Paul was in the final phase of training for The Capital of Texas Triathlon, an Olympic distance traithlon event, when catastrophe struck and sent him flying off his bike and straight into a car windshield.

Fortunately, he was wearing his helmet. Fortunately, a witness immediately called an ambulance.   And, fortunately, the ambulance EMT insisted Paul be Medivac’d to The MED. But even with all that, Paul’s survival was in question due to his serious head trauma.

A traumatic injury like Paul’s can turn an athlete into a sad statistic in the blink of an eye.        Fortunately, the doctors at the Elvis Presley Memorial Trauma Center in The MED are as good as they come – anywhere. They acted quickly and surely, yet with the proper restraint.

“They induced a coma to give me a chance to stabilize,” Paul explained. “Sometimes doing too much or acting too quickly can cause more harm than good.”

“A lot of people don’t realize that the doctors on call for trauma at The MED are the same ones you find at the most prestigious medical groups in the area,” he continued. “The MED is where you find the best of the best.”

Paul remembers nothing of this time due to his injuries, but his wife, Connie, remembers every second. “I didn’t know what we were in for when I arrived at The MED. It’s not something you can remotely imagine. But not only was Paul getting wonderful care from everyone, they also appreciated what I was going through as a wife and the mother of three small children. They took care of me, too.”

Thanks to the care at The MED, Paul not only regained consciousness, he regained his whole life. But it wasn’t easy. “I live for my wife and children. I need to be as good as I can for them. That drove me to work hard on my rehabilitation, because I had a lot of work to do.”

Paul not only worked hard, he healed completely. After taking a battery of tests, doctors cleared him as back to normal. And, just one year later, Paul completed The Capital of Texas Triathlon he’d been training for.

“There are some new rules now, though. I only ride my bike on closed courses or the Shelby Green Way; otherwise, it’s strictly spin classes for training,” Paul says with a grin.

“When you need traumatic care, The MED is the first and only place you want to go. You owe it to yourself and your family to give yourself a good chance at life. And The MED is your best chance. Period.”

Help The MED continue to provide excellent medical care and service to its patients by giving to The MED Foundation. Go to www.themedfoundation.org/donation.