Well on Sunday the 19th of October a bunch of us went for a spin on our Bikes. We ended up at a presentation of a cheque for over €13,600 that was given to the Coleman K Bynre ward in Beaumont Hospital. We did make a difference and to be quite honest I was inspired by the actions of Stormbringer, Carol and Primal, they had put a massive amount of time effort and their energies into this project. When I said it to Stormbringer on the night out after the big run his only comment was “it was you lads that did it all”. Sorry Stormbringer but your far to modest.

So how did we make a difference? I have been long term in hospital and I know what it’s like. I spent a long time in hospital with heart decease, I reckon about 60 days in total. I was afraid, well I mean terrified of my imminent decline. When your hooked up to the heart monitor and you can watch you bodies functions and you get the idea that you life could end in the next heartbeat. Couple this with the pain in your chest, a sharp pain like you just had a hot poker stuck in your chest, your fighting for breath and when you buzz the bell the staff come running at you with all sorts of needles and medical equipment it is enough to frighten the life back into you.

So what has this to do with Biker4Life? I tell you what; in the hospital on Sunday we where given a most comfortable chair to sit in. you might think that this isn’t a big deal. Well it is a huge deal. I remember waiting for the Bypass operation. I remember sitting waiting and thinking that I am putting my life in the hands of these men and women. What if something goes wrong and I don’t make through this operation? What if I’m allergic to the drugs. Who is going to mind my other deceases while I’m out. What are the family going to do if I snuff it on the table. These my friends are real fears. In my life I’ve been in some tricky situations. Being shot at while being stopped at an army check point up at home when I was a young man. This however is quite different. It’s on one to one, it you against your decease. Being comfortable before the operation or any follow on treatment is important. I know Bikers4Life money went on medical stuff, but you don’t really appreciate that stuff when you are really sick. To be honest one machine looks pretty much like another.

I was then in intensive care for four days and four long nights. This is when you get to see the effort that the nurses put into their work. Intensive care is one on one nursing. I was hooked up to all these machines, heart monitor and then there were the drips. I counted four but my wife tells me it was eight or nine drips. The drips are to administer the drugs that I needed to keep me alive.

I awoke from the operation and I had a tube in my mouth. I remember being very hot. My wife tells me ten minutes earlier they where trying to warm me up. My chest felt like it was on fire, or it was like someone had put a red hot grate from the fire on my chest. I couldn’t move my left leg. My left leg was opened from groin to ankle to “Harvest a vein to bypass the arteries” I spent four long days in intensive care, I got a chest infection, my lungs filled with fluid and this caused a major problem for the medical team. One person beside me died, well I think they did. His or her family where in praying and lots of crying. I was pretty out of it on the medication though. I remember a Priest came in and I asked him to pray with me. He gave me the Last Rites; the second time that week, the first time was before the operation.

Towards the end of my stay in intensive I really did think my number was being called. I asked my wife to “get the boys in” I just didn’t have the strength to carry on, I couldn’t fight any more. I hadn’t slept, I have Sleep Apnoea, so I sleep every night with a mask on and it blows wind down my neck to keep the airways open. Between the tiredness, the pain and the terror I felt, I was at low ebb. Rainman and my Sister in law came to see me. Poor Rainman was at first speechless. I moaned about my situation and planed my funeral with my Sister in law. This woman is a no nonsense type of person and she told me not to be so stupid. Rainman and I then talked about, guess what? Being out on our Harley’s when I got better. This cheered me up no end.

The whole time I was sick my thoughts where always of my family and then my Harley or it could have been the other way around. I dreamt of being out in the sunshine on my Harley. Always about my bike. The night before the operation I got a text from my brother Boss Hog and it said quite simply. “Dick don’t worry about tomorrow, think of the trip”. The trip was a tour of the south on our bikes we had planned before I got sick. Six weeks after I got out of hospital I was once again sitting on my beloved Harley with the wind in my face. There where times during the period of the operation that I did think I would never again be on my bike. The though of being on my bike helped to get me through this difficult time in my life. That and my families support helped me get through this time.

So with the Bikers4life I was able to help someone else sitting in fear in a hospital, this is a very real problem for people and one that isn’t really discussed very much. When your sore and I mean when every movement causes a great deal of pain, indescribable pain then a comfy chair is about the best thing you can have, besides the painkillers.
Also what struck me about the whole Bikers4Life presentation on Sunday was the staff in the hospital. They really did appreciate my efforts in raising this money. They did make it feel personal; they made me feel that my efforts weren’t wasted. I noticed the women there had what I would call a knowing smile. They knew exactly what they needed for the unit and that was going towards this and that whatever they bought would make a difference, it would help the people who are suffering and who have to face their own mortality on a daily bases.

So many, many thanks to Ray, Carol and Darragh and your family for giving me the chance to pay something back into the Medical service of Ireland. Thanks also to the Men and Woman of the Irish Biker Forum, Biker.ie who came and did what you do. It delights me that in my Pursuit of Happiness I can give a bit of help and happiness to some one who does need it.
Ray, Carol you really are an inspiration to us all. You where at the other side of what Darragh was going through. I can only imagine what it was like and it would not have been good. Darragh keep up the good fight, I know it can wear you out, good days and bad days. The good days are great, but as my old Aunt says the bad days are still days.