When you are destined for greatness in life, whether an athlete or other endeavors you are pursuing in life, setbacks are inevitable. However, setbacks are not the end of your journey and how you overcome setbacks is what will make or break your greatness.

My 2020 priority has been training for my next breakthrough race, the IRONMAN New Zealand schedule for March 2021. As a 18x IRONMAN finisher and a 25x IRONMAN 70.3 finisher, IRONMANs are where I exhibit my greatness as a triathlete.

  While training on November 1, 2020, I was involved in a high-speed road bike accident. Training started off great with my training buddies, climbing Palomar Mountain in CA, which is about 5000 feet above sea level. On my descent, I caught a flat on my front wheel and started losing control of my bike. I vividly remember heading towards oncoming traffic as they were en route up the mountain. My first instinct was to attempt stopping, but I was going too fast to hit the brakes.

  The moments after facing oncoming traffic are a blur. The next memory I have is laying on the road, bleeding severely, with my friend holding my head as we await for an emergency response unit. The accident left me with a comminuted right clavicle, scapula fracture, broken ribs, and a collapsed lung, all limiting my range of motion on the right side. I received a chest tube to re-expand my lung and remove excess fluid. I also had surgery to repair my clavicle with a plate and 6 screws. After 4 extremely painful days in the hospital, I am on the road to overcoming this setback and look forward to sharing my journey with you.

On my way to recovery

I was blessed to have had a good friend who let me stay with him while I began my recovery. I stayed with “Chuck and his beautiful dog Leia”.

At first, it was really hard for me to let someone help me put on my shirt, nurse my wounds, and make great meals. After a couple of days, I had to accept the help with an open heart, which made me stronger day by day. I also had to accept the warm gestures from my family and friends all around the world. I took all that love and transformed it into an Olympic Stadium in my head. In the most difficult times, unable to find a comfortable position to sleep, I used all those great gestures stored in my thoughts and knew with that amount of love and support I could achieve anything. This allowed me to dream and helped me to sleep through the pain. Each day I have an opportunity to make that day better than the last, and with hard work, my dreams of recovering are coming. When you have such great family and friends cheering you, it feels like being lifted up through that Stadium. I've learned how important it is to have a team of people who truly care about you and your dreams. Together with their words and my strong beliefs I will be back greater than ever.

Gratitude and thanks to all the medical staff at Palomar Medical Center Escondido.

Surgeon: Erin E. Farrelly, M.D.

Anesthesiologist: Paul J. Cotten, M.D.