JEFF SCHINDLER
THIS SUMMER STARTED OUT LIKE ANY OTHER. AFTER A LONG TIME IN BROOKLYN, IT WAS TIME TO PACK MY CAR AND BAGS AND PREPARE FOR A RELAXING SUMMER IN DEAL. AFTER THE PAST TWO YEARS OF HOME-SCHOOLING AND WORKING FROM HOME, I WAS REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO IT. I ESPECIALLY LOOKED FORWARD TO MY MORNING BIKE RIDES.
My biking partner Mindy and I would ride along Ocean Avenue, exploring Sandy Hook and pretty much the whole area. It has always been a relaxing way to exercise. On July 17th, I picked up my bike partner at 6 A.M. to start our Sunday morning 35-mile ride. We were both training for an upcoming charity bike ride from Jerusalem to Eilat.
We started in Ocean Grove and after about two miles, she noticed I was not wearing a helmet. In 30 years of riding, I had never before left my house to ride without a helmet, in fact, I had my helmet in my hand before I left, but must have put it down. I am an EMT and have seen the results of riding without one. A head injury is very serious. I should have known better, but I got lazy.
I thought, we had been riding this route for years and nothing would happen. I was wrong. I rode into Long Branch, where the boardwalk begins. There is a barrier that stops cars from getting onto the pathway. It is sometimes open and sometimes closed. I didn’t see it and I slammed into the barrier breaking my nose. It stopped me instantly. I fell backwards on my head. Here is where the miracles began, I lived to tell about it. G-d has reasons for everything.
Mindy was holding my head, which was bleeding heavily. She made sure I stayed conscious, while at the same time alerting 911 and contacting my wife Sophia, who came running and followed me to Jersey Shore Hospital. While I was in pre-op, I felt very lightheaded like I was going to faint. This was the 2nd miracle, my wife, who wasn’t even allowed to be with me was the only one who noticed me losing consciousness. She rushed to grab a doctor and I was rushed to surgery, where I was given blood and 40 stitches in my head. Three and a half hours later I was in ICU. My wife was by my side every second, making sure I was ok and seeing to every need.
Recovery was hard, but thanks to friends like Mandi and Morris Bildirici, and of course, my wife Sophia and bike partner Mindy I am back on a bike almost a month later.
No matter how experienced a rider you are or how confident you are, put that bike helmet on so you can return home to your wife, friends and family. This goes for motor scooters and motorcycles as well.
That was my miracle at the Jersey shore.
Jeff Schindler is a Brooklyn born member of our community. He has 2 children and 2 grandchildren and has been married for 38 years to Sophia Shalom Schindler (Morah Sophia).
