I have had an interesting week, to say the least!

Two weeks ago Dr. Mike and I ended our Ride for Mobility campaign, riding bicycles from NYC to LA, with hardly an incident.  This past Saturday I went for a brief 2 hour ride, to keep in shape more than anything.  Five miles into the ride I heard a commotion, swerved to the right and came to later with three ambulance attendants trying to get me to say my name.  I know no other details.  Tuesday I got out of the hospital, with a fractured right fibula (bone in leg between knee and ankle) and compression fractured L-4 vertebrae in my back.  They fitted me with a chest/back brace to wear for six weeks to help the fractured vertebrae heal, and soon they will remove a splint and form a cast for my leg.

I believe everything happens for a reason, one we as humans very rarely get.  Thus, I will not speculate.  However, these past four days I have used our wheelchair, quite proudly too.  Everything became so much harder for me and my family, even with our wheelchair. Most everything is already impossible for those who do not have a wheelchair. If all goes well for me, I will be back to normal in two months.  If all goes well for them, their challenges will only worsen if they don’t get a wheelchair.  It is such a sharp contrast and ever clearer to me now since my accident.

I am torn among wanting more gizmos on our wheelchair to add to my comfort, being thankful for this modest form of mobility it provides, and squirming in pain just thinking of those millions of people that lack any kind of wheelchair. 

This experience sharpens my perspective of the importance of our mission, and why more than ever we are thankful that you joined us in this fight for mobility for the poorest of the poor in developing countries throughout the world.