover fully. (And that they get the guy
who ran away, that is _really_ unforgivable, much worse than hitting you
in the first place.)

Good luck!

To give you something to aim for, I'm hereby inviting you to visit us in
Oslo, maybe in time for Birkebeineren this or the next winter?

I'll take you around the trails here, then we have a cabin near the
Birkebeiner trail above Lilehammer which you could borrow.

Terje

--
-
"almost all programming can be viewed as an exercise in caching"

John, I'm glad you survived and will be (more or less) whole. Your
mishap really brings home how tenuous life is, whether it's hurricanes,
stray bullets, bombs or merely 'out of control' drivers. Hope your
recovery goes well (and better than a staph infection).

Gene

bjorn wrote:

How one's life can change in a moment.

On sunday Aug. 7th, about 6pm I was riding my bike on a country road
here in SE Wisconsin ... it was sunny and the road was flat and
straight and had more cows in the fields than cars on the road.

Next thing I remember was opening my eyes while laying in a hospital
bed and pushing the button for more pain medicine. I was told that
according to witnesses, I was run over from behind by someone in an
S.U.V. going about 50mph. I remembered nothing of the accident.

I spent 5 days in the hospital, but was lucky to be alive. My helmet
was smashed throughout and has blood and tire marks on the side (bike
or car?). I came away with two fractures in my pelvis and a cut
bladder, no surgery required.

To top it off, I must have rolled numerous times in the country
field/swamp after getting hit because I had cuts everywhere and
developed poison ivy head to toe .... ugh ! Road rash? My face mainly,
and left hip.

Home I went (to live with my brother for a while actually) and was
doing okay ... until I started running fevers. 99 ... 100 ... 101 ....
when at 3am one morning it hit 103.8F ... call 911 ... time to go back
in ! I had some bad infections ... urinary tract, bladder, and a staph
infection in my blood.

7 more days in the hospital and some serious antibiotics and I'm home
again (brother's house). I beat the staph infection but am still on IV
antibiotics for 2 more weeks.

My pelvis hasn't quite healed so I'm still using a walker, but I'm
getting stronger. My bladder hasn't healed either and am still peeing
through a tube (foley catheter) ... but that gets tested on friday. The
poison ivy is healed, and the awful swelling in my legs has almost
dissapeared. I'm off the Prednesone (steroid), the Lovenox (prevents
blood clots during inactivity), and have stopped taking the Oxycontin I
was on (made me feel lousy after a while). I only have the IV
antibiotics left (I'm a registered nurse, so they let me do it myself
through my PICC line).

So that's been my August ... from doing 50 mile bike rides, to using a
walker (and my legs have gotten skinny ! ).

The bike? Well, turns out that the driver didn't stop, the witnesses
were too concerned about me being alive to worry about the license
plate of the guy, and the cops have the bike as evidence. They say they
took lots of pictures .... hopefully one day I'll get what's left of my
bike back ($2,000 Moser).

Fortunately my job is waiting for me when I'm better.

So, bring on the snow, I'll be ready for some fresh air by then and I
have lots of conditioning to gain back this winter !

John Wilke
Milwaukee

John,

Yikes. Glad to hear you are recovering. Hopefully someday the culprit
will get his/her karmic reward.
The old bike racer's question: was the jersey/bike salvagable?

Keep us informed as you recover.

Marsh

I am so sorry to read that you have gone through all of this. Good
God. You have been through so much. I hope they catch the turd that
would drive away after doing this to you. You went through a LOT, and
just imagine how long your recovery would have been had you not been
in the kind of shape it sounds like you were in when it happened. Hope
you are back to good health soon.

June

"bjorn" wrote in message
ups.com...
How one's life can change in a moment.

On sunday Aug. 7th, about 6pm I was riding my bike on a country road
here in SE Wisconsin ... it was sunny and the road was flat and
straight and had more cows in the fields than cars on the road.

Next thing I remember was opening my eyes while laying in a hospital
bed and pushing the button for more pain medicine. I was told that
according to witnesses, I was run over from behind by someone in an
S.U.V. going about 50mph. I remembered nothing of the accident.

I spent 5 days in the hospital, but was lucky to be alive. My helmet
was smashed throughout and has blood and tire marks on the side
(bike
or car?). I came away with two fractures in my pelvis and a cut
bladder, no surgery required.

To top it off, I must have rolled numerous times in the country
field/swamp after getting hit because I had cuts everywhere and
developed poison ivy head to toe .... ugh ! Road rash? My face
mainly,
and left hip.

Home I went (to live with my brother for a while actually) and was
doing okay ... until I started running fevers. 99 ... 100 ... 101
....
when at 3am one morning it hit 103.8F ... call 911 ... time to go
back
in ! I had some bad infections ... urinary tract, bladder, and a
staph
infection in my blood.

7 more days in the hospital and some serious antibiotics and I'm
home
again (brother's house). I beat the staph infection but am still on
IV
antibiotics for 2 more weeks.

My pelvis hasn't quite healed so I'm still using a walker, but I'm
getting stronger. My bladder hasn't healed either and am still
peeing
through a tube (foley catheter) ... but that gets tested on friday.
The
poison ivy is healed, and the awful swelling in my legs has almost
dissapeared. I'm off the Prednesone (steroid), the Lovenox (prevents
blood clots during inactivity), and have stopped taking the
Oxycontin I
was on (made me feel lousy after a while). I only have the IV
antibiotics left (I'm a registered nurse, so they let me do it
myself
through my PICC line).

So that's been my August ... from doing 50 mile bike rides, to using
a
walker (and my legs have gotten skinny ! ).

The bike? Well, turns out that the driver didn't stop, the witnesses
were too concerned about me being alive to worry about the license
plate of the guy, and the cops have the bike as evidence. They say
they
took lots of pictures .... hopefully one day I'll get what's left of
my
bike back ($2,000 Moser).

Fortunately my job is waiting for me when I'm better.

So, bring on the snow, I'll be ready for some fresh air by then and
I
have lots of conditioning to gain back this winter !

John Wilke
Milwaukee

John,

Wishing a speedy recovery! It's a good thing you're a big guy or you
might not be with us. I hope the cops are checking all of the local
body shops for the damaged vehicle. That's why golf is more and more
appealing as I get older.

Jay Tegeder
"Keep training, lycra never lies!" JT