The Littlest Hero~

Another saga - Part I

Butch arrived home early afternoon the first of May!  The weather was perfect.  We had planned & were looking forward to a busy & fun four days of home time.

Home!

The following night, we had tickets to the Blue Rose PRCA Charity Rodeo at the Sarpy County Fairgrounds.  We always enjoy a rodeo, but to be honest, the arena was very small & grandstand seating the most crowded & uncomfortable we've seen.  We left a few minutes early to get ahead of the traffic.

Ready to leave from Imogene!

Sunday, Butch loaded our bikes & Finn's cart.  Our plan was to ride from Imogene to Shenandoah & stop for frozen yogurt at Kats Koolerz before heading back.  We'd made this ride in April of 24.  Finn surprised us by jumping right in his cart!  He was ready to ride!

Walnut Creek - upstream~

The creeks had more water flowing than we'd expected.  It was such a beautiful spring afternoon.  The leaves were still opening on the trees & the smell of wild plum blooms filled the air.  Finn had been standing up, then sat facing forward most of the way.  Every so often he always looks back to be sure I'm still following.

Bridge over Walnut Creek~

Below is the second of the downed trees we had to navigate around.  Butch went first & made it under at the right side of the trail.  This section of trail was in rougher shape than we expected.  

3:21 p.m. Downed trees~

I was relieved to see when Butch & Finn made it through.  I took the photo & followed.  We hadn't gone much farther when the trail reached the intersection of 160th.  Butch was quite a way ahead of me.  He & Finn cleared the road & continued down the trail.  

The road had been freshly graveled.  As with many of our gravel road crossings, the level of the road was much higher than the trail surface.  I misjudged the depth of the gravel, was going too slow & should have been in a higher assist gear.  I wasn't...  When my rear tire started bogging down, just shy of cresting the road, I shifted.  Another mistake.  The extra power spun the rear tire out from under me, with enough force to throw me & the bike up onto the road.  

I lost control of the bike & started falling to my right.  My right knee was at the top of the pedal rotation & took the blunt of the fall.  I heard the bones snap as I hit.  When I tried to move my leg, the feeling was all too familiarly sickening.  Thankfully, I'd fallen clear of the bike, it was in the middle of the road & so was I.  I tried to move, but on gravel & with nothing to use to leverage me up, it wasn't going to happen.  I couldn't reach my phone, still on the handlebars.  When Butch didn't return, I realized he had no idea I'd fallen.

Running out of options & worried I'd be run over, I yelled out his name as loud as I could.  A minute later I heard Finn barking.  It sounded a long way down the trail.  I yelled one more time as the barking continued!

Butch told me later, he had been cruising along when suddenly Finn went nuts!  He started barking his loudest ever bark!  Butch stopped & turned to see what the problem was.  That's when he realized I wasn't behind them.  As he was getting his bike & Finn's cart turned around - Finn was fighting to get out of his escape proof harness.  Next, he tore at the bottom of the zippered door at the front of his cart & leaped out!  He started running back the way they'd come - full speed!  Butch went after him.  

I was waiting, since the barking had stopped.  I knew Finn must have gotten Butch's attention.  Sure enough, a couple minutes later the two of them appeared at the road.  Never have I seen a sweeter sight!  Butch put his arms around me & lifted me to the side of the road.  Finn came running to me & laid as close to me as he could - looking up into my eyes...  He was so proud to have found me!  

3:52 p.m. My Hero's~

Butch called 911 & within a very short time we could see a dust cloud approaching fast.  It wasn't the ambulance!  A black car flew by us without even slowing down...  Crazy scary...  The next dust cloud - was the ambulance out of Shenandoah.  These guys are my human hero's!  A highly trained, compassionate team who listened to my concerns.  Incredulous I had suffered such a similar injury.  I made sure to tell them of my tendency to develop Compartmental Syndrome. 

4:05p.m. On our way~

In the meantime, another senior eBike rider had appeared & offered his assistance.  He went for his pickup truck, then returned to help Butch load my bike.  Butch rode his bike & pulled Finn back to the Bronco, where he & the good Samaritan met up.  I wish we'd thought to get his name.  He told Butch he hadn't planned to ride, but his wife told him to go.  She said; "You never know, someone might need your help."  Well - someone did & we are eternally grateful.  

I can't express how much I love our little brown dog.  He was very unhappy when Butch returned to the Bronco without me.  He spent several days of the week following with Grama Doris while Butch was with me.  My goal was to go home by Mother's Day.  Butch took the photo below just before they left to pick me up.  

Finn giving Butch "the Look" Mother's Day Morning~

Butch had planned to leave on Tue. the 12th.  Nationwide has been extremely kind & understanding.  He was told to stay home as long as it takes & let them know when he's ready to leave.  

I'm so very grateful for the village of amazing professionals who have cared for me these last weeks.  I am the luckiest woman in the world to be married to the man who took me as his wife!  The "better or worse" part is a bit lopsided!