Helping out Kirsten...

Sunday during the Iron Girl race one of the athletes, Kirsten Walker, had a serious accident during the bike leg.  No one seems to know how the accident occurred but we do know -  thanks to the help of her fellow triathletes who were nurses and happened to be racing at the time -  she was stabilized at the scene and survived. 


I found out about the accident through a friend who was an officer who arrived on the scene after Kirsten was in the ambulance.  He had mentioned the accident appeared to be fairly serious and was concerned about her condition.  There were not a lot of other details available.  I posted a call for prayers and good thoughts on my facebook page that night not even knowing her name. 


As we all know, facebook has a way of making the world seem so small.  Shortly after my post, one of my friends said they knew her and her name was Kirsten.  From there, my friend Meredith who you all might know as Swim Bike Mom took the information and ran with it reaching out to her family to offer assistance and support. 


You can read the details of the story HERE and HERE.  Kirsten, a wife and mother of a four year old daughter, suffered broken bones, a collapsed lung and traumatic brain injury.

Sometimes I get so wrapped up in checking off those training miles or finishing my race three seconds faster than last time that it is easy to forget how dangerous the sport can be.  It is comforting to know that when things go in a way other than what we expected that fellow triathletes are so supportive.  Those nurses didn't hesitate to stop in the middle of their race to help someone in need and quite possibly saved Kirsten's life.  I have seen posts from so many others in our community who are thinking of Kirsten and praying for her recovery.  People she does not even know.  Her husband mentioned that he knows of people around the world praying for her recovery.

If you are able to spare $10, Meredith has put together a fundraiser for Kirsten and her family.  You can visit Meredith's post HERE for the details.  Thanks for your support.  Please continue to keep Kirsten in your prayers.