A benefit for Janet

My friend Janet was involved in a single car accident on April 23rd. Janet and her husband Dave live here, and Dave is a competetive cyclist so they travel all around for races. On this particular day Dave was participating in a super endurance road race in New Mexico and Janet was providing race support in an automobile. She rolled the vehicle after missing a blind turn and overcorrecting. Dave was the first to come upon Janet only minutes after the accident, and luckily there were some medical professionals also participating in the race, so she got immediate medical attention. But since they were in the middle of nowhere it was some time before an ambulance was able to come and rush her to the hospital. To make a long story short, among other injuries Janet suffered, she fractured her C6 and C7 vertebrae, and I don't have to tell you that this is very serious. She has basically been in a coma and/or under heavy sedation since the accident.

I have been fretting about Janet and Dave ever since I heard the news a few weeks ago, and there has been precious little word. I only knew the sketchiest of details. Dave has been far too consumed with worry over his wife to fill any of us in (spending every spare minute at her bedside), and since he doesn't participate in social media forms of communication such as Facebook it's been doubly frustrating for those of us out of the loop. Last night there was a benefit held for Dave and Janet, and I was so grateful to see Dave's face that I couldn't stop hugging him! The Lo-Fi Cowboys played (my friend Chuck's band), and a troupe of belly dancers also gave us a great show. A lot of people showed up and made donations for Dave and Janet. Here's a picture of the belly dancers in mid-sway. They really did a great job! I've never seen belly dancers in action before. It made me want to learn how!

The good news is that Janet is slowly stabilizing. The doctors are keeping her sedated pretty much continuously, but she has had a couple of semi-alert moments. She is also in the best hospital for spinal cord injuries, Craig Rehabilitation Hospital in Denver. So please wish her well, she could use all the prayers and well-wishes you have to spare!

Dave and Janet in happier times, June 2008