I did not post this yesterday -- guess I was just so upset that it did not occur to me. He is one of our catamaran senior citizens and pioneers and has been a good friend for at least 35 years. Recently he was inducted into the Catamaran Hall of Fame.

What happened is that he pitchpoled, but not on a boat. He was riding his bicycle and somehow went over the handlebars and landed on the left side of his face. This threw his neck back and crushed some vertebrae in his upper spine. Here is a quote from the message I received:

"He was completely paralyzed initally, but we have now been through 6 hours of surgery and progress is being made. He did not (thankfully) sever his spinal cord, but crushed the vertebrae, and there is cord involvement. It is high, the C3-4 vertebrae were fused last night and rods inserted to stablize his neck. today they are doing tracheotomy to help him breathe, we are hoping that will be short term. Best case, it will be 6-9 months before we will know his final recovery level, but he will be in wheelchair. Right this scond, there isn't much anyone can do, but pray.
We will need everyone in the coming months to keep his spirits up and motivated to maximize his recovery efforts. We will update as we know more. He is at Delray med center trauma ICU."

I have asked the family to keep me posted on his condition. And I will try to find out where to send cards.

Jack had surgery Tuesday. His lower arms and legs are still paralyzed, but he does have sensation in them, so he may be able to regain partial use. He was given a tracheotomy to help him breathe. But he is going to be wheelchair-bound for quite a while.

By the way, you can read all about Jack in our Catamaran Sailor Hall of Fame -- the Hall of Fame is in the index on the left side of our home page.

If you know Jack and would like to send a cheery message, you can send it to me and I will forward it to his wife, who will take it to Jack. I don't want to post the e-mail address here and open the door to possible spamming for the family at this difficult time.

For those of you who have not yet heard the news, it is not good. Jack Schuh died on Friday, May 30, as a result of the injuries from his bicycle accident.

A memorial service will be held later this month on Miami Beach. If you would like time and place, please e-mail me, mary@catsailor.com

God Speed. News like this is always trying. My thoughts are with his family and friends.