KMac Info And Paypal New Bike Fund – UPDATED

Many thanks to the folks who’ve already stopped by to see our fallen teammate, as well as those who handed me items or money last night. Very, very cool of you all to do.

So here’s the information on the New Bike Fund – please, if you can, throw a dollar or 5 or 10 or 20 at us and send it via paypal to this email address: rider15@gmail.com – it is set up and running, so donate now please!

Also, Kmac has been moved from ICU to ROOM 4515 at Legacy Emanuel Hospital

She’s mostly sleeping and resting hard, but if you wanted to send her some flowers (which is code for beer and cheap porn) there’s the info on where to send it. We won’t be updating the site for a while so we can let this run at top billing.

Our thoughts are with her, our thanks are with you. Safe rides, everyone.

UPDATE: Just saw Kmac in her room over lunch a little bit ago. She’s awfully high to manage the considerable pain she’s in. Lots of bruising and road rash all over her body, not to mention the reattached ear, broken nose, broken collarbone, and brain injury. Jaysus! She really did a number on herself. We may have a clearer idea of when they’ll let Clint take her home by the end of the day. We’ll let you know. Thanks for all the donations so far, keep ‘em coming.

A Night To Remember

This is difficult to type….

Tonight, OBRA showed her  true class in allowing our team to take 2 parade laps in honor of our fallen teammate, one day after her horrific accident left her with a brain injury in the ICU. Thank you, Tuesday night racers, it meant the world to us. And we’re sure it meant the world to Kmac too, (whose name half of us wore scrawled on our forearms in Sharpie), laying in a hospital room at Legacy Emanuel, quietly beginning recovery.

The racing was the racing, and that’s its own animal, but the bigger story is that of a team coming together to honor one of its own, as well as the support of the OBRA community on so many levels. We are so thankful for everyone’s outpouring of support, we can’t quite put it into words. From Yakima’s hoody, to Portland Velo’s gift certificates, to Hammer Velo’s PT support, to Veloforma’s bike, to anyone who dropped off a buck, left a comment, took a photo, or said a kind word at PIR tonight, to whomever you are – thank you.

While we wish Kmac a speedy recovery, our thoughts are also with another fallen brother, Bruce, from Portland Velo, who is at press time hanging in there after a freak accident left him badly broken in numerous places. Get well, brother.

Please, folks, all of us……stay safe. Extra eyes, everyone………

a rare and thoughtful gift from the group…..one word describes the racers of OBRA: CLASSY

Kristin McCarthy update – YET ANOTHER UPDATE. TUESDAY EVENING – now with High Def pics!

Thanks to everyone for the flood of well wishes and offers of help and support. You OBRA folks are the best. And a special thanks to the Murrays, as their usual parental calm and support were the rudder of the night.

Kristin is sedated and her breathing is being assisted with a tube. She has a some slight bleeding in her brain and a shattered collarbone, along with the attendant rash all over. We won’t know more until the morning when the neuro gets a better look at more CAT scans. What we do know is that she’s tough as nails. Please continue with your good thoughts folks, thank you very much.

Also – we’re leading the first laps of the 3/4 race tomorrow  as a team. Out of respect for her.

UPDATE: Some encouraging signs through the night! She was allowed to wake up and she has communicated with Clint and  the nurses. Very good signs. Keep the positive flow coming, people.

UPDATE  #2 – I’ve just returned from the ICU and seeing Kristin. She’s off the breathing tube, and she’s mostly conscious. Apparently when she came to last night she  asked to see Clint, who was summoned around midnight to go back to the hospital and see her. They removed her breathing tube and did not continue the heavy sedation. She  was then asked by the nurse if she remembered what happened and our Kmac, true to form and now dubbed “Real Deal” for her gnarly Holyfield-esque ear injury, said “I crashed. And I was gonna win, too.” Kinda brings a tear to your eye, doesn’t it?

So, the GREAT news is she looks to be on track for recovery. The brain injury and bleeding is still to be monitored in the ICU for another day or  so, and  then maybe another day or so of observation before she gets to go home. These things are tricky andwe’re not 100% out of the woods yet, but today is very encouraging. We will post her room number once she gets one for get well wishes. The bad news is that the whack to t he noggin, along with the shattered collarbone and other attendant injuries will result in a long, arduous recovery process already underway. There are possible surgeries looming to fix some things.

The WORSE news (typical bike dorks) is that her tasty Marin is shot. Gone. Kaput. Wheelset is kinda done for, too. So with the gracious help of Mark Duff of Veloforma we’re going to be chipping in for a specially priced “comeback kid” bike so she’ll have a sleek new weapon to ride when she’s medically cleared to  do so. Check back for a paypal site to throw a buck or two in if you are so inclined.

Lastly, Kristin was very touched to hear of  all of the support from all of you, the OBRA community. I second the emotion. Things like this add perspective  to just how silly this thing we do is and how inherently dangerous it is and how crazy we must be for doing it, but it also illustrates the familial bond we all share, regardless of what kit we wear when the numbers are pinned on. We thank you.

We’ll keep you updated as events warrant, and we’ll see you all tonight.

Some lighthearted bit;

1. She was, with a somewhat comical degree of difficulty, able to  remove her contact lenses.

2. She feebly asked when told of the plate-and-screw collarbone surgery “Will I be able to get through airport security?”

3. We were joking about things she didn’t remember from last night (removal of breathing tube, etc) and someone quipped, “you were smoking hella weed in here and got in trouble!” Eyes closed, a smile crossed her face and she said “wassup!”

UPDATE 3 – They’re moving Kristin into her own room today and out of the ICU! The doctors are pretty much floored at the rate of recovery, but warn it’s still a long road ahead. Keep up that good mojo folks.

Here’s a few pics from last night. I did get one of her in the ICU giving the double thumbs up, but my phone is a f*&^%ing cryptic thing and I can’t figure out how to post the damn thing.

The helmet and sunglasses are no longer with us, the person wearing them IS

Here’s Deann (L) and Kristin (R) a few laps before the poop hit the fan