Broken Leg Photos And Thanks

Jolene will be staying at the hospital overnight. She may come home tomorrow. The pain is still pretty high, but with morphine she can rest. We haven't seen the doctor again, but the word is she can't put her weight on it for 2 months (she'll be on crutches).

Here she is after I moved her off the trail and we got her comfortable (and gave up trying to splint the leg).


The Search and Rescue team goes to work. Get an I.V. and morphine in, sweet pain relief.


Strapped in the stokes and ready to roll down the trail.


If you look really hard you can see the breaks.



Thank You!

I'm sad Jolene broke her leg, but I was deeply grateful for all the help we received from friends and complete strangers.

- Within minutes of the crash, four guys on motorcycles stopped and stayed with us for 2-3 hours, instead of enjoying the ride they had planned. One of the guys was able to make the cell call that got help coming right away. Two guys rode down Tibble and brought back a jacket and blanket for Jolene. They got the fire going. They offered to give whatever they had to make a splint. They didn't know us, yet they treated us like friends. Wow.

- Josh and Nate stayed at least 2 hours to make sure we were OK. We had to badger them to leave with darkness fast approaching. And Josh has continued to check in us. Other mountain bikers also stopped and offered to help in any way.

- The Utah County Sheriff Search and Rescue Volunteer Team was amazing. The first two arrived on motorcycles, saw to Jolene then gave updates to the rest of the team. Next four guys arrived carrying the pieces of the stokes. Then the rest of the team arrived with the medical personel who jumped right in and got Jolene ready to travel. These folks buy their own equipment and spend personal time for training. When they get the call, they come running - dropping plans to see a movie, leaving a son's soccer game, etc. I am deeply grateful for what these people did for us.

- Every medical professional did a fantastic job - from the ambulance staff to the hospital doctors, nurses and staff. I was very thankful for their skill and service.

- Family and friends have been incredibly supportive. Jolene's brother works for the Orem Fire Department and he came to the ER on his day off - his medical knowledge and familiarity with emergency situations was very comforting to us. Jolene's Mom and Dad came immediately to the ER. I got calls, texts, facebook updates, etc. from her and my brothers and sisters. Friends, coworkers and neighbors expressed concern and offered help. And the people we know from biking and through the internet have wished Jolene well with kind words.

This flood of people rallying to our aid has deeply impressed me and filled me with gratitude. It seems there's a lot of bad news these days, but this outpouring of compassion reminded me how much goodness and kindness is out there. There's no way I can repay what all these people have given - all I can do is offer a heart-felt thank you!