After Being Hit by a Car, This Runner Found Healing Through Indoor Cycling
Editor’s note: This story discusses death by suicide and suicide ideation.
Name: Joanne Phillips
Age: 51
Hometown: Middletown, New Jersey
Occupation: Nutritionist
Time Cycling: 3.5 years
Reason for Cycling: 11 years after my accident, I finally found a new exercise that my body can handle and has responded well to. I missed having an exercise outlet that I enjoyed, and Cycle Bar gave me that along with a supportive community!
On April 15, 2007, I went out for a run in Denver—and I was hit by a car. I was waiting on the sidewalk to cross a four-lane, one-way road, and one car did not check their blind spot and hit the car in the next lane. That car jumped the sidewalk at 35 mph, took me out from my right side, and caused me to flip onto the hood of the car. While on the hood, the car continued to hit a concrete wall, launching me off the car airborne. I came down head first into the sidewalk.
I suffered a left decompressed skull fracture with a subdural and epidural hematomas, a fractured left eye orbit, a fractured left cheek bone, broken neck, broken back, broken left leg and torn ACL, MCL, and PCL of my right knee. I also lost my sense of smell and taste.
My recovery was extensive, with intense rehab and therapy. After my accident, I dealt with a lot of chronic pain in my tissues, along with structural damage. Even when I was cleared to run, my body didn’t work the way it used to, and I would pay the price with more pain when I would try to run.
Additionally, the accident injured my brain in a way that caused me to have emotional problems and changed aspects of my personality. I had anger episodes where I would erupt in yelling and severe depressive episodes. I struggled for 11 years with very real and scary suicidal ideations. On top of that, I couldn’t run, which would only feed the depression.
The only thing that helped me was receiving intranasal stem cells to the brain. After receiving the stem cells, the 11 years of living in emotional hell was gone. I haven’t had an anger outburst or suicidal thought since; I got myself and my personality back. The loss of my smell and taste has also been very challenging, and I miss it every day. Despite the odds against me, I still believe it will find its way back to me. It’s God’s time, not mine, so I trust in Him.
In November 2017, my niece invited me to a cycling class at CycleBar. I found the workout so empowering (the instructor, Karen Maxwell, was amazing), and the rest is history! It was something I was happy to commit to. It gave me another piece of myself back.
I started out going to two to three classes a week, which eventually increased to five to six per week (with doubles on Saturday and Sunday); I now average five classes a week. The instructors are all so amazing, and I don’t like missing a day. This workout has been a true gift to me. I should hit 800 rides sometime in July, and I am excited to hit the 1,000-ride mark soon. After a traumatic brain injury that happened outside, it feels safer to bike inside.
Cycling has been instrumental in my recovery, both physically and emotionally. I think CycleBar is a very special community, and I give Denver owner Lisa Locker big kudos for the warm and supportive environment she created with her instructors. It all works together from the top down to create a positive experience for all the riders including me.
I want other cyclists to know they have a community that will support them no matter where they are in life. I have chatted with some instructors over the last two years, since opening up about my story, and I told them that their job is so much more than teaching on a spin bike. When they are talking to us and encouraging us through their words, they have no idea what challenges people are going through, and their words may be just the thing that gets that person through their day, week or month. Like I said, cycling at CycleBar has been instrumental in my emotional and physical recovery, and I am forever grateful.
We want to hear how cycling changed you! Send your story and submit your photos to us via this web form. We’ll pick one each week to highlight on the site.
You Might Also Like
