by Jen Reeder

The morning Durango cyclist Betsy Richards was hit – and run over – by a truck, she was on Bodo Park’s Frontage Road on the way to La Posta Road. A couple times a week, she liked to ride to Bondad and back and then have lunch at Nature’s Oasis. But on Nov. 8, 2012, she wound up in an ambulance to Mercy Regional Medical Center, and then a Flight for Life plane to St. Anthony Hospital in Denver.

After five weeks in the hospital, 13 surgeries, 10 units of blood and three months in Denver until she could stand up again, Richards returned home to Durango last month.

“Basically I was smooshed in the middle, and every single bone was broken. The only thing that came out unscathed was my left arm,” Betsy said. “I really did luck out that I’m alive. And I also lucked out that I didn’t get paralyzed.”

Betsy, 51, is a member of the Durango Wheel Club and had the club’s emergency contact card in her bike seat bag so emergency personnel could contact her husband, Joel Richards, of J3media. He was with her on the Flight for Life, where she surprised paramedics by briefly regaining consciousness and telling them she had “weird low blood pressure” before passing out again.

What: Fundraiser for Betsy Richards featuring silent auction and live music When: Wed., April 3, 5-8 p.m. Where: Irish Embassy Pub’s Ambassador Lounge (downstairs), 900 Main Ave. For info.: Call Jackie or Greg Smith, 385-8588

“I was bleeding out of my arteries, and they were worried I would bleed to death,” she said. “What the doctors think is that I didn’t bleed out as fast as most people would, which is why I didn’t die. So my genetic low blood pressure probably saved me.”

Betsy was in and (mostly) out of consciousness, and remembers bits and pieces “like a slideshow.” One thing she remembers is asking her husband which bike she was riding, and being bummed out because it was her favorite bike. But her most important memory is of awakening in the ICU after one of her major surgeries and not quite understanding what was happening.

“My family was all around the bed. This is the one time in my life when I really needed them. And they were there,” she said. “It sounds trite, but everyone needs someone. I don’t think I would have begun healing without having family and friends cheering me on. I wouldn’t have wanted to come back, to begin to deal with so much pain to come back.”

That determination to push on, as well as her sense of humor, has inspired her family and friends. Despite a shattered right wrist – Betsy is right-handed – she started posting updates on her recovery to her Facebook page. Posts from “Bionic Betsy – Pelvis of Steel!” would describe her excitement at being able to write her name in the snow thanks to her catheter, or a photo of the wounds on her abdomen with the caption, “Well, I think I’m gonna have to drop out of the world bikini competition this year.”

Her older daughter, Lucy, a senior at Stanford University, said her mom’s sense of humor during her recovery has been a comfort. She flew to Denver the day after the accident and was concerned to see Betsy in critical condition. She was also concerned about her mental recovery if cycling was taken away.

“Moving just really keeps her and sustains her,” Lucy said. “Even now, it’s really hard to comprehend what she went through and that she’s alive – getting run over by a truck, twice.” (Betsy was first thrown onto the truck’s windshield before falling off and being run over by the truck’s two driver-side tires.)

Lucy said she’s been inspired by how “solid” her mom has been during her recovery, and said she’s learned a lot from her example.

“She’s really tried to focus on all the things that she’s grateful for. Like today I was talking with her about some issues I was having at school, and she told me, ‘But you have the sunshine,’” Lucy said. “I feel it’s brought into focus for me how important it is to be grateful for the things we do have on a daily basis, like sunshine and food to eat and friends to hang out with.”

Durango resident Jackie Smith has been friends with4  Betsy since they met on a rafting trip in the Grand Canyon seven years ago.
“I was really intrigued by her because she was rowing an 18-foot raft down the river,” Smith said.

After the trip, they started riding bikes together and became good friends. Smith said she was shocked when she got the call about Betsy’s accident, but that she’s “kind of in awe” of her attitude during her recovery.

“The fact that she is still here after this horrendous accident and still really upbeat and using her sense of humor and trying to make the best of things … it really impresses me,” Smith said. “She did such a great job of keeping the community that cares about her, like a lot of the cyclists here in town, up to date on what was going on.”

Smith is working with her husband, Greg, as well as fellow friends Barb Brazes and Barb Dahl to organize a fundraiser for Richards to help defray her medical costs. The Irish Embassy will host the event from 5-8 p.m. April 3 downstairs, with live music from The Stereotypes and a silent auction.

“Her spirit and determination to recover are amazing, but I also know that Betsy and Joel are facing enormous medical expenses, and that’s why we’re holding this event,” Smith said. “Every little bit helps.”

Betsy, who will attend the fundraiser, still has a long road to recovery. Right now, she mostly uses her wheelchair to get around but can “shuffle” with her walker. She undergoes physical therapy at Durango Sports Club for three primary issues: her crushed wrist; her urinary tract; and her legs. “My legs were assessed at physical therapy and they’re less than 50 percent what I need to have them so I can really walk,” she said.
In addition to the therapy, Betsy takes the Opportunity Bus to the Rec Center (or in her words: “Wreck Center”) several times a week to soak in the hot tub and use the elliptical machine. She hopes, with regular exercise, she might be out of the wheelchair and walking in May.

Perhaps the worst part, though, is the fact that while she may appear to be returning to a semblance of normalcy on the outside, Betsy is still in a great deal of pain. She has “mountains” of scar tissue on her abdomen from the various surgeries and injuries, which is interfering with her muscle and nerve control. “So in some ways, it’s a Catch 22, if people see me in public, I look normal, but I am definitely messed up.”

Another goal: she “definitely” wants to ride her bike again. Currently she rides a tricycle, though one of her feet is uncoordinated and flips off the pedal easily, she said. However, she probably will never ride roads again because she’s now petrified of cars.

“I think for bicyclists, you probably should not go on roads without shoulders, although (the accident) was in a really innocuous place,” she said. “There wasn’t any traffic, I had an orange vest on, I had a bike light, it was 10:30 in the morning, there wasn’t any bright sun or darkness. I was really in a safe situation but it definitely didn’t work out.”

Betsy said she has heard from the driver of the truck, probably due to legal reasons, and instead her primary focus is on staying positive. She said the experience has accentuated her opinion that “you look so intently at the full part of the glass that you don’t even notice the part that’s empty.”

“Do what you can and enjoy the day and enjoy the fact that you’re conscious and able to be alive. That’s a very good thing,” Richards said. “I have a long ways to go but I’ll just keep going.”

Donations to Betsy Richards can be made through a fund set up at the First National Bank of Durango.