Mike Hits the Road

Friday started out being a quiet day. I warped up my Sample-It loom for an upcoming project, Bob puttered around the motorhome, and across the campground our friend Mike went for a 22 mile bike ride while his wife, Retha, stayed back with their dogs.

All was peaceful...until Retha received a phone call from Mike. He had just about finished his ride when he stopped to turn onto the street where the campground is located. He stopped, went to remove his feet from the pedals by turning his ankle, and the shoes would not unclip. He fell, and heard a "pop" from his lower right leg. Fortunately a couple of passing motorists saw the fall and one called 911. Mike called Retha, who ran over and banged on our door for help.

Bob took Retha to Mike and stayed until the ambulance arrived before taking the bicycle back to the campground and returning for the car. Mike had fractured his tibia and his fibula was broken in two places. It would need to be pinned.

Today I went with Retha to the hospital and together we kept Mike company while he waited to go into surgery.

Fortunately the medications that were being given to him kept him fairly pan-free. The surgery took a couple of hours, and another couple hours later Mike returned to his room. We'll find out in a day or two what happens next, but it will probably be six weeks before Mike can be weight-bearing. Which means that the two of them will most likely have to postpone their trip home to Georgia. The campground has rallied in support and Retha has received many offers of assistance from perfect strangers. That's what RVers do.

If you were to ask the average RVer what they fear, it's probably illness or injury that can interfere with plans. Health issues can happen anytime, whether we stay at home or not. We don't let that fear keep us off the road.

Life can change in an instant, and we are all so grateful Mike's injury wasn't worse.