Faber
Nelson County, Virginia
The news just keeps getting better and better about Martin Versluys. We first told you about his terrible accident on Mother’s Day Weekend when a driver turned in front of him as he was pedaling north on Route 151. He was flown to UVA Medical Center.
Now just a few weeks after that accident we are happy to report Martin is up and around and is recovering well ahead of schedule.
Over this past weekend his wife Kathy shared some thoughts with family and friends that have been so helpful over the past several weeks.
“I can’t wrap my head around how fast time has zoomed by. Over a month has passed since that awful day—and it seems we’ve barely had time to blink. How do I begin to wrap up this enormous caring effort!
We are so indebted to everyone and so aware how “lucky” we are on countless fronts.
First and foremost, we need to give full praise to Wintergreen Rescue, and all the other First Responders, who literally saved Martin’s life on May 14. If it weren’t for their extraordinary speed and expertise, we would not be here now. THANK YOU, RESCUE WORKERS, from the bottom of our hearts!
We are immensely grateful to Heidi Crandall for her immediate and thorough coordination of a YouCaring site for Martin. We are touched and humbled, as well by the Squadra Coppi Cycling Team of Washington DC, who set up a GoFundMe site for Martin (Thanks, David!)—And to all the other fellow cyclists who reached out in so many ways to support us, Martin is forever your brother.
Then, for the support from our family members, and all our friends and neighbors—right down the road and all around the world—(even people we’re not sure we’ve met), we’re so so grateful. How to do justice to all that kindness!
A week ago, Tanya Anisimova’s powerful cello performance was an unforgettable evening (also raising funds), with so many friends and community members coming to hear her and to see Martin. (Many hands went into that!) The evening felt almost like fireworks to top off Martin’s efforts to heal.
But, I missed the chance to make that the “grand finale update,” and as we all know, life keeps going!
On Thursday, what Martin thought was a filling coming loose turned out to be his screws coming loose. (There’s a joke in there somewhere.) Our dash to the craniofacial surgery office turned out to be a get-outa-jail-early card for his jaws. While he was supposed to be wired shut another three weeks, replacing the post that had fallen out would have meant an operation with anesthesia, etc. Made more sense to cut him loose, said the surgeon—But he is still on a liquid diet until his mid-July appointment. So a big relief to not have to carry wire cutters at all times in case of emergency—but solid food is becoming more tempting than ever.
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Meanwhile, I can’t stop grappling with how to properly let each and every one of you know how beholden we are for all the concern and over-the-top generosity during our past frightful month. So many practical, creative, thoughtful, inspired, big and little ways you guys came up with to prop me up and lend us a hand—that my head starts to spin when I try to ponder how to return the favors.
I’m doing my diligent best to write down every person I know who has helped us. You all know who you are! I know many of you, but others remain anonymous. The more names I write down, the more names crowd into to my head—hundreds of you!—that it makes me downright certain I’ll miss thanking someone—And that makes me crazy!
We look forward to catching up with you somewhere soon!
Love and peace,
Kathy—and still-with-us-Martin!”
What great news! We look forward to seeing you out and about soon Martin!
