Back in October 2012 my friend, Monica Caban, was out for a typical day of training. She was riding her bike on a road that she had ridden on countless times, riding with friends she was comfortable riding with, and just enjoying an afternoon of riding her bike.
In the blink of an eye her life has changed. She was struck from behind by an elderly woman driving a truck, who claims she did not see her. Luckily her friend was not struck and had her phone with her and was able to call for help immediately. Other vehicles stop to assist her. Responders came and rushed her to the hospital.
This being the day and age that it is, I found out about her accident through Facebook. At first, we didn't know how serious her injuries were but only knew that they were pretty severe. One thing I always think of when I think of car/bike collisions is head injuries and broken bones. As the day wore on more and more information became available, and with every bit of information we learned, my heart just sank and sank. Monica's spinal cord was severely injured and she couldn't feel her legs. I went to visit her in the hospital and it was so overwhelming seeing her lying in that hospital bed but she was so happy to see me and everyone else who came. Our support, she said, was making her stronger.
She has had an amazing attitude throughout this whole ordeal and she amazes me with it. I don't know if I could be as strong as she is being. She has undergone surgeries and therapy and now rehab. She is having improvements daily, and if there is one thing I know about Monica, she is one determined lady and when she sets her mind on something, she is going to do it. Her goal is to walk again, and I know she will be able to do it!
This Sunday I participated in an event called Monica's Mile. It consisted of either a mile swim or an hour-long swim. My coach, along with Master's of South Texas helped coordinate this event, and my coach said we were doing the hour swim. We were given pledge sheets to help raise money for Monica and they had shirts made that we could purchase there at the event. I must say that I swam longer than I thought I was going to be able to in that hour. Monica arrived toward the end of our swim wave and it was so great to see her there supporting the people who came out to help support her. The turn out was amazing and the event raised $6500 to use towards making modifications to her home to help her get around easier. It's amazing how the triathlon community was come together to support Monica. There really is no greater group of people than these triathletes. I'm so happy that I was able to contribute a little bit to that generous amount. Go Monica!!
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