Keep this triathlete in your prayers

She'll be in my thoughts and prayers for sure. Saw that earlier on slowtwitch

Not sure if I am breaking any rules here but this was on another site:

i've just now returned from seeing barbara and others in santa barbara. .
the situation with barbara is this: she is paralyzed from the neck down, and now has pneumonia. if she should survive the latter, she'll have a tracheotomy (she's already indicated that she wants that), and if that goes well, then a feeding tube lower than her neck, thereby freeing her face.
she was woozy/sleepy while i was there, but is apparently alert now when she's fully awake. she can't talk or move. her twin, angelika, and her husband preston drake were there, but barbara's husband tom was out during my visit. barbara may well not survive the pneumonia. if she does, there are no firm guesses as to what life will look like. right now nobody knows. i guess the neurosurgeon described the best case as being akin to christopher reeve's life, post-accident, pre death.
the accident happened saturday, and it was just yesterday that angelika and preston told barbara what had happened, and the surgeon told her the awful truth of her condition. when she was brought in her heart stopped temporarily, so they put in an emergency pacemaker. sunday they operated--3-4 hours, i think--and put a screw in her vertebra to hold it in place and stabilize her head so they could put a halo on. then monday/yesterday, they did the short, but intricate procedure of putting in a permanent pacemaker. yesterday, also, they discovered that she had pneumonia.
barbara's two girls are up there, and some san diego friends came while i was there.
nobody knows exactly why barbara went over. not a bike failure---bike's fine. she went over on a downhill on a bad road...bike went to the right, her body to the left. massive injuries all over.
that's it. i'm sort of wiped out....a big emotional toll, and then a crazy trip. i'd taken running clothes, so ran for an hour at the SB beach before i felt ready to tackle the 100 miles back home.
the family was glad that this was on slowtwitch, and asked me to post this update. they're undersatandably pretty overwhelmed.
peggy

oh my gosh!!!  How horrible!  My thoughts and prayers are definitely for her and her family.....that just makes me sooo sad....and feeling really guilty for my complaining over my recent injuries....definitely puts things in perspective.....

If anyone is familiar with the area, the accident actually occurred on the downhill section of gobenator canyon road after the aid station

Edited by ChrisM 2008-08-27 11:00 AM

Wow, I will definitely be thinking of her.

I know that road well and it is pretty narrow and there is not a lot of room to go if a car does happen to pull out. (Quite a few blind corners)

The Olympic Course for Carp has the same bit on it's bike course also so let's all be careful out there next month.

Yeah, it does go the same route as Carp, but the accident occurred back where the avocado groves are, not on Toro as I originally thought.  No driveways, but still open to cars.

So very sorry to hear this. 

This is so sad... my thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends....

Kenny

Prayers for Barbara, her family and friends. So tragic... Another reminder to live each day to the fullest, and Barbara sounds like she definitely did that every day.

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Terrible story. Prayers for her family.

so sorry to hear about this. Prayers for the family.

I'm speechless.  That is some very sad news.  I'm hoping for a miracle.

This is heartbreaking. Her family will be in my thoughts.