'Storm' on wheels - Jamaican businesswoman rides through 'death valley'
Published:Sunday | December 29, 2013 | 12:00 AM
Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Jamaican businesswoman Jennifer 'Storm' Hilton was a marathon runner for more than 10 years before she was stopped in her tracks by osteoarthritis.
The constant pounding while running earned her a cobalt hip, forcing her to turn to cycling in 2007. Today, she is known as 'The Storm', and not even Jamaica's 7,402-foot Blue Mountains dare stop her high-riding winds.
An avid sportswoman, Storm has switched places with her daughter, Tobi, after leading her successful business - Holiday Services - as managing director and chief executive officer for more than 20 years. Now, she cycles an average of 250 miles per week with her team, Galiz, in Miami, Florida.
The change was spurred by a major accident in which she almost lost her life in June 26, 2011.
Hilton was nearing the end of a five-hour ride in the hills of St Ann with her friends, a route she told Outlook had been very difficult. "There were a lot of hills to climb, but I had been doing all the races in the Jamaica Cycling Federation series and was in the best shape of my life," she recalls.
The route took them from Ocho Rios, through St Ann's Bay, Steer Town, Chalky Hill, and Moneague. "We tackled the climb incident-free and cruised along the meandering country roads. Before long, we were travelling on a section that was bumpy." The road condition got worse, and then they encountered a lot of gravel.
"Gravel is not good news for a road cyclist, particularly downhill. There was a small trench-like groove outside of the gravel," she recalled to Outlook.
The accident
In a
split-second decision, she decided to put her bike in the trench, as it
seemed to be smoother.
"However, it was too narrow and the wheel jammed
and I was thrown from the bike, falling violently on my right side".
Going down hard, Storm recalled that out of the corner of her eye, she
saw a car coming down behind her. She fell into the path of the SUV that
was overtaking the group. "Though the driver was not going fast, there
was no way he could have avoided hitting me. I was already on the ground
when the car slammed into me."
Hilton was hit in her
upper back. "Then a voice in my head said, 'Move your head,' and I did
that swiftly ... and I swear that is the only reason why my head did not
end up being crushed."
Hilton was conscious during
the entire incident, and though able to move from under the SUV, she
realised she couldn't breathe. "I was gasping for air. There were voices
everywhere, from the other cyclists and the people who came out to see
what had happened, but my only focus was trying to
breathe."
She told those around her not to touch her.
"I slowly stood up and flopped my body on the bonnet of the SUV as I
held my chest desperately gasping for air. I pushed my rib cage with the
palms of my hands and heard a strange squelching sound as the ribs
moved aside and, in that moment, I was able to take in
air."
The SUV's wheel had left a huge tyre mark on the
back of her jersey, but nothing compares to what happened
after.
"It was an extremely serious accident and I was
told that my injuries were so severe that I might not survive," she
told Outlook.
Hilton had suffered
more than two dozen broken ribs, some pulverised and her lungs had
collapsed by the time she reached the hospital.
"I
will never forget the immediate care of Dr Kumar, who left his practice
and went personally with me in his ambulance to a Montego Bay hospital.
He stayed until I boarded the air ambulance to Florida. His selfless
actions were just beyond the call of duty," said
Hilton.
Even though her condition was an emergency,
she said the hospital in Montego Bay, which was notified, couldn't find
it in their act of professionalism to call a doctor to see her on
arrival.
"Not until I arrived and they were paid did
they deal with my case, and they could have taken the credit card
information over the phone until we got there."
Hilton
has not allowed the service she received to take up too much space in
her memory. Instead, she speaks glowingly of the Memorial Regional
Hospital she was airlifted to in Miami, Florida, where a trauma surgeon,
Dr Antonio Pepe, took her under his care.
"I could
not have asked for a more pleasant, professional surgeon. An added bonus
is that he was handsome, too," she quipped, adding, "A bald-headed sexy
surgeon? Let's be realistic. When one may be considering their last
moments on earth, at least let the views be good
ones."
Before going into surgery, Hilton called in a
notary, did her will, and gave instructions to her family on what to do
if she did not return. "I had to make peace with
death."
Titanium-Plated Ribs
Hilton
recalls that Dr Pepe explained to her how serious her injuries were, and
that if left to heal naturally, she would probably have limited lung
capacity for the rest of her life. She was asked to consider a new
procedure, which had never been done at the hospital before - neither
had the doctor done it before. However, he had watched it being
performed by doctors at Jackson Memorial.
Hilton was
the ideal candidate for the procedure. "I didn't even have to think
twice. I said yes!"
Two days later, the doctors
presented Hilton with a hardware kit. "The kit has all the ribs and
screws in it. Red for left and blue for the right. All neatly in a box
with a space for each part."
There was no need for the
doctors to explain the technical details to Hilton, she had no interest
in that. "I knew it was the right thing for me, if I had any hope of
returning to my active lifestyle, so I just signed away," she
stated.
Return to cycling
She
described her recovery as miraculous. "I returned to cycling in October
2011 (her surgery was in July) and was back to spinning in a gym within
10 weeks after surgery."
Unfortunately, she had her
next accident the following month - November 2011.
"It
was not major. I just broke my collarbone, a big gash in my head, and
got seven stitches," she explained.
She blames both
accidents on the road conditions in Jamaica, and assures the people who
does her annual Reggae Ride that the roads she uses are perfect. "They
are the roads on the north coast which are safe for
riders."
Last month - November 2013 - Hilton was again
hit by a car in Miami and fractured an elbow.
"I
returned to cycling within two weeks. The doctor told me six weeks. For
me, that was so minor, it compares to breaking a
fingernail."
Jennifer Hilton's entire outlook on life
changed after facing death. "I had to accept that I was going to die
and, in doing so and going through that, I no longer fear death.
Realising how short life can be, there is no guarantee of tomorrow. I
decided to take more time for what makes me happy - being with my family
and riding my bicycle. All my life, my priority had been my business;
work took precedence over everything. Work was
life."
She also takes less notice of what people have
to say and no longer cares much about her public image. "I would not
have done certain things because I always had an image to live up to. I
had to drive a certain type of car, that made me feel important as that
is what the public expected and what the public saw as being
'successful'. Now, I drive my daughters car in Miami, and she drives my
'nicer' car in Jamaica. Honestly, I don't care anymore about public
image. If one does that, one really has given up the right to freedom to
just be yourself!"
Storm says she has been given a
second chance to live and is determined to make a change and spend a bit
more time enjoying life.
"I had always been
charitable, always funding someone's education, or helping someone with
their children's health or bills. I want to continue on that path - to
be more of a humanitarian. But in the quiet, in the background. It's not
something done for recognition by anyone. I do it because that is how
we should live our lives. We have to care for other
people."
And, no, she is not afraid of riding. "The
car had hit me from behind, so I didn't see it coming. And the fact is
that I don't fear death, so I am not scared of anything, except going to
the dentist!
She rides an average of more than 200
miles a week. She is more active than before, and her cycling went to a
whole level once she started training with the former national coach for
Jamaica, Peter Aldridge.
"Now I am racing both in the
United States and locally. I competed with all the young women in the
2013 National Female Championships, where I placed fifth, and the last
time I checked this year, I was ranked seventh in the state of Florida
in my age group."
At 54, Hilton is the mother of five
children, one adopted, and two grandchildren. She has two sisters who
are dear to
her.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS