English
Way back on the 6th February a group of us set out on what was supposed to be a routine 3-4 hour ride around Hampshire. Roughly 9 riders met up at Denmead village green with the aim of cycling over to Slindon and back again via the numerous country lanes. The weather was ok with that I mean it was damp on the roads, but not raining. Actually if my memory serves me correctly it was a nice day for a bike ride so everyone was happy and in good spirits when we left Denmead around 10am.
After a few mishaps at the start – my chain snapping and then going back to the house to jump on a spare bike, we set off towards Bedhampton. Our route took us on roads used all the time by many cyclists, but unfortunately we had no idea what was in store for us a few miles later.
Riding over the A3 almost entering Bedhampton we had to negotiate two small roundabouts. Nothing out of the norm 99% out of the time, but as we approach the second roundabout (B&Q entrance) Tom fell. I was riding at the back and witnessed the accident which was not very nice to see. This is my account of what I witnessed that day.
I was riding at the back and approaching the roundabout when I started to slow. The riders in front of me were already on the roundabout with the front riders exiting. Tom was positioned around the middle of the group. As Tom turned his bike to start his exit off the roundabout somehow Tom’s front wheel just slid away from him. Tom landed heavily on the side of his head due to way he fell. Normally most cyclists would land on their side, pick themselves up, brush themselves down, check the bike over and most probably be able to continue on without any further problems.
Unfortunately this was not the case with Tom. As I mentioned he landed on the side of his head because from what I saw Tom tried to straighten his bike, but this caused him to land awkwardly instead. To this day no one knows how or why the front wheel got away from him – perhaps it was the damp ground, or Tom’s wheel rode over something then that item slid causing the fall, either way Tom was on the deck and very clearly in a serious condition.
Soon after the accident happened we removed the bike from the road, which was not attached to Tom in any way, covered him with some of our clothing and dialled 999. Within a few minutes two paramedic cars were at the scene attending to Tom, shortly followed by two police motorcyclists. I decided to get to the first roundabout and let the drivers know of the accident as no cars could get through. Many drivers understood and went against the roundabout flow to find an alternative way around the incident.
Soon after, another police car arrived with a friendly face inside. Samantha Moore, also a cyclist, and a friend to me and Nikki jumped out and I explained what had happened. Another car soon arrived seconds later and the police took control of the traffic whilst I went down to Tom to make sure Samantha knew what was going on.
Moments later an ambulance arrived followed by another police car and you could see this was treated as a very serious, and life threatening incident. The guys attending Tom decided his injuries were so severe that the Air Ambulance had to be called out to take Tom to Southampton Nero unit. In the meantime the police were taking statements from us all. I would just like to mention that no car was involved in the accident and later on it was decided that this was a freak accident and Tom was so unlucky.
Anyhow, to cut a very long story short, Tom was airlifted to Southampton Neuro unit were we later found out that he had an operation on his brain to remove a blood clot. Tom also suffered a shattered collarbone and various other injuries. Once the scene was cleaned, we were allowed to continue on back home.
Tom’s parents thanked us for the help we gave at the scene prior the men and women arriving to attend to Tom.
Below is Tom’s account of the accident.
Tom Durham – My Account of the Accident
As strange as it sounds, on Sunday 6th Feb 2011 I was both incredibly unlucky and lucky. Unlucky to come off and sustain serious injuries, but so lucky with everything that followed. This is a brief account of that day.
It was a damp morning but mild for the time of year. I headed out to meet around 10 or so likeminded cyclists to enjoy a few hours on the bike. I remember the snapped chain 3mins into the ride and waiting a few minutes while Rich got a tow back down the road to grab another bike out of the garage. Shortly after we all set off again to continue with the ride.
10 days later they decided to wake me up, which was a slow and gradual process. My first memory was voices, hearing visitors, knowing they were there, here, wherever here is, to see me.
‘You’re in Hospital, you’ve been in an accident, you’re ok though, don’t worry.’
I remember the beeping, so many beeps, continuous, steady, from all around and then occasionally some faster ones. There would be movement and then everything back to normal. I noticed I had a sling on. More visitors, my parents and this time I could communicate, just. Shakes of the head, eye contact, slurred words. Very tired, I feel asleep again.
I remember watching as the nurse attached a syringe of ‘food’ to a tube and then the cold feeling of it reaching my stomach. I remember them teaching me to swallow again. Lots of water dribbled down my chin but I got there and progressed to yoghurt straight away. I was improving rapidly, by the hour. My parents were back again. They explained everything.
I had come off my bike. The cyclists with me phoned for the ambulance straight away. There was a fast response car there within a couple of minutes, then an ambulance, then the helicopter. The volunteer doctor onboard anesthetised and stabilised me and we were off, not that I remember.
Several CT scans later confirmed I had bleeding inside my scull, they had to operate. But it was also the first bit of good news, no neck or spinal injuries. They did whatever they do to fix things and put my head back together again. They added a sensor to measure the pressure inside my skull. The shattered collar bone would be dealt with later. They put me into a coma to recover. 10 days later things were right to begin waking me.
Soon I was moved to a general ward to continue my recovery. I had to learn to eat again and to walk. They took the last of the stitches and tubes out too. Shortly I was back at home again, complete with one arm in a sling and a partially shaven head with some metal in it. The fact I’m here, now writing this, is proof enough that they did an excellent job.
They don’t know what caused me to come off my bike. They found a bit of plastic on the road. Maybe my wheel slipped on it. Maybe I was just incredibly unlucky. The helicopter that transferred me to hospital saved vital minutes, not everyone who needs it gets a helicopter, that helicopter had a doctor on board. He is part of BASICS, a charity which supports volunteer doctors to attend emergencies, they give up their days off, their annual leave, their nights, to be on call, ready to save lives. Not everyone who needs a BASICS doctor gets one. Maybe I was just incredibly lucky.
Please support BASICS however you can.
Many thanks also to Hampshire and I.O.W. air ambulance, all the staff at Southampton Neurological Intensive Care Unit and finally to Wiggle for letting me tell my story and helping me get back on my bike. Thank you, all of you.
Tom
The following day I returned to Wiggle to start another week of work placing products up on site for you to view and buy. Apart from wishing Tom and his family our best wishes during this troublesome time, I also remembered that the paramedics had to cut off many items of cycle clothing to get to Tom’s chest. Once in hospital they had to cut everything else so not to move him. With this and being in the very fortunate position I am at Wiggle, I ask if Wiggle would replace Tom’s clothing etc. I asked the question because I knew he would dearly love to get back on his bike once fully recovered. I’m sure his parents and his girlfriend were not so keen on this, but being a true cycling enthusiast he would, and has done, started to ride his bike again either with friends and/or larger groups gradually building up his strength and confidence up as the weeks go by.
My boss, Paul, did not hesitate in the slightest and said ‘Rich, whatever Tom needs replace it’ so with the kind gesture I started to put aside many items of clothing for Tom with the intent of presenting these to him in the future. Tom had clothing from head to toe and both Summer and Winter items due to the fact his Winter kit was wrecked and we were now coming into the Summer months.
Well, thankfully Tom did return and has been riding for about 1 month now. I presented him with a big box of goodies with Rob Hayles (Team Endura) congratulating him on his recovery whilst handing the clothing to him. In the photo Tom has just finished a training session, with other cyclists from the local clubs that Portsmouth School of Cycle Racing (Guy Watson) organise. Tom was extremely pleased and thanked me and Wiggle for all the help and support we gave during and after the accident.
One thing Tom does mention now to other cyclists is that he firmly believes, as well as the paramedics and the neuro surgeons, that his helmet saved his life.
Richard Pearman
