THE ACCIDENT: HOW IT HAPPENED

Jamaica Cycling Federation's National Time Trials 2011- one month prior.
Blue Mountain Time Trial
I placed 3rd, but there were only 3 women! lol. In purple is my hero and mentor, my coach & most of all my best friend Alexandra Consten, the fastest woman on two wheels!
She is amazing. She makes cycling up mountains look so easy!
 I am her biggest fan and she has become my best friend & has always been encouraging and supportive of  my passion for cycling.

On June 26th, 2011 I was nearing the end of a 5 hour ride in the hills of Jamaica with some cycling friends. It had been a very difficult route that day. A lot of hills. But I had been doing all the races in the Jamaica Cycling Federation series and was in the best shape of my life. However hills...hills...they have always been a huge challenge for me!

We left Ocho Rios to St Ann's Bay, then up Steer Town, Chalky Hill to Moneague, over Mount Rosser  and down to Ewarton. Mavin and his Endurance club members left us there and the rest of us then turned back over the mountains to  Ocho Rios.  We tackled the climb up without incident and now we just had to cruise along the meandering country roads outside of Ocho Rios, and we would be home. However this section of the road was bumpy. I had been following on the wheel of my friend Alex Consten, the fastest female cyclist in the Caribbean, however on reaching near Walkerswood, Alex got a call and moved to the back of the group, and the support van moved in behind her. I was now on the front. I came around a bend in the road, on a small incline, when I suddenly  noticed the road was in poor condition with a lot of gravel on the far left side. Gravel is not good news for a road cyclist and not on a gradual downhill. There was a small trench-like groove outside of the gravel and then the white line  for the other side of the road. We drive on the left in Jamaica.

In a split second I decided to put my bike in the trench as it seemed to be smoother. However it was too narrow and the wheel jammed in the trench and in a split second I was thrown from the bike, falling violently on my right side.I came down hard and already saw out of the corner of my eye,  that a car was coming behind me.  I fell immediately into the path of that SUV which was overtaking the group from behind. Though the driver was not going fast there was no way he could have avoided hitting me. I was already on the ground when the car slammed into me. It hit the left rear side of my upper back and a voice in my head screamed " Move your head" and I did that swiftly.....and I swear, that is the only reason why my head did not end up being crushed.

I never lost consciousness. I was under the front of the SUV (Thank heavens it was an SUV as it was high above me),and so I clambered to get up, sliding from under the car and using the bumper as a brace to haul myself up. But I found that I could not breathe. I was gasping for air. There were voices everywhere as the other cyclists and drivers started to talk but my only focus was to be able to breathe. I told everyone...don't touch me! I slowly stood up and flopped my body on the bonnet of the SUV as I held my chest desperately gasping for air. I pushed on my rib cage with the palms of my hands and heard a strange squelching sound as the ribs moved aside, and in that moment, I was able to gasp for air.

The car's wheel had left a huge tyre mark on the back of my jersey. Tons of people came out of nowhere and and I was being asked too many questions. All I wanted to do was get medical care and fast. I knew it was serious but yet I was very calm. So really no one realized how bad it was. I was just calm. No tears. No screams. Just stating what had to be done. Strange huh?

We had the support vehicle right there and my girlfriend Alex moved into action. She got me in the rear of the support vehicle and  told the driver to just go. We were not sure if we should head to Kingston or Montego Bay and which would be closer. I asked Alex to call my sister Nicky who is a nurse, and after she spoke with her, it was decided that I should head to St Ann's Bay Hospital - perhaps 15 miles away or so,  and she would call ahead to find out the situation there. It was really so that some medical doctor could make the decision as to whether I could survive the one and a half hour trip to Montego Bay or not!

Every time we hit a rough spot,it was pretty painful but when we were just driving along, I really wasn't in much pain at all. I mean NO ONE could imagine how serious my injuries were. I wasn't all scraped up or anything.  It was all internal.

Alex does not feel she was so instrumental in my initial care, as it's second nature to her to take charge and to be precise and effective! I tell you no lies when I say within minutes every option was explored in a systematic way, drivers and others were quickly dispatched, given instructions and I was on the way. When time is of essence one appreciates German precision!