Getting Back On The Bike with Jack Rosenthal

Intensive Caring: Voices from the ICU is a podcast that explores what happens after critical illness, bringing forward the voices of patients, families, and healthcare professionals who have experienced the ICU firsthand.

Hosted by Dr. David Hornstein, Director of the Critical Illness Recovery Center at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), the series focuses on the realities of recovery, physically, emotionally, and mentally, and the lasting impact of compassionate care.

In this episode, Dr. Hornstein sits down with Jack Rosenthal, who shares the story of a devastating cycling accident that changed the course of his life. After being struck by a truck while biking home in Montreal, Jack spent months in hospital and rehabilitation, facing severe injuries and an uncertain future. At one point, he was told he may never walk again.

Through a candid, thoughtful, and often surprisingly humorous conversation, Jack reflects on the long and complex process of recovery, from learning to accept help, to rebuilding his independence and identity after trauma. Together, he and Dr. Hornstein explore the emotional aftermath of critical illness, the importance of psychological support, and the powerful role community can play in healing.

This episode offers an honest look at resilience, acceptance, and what it means to move forward after life changes in an instant.

This podcast is presented by the MUHC Foundation, supporting patient care, research, and innovation across the McGill University Health Centre. To learn more or make a donation, visit muhcfoundation.com.

Transcript

0:03

Hi, my name is Dr. David Hornstein, and I'm an intensive care physician at the MUHC here in Montreal. Welcome to Intensive Caring Voices from the ICU. So setting the table a little bit, Jack, what got you into this uh business? To this group? Yes. Well, as uh you well know. On May 7th, 2019, on my way home from replacing the pedals, replacing the clip-in pedals on my Marinoni bicycle, uh, replacing them with ordinary pedals, because I was 79 years old at the time, going on 80. And I said to myself, Jack, this is uh no longer necessary. I'm not going into any competitions, I'm not going to do the Tour de France, I'm not uh climbing the hills of Vermont like I usually did, and I didn't need clip-on pedals. So I biked to the bike store. Uh, they reluctantly uh replaced my pedals, and on the way home, uh I was hit by a truck, and uh that began my story. So uh I survived the crash. Uh the recovery story is a whole story in itself. Uh but um I was in hospital for about four months and then in rehab for five months, and this was all before COVID. So when I got home, uh I was to have attended uh uh physiotherapy uh on an outpatient basis, except that COVID hit and they closed down all the facilities, so uh it was over. And it was around that time that Dr. Grushka, Jeremy Grushka, who was the surgeon, uh uh my main surgeon, I guess, uh at the time, uh referred me to this group. Um, so my accident, let's say, was in 2019. So I'm guessing sometime in 2020, spring or summer, um I joined uh this uh recovery uh group and online because it was during COVID at the time. And uh I've been part of it ever since. So uh you spent 129 days at the Montreal General the first time when you had your accident. You had pretty severe fractures of the pelvis. Uh at one point people said you'd never walk again. I remember that. And that turned out fortunately not to be the case. Well, you know, uh I'm the kind of guy that uh that really accepts a challenge. And when they told, well, they didn't tell it to me, they told it to my family, uh, that likely uh I I wouldn't walk again. So I said, there's no way I'm I'm gonna do that. I have to say that really up to that time I was in a confrontational relationship with my caregivers, the nurses and the uh um the the the uh people at the Montreal General and uh subsequently in the in the uh uh rehab center. And I took the attitude that uh they're uh doing all this for not so much for me as they were for them. And that they were looking for, you know, notches in their belt of a success, of uh patient, uh whatever. So I said, screw you. I mean, I'm sorry. I said the hell with that, and uh I I resisted. And after a while, I said to myself, maybe it's so that it's for their benefit, but it's got to be for my benefit too. And I stopped fighting them. So I I was determined uh to to uh negate this uh this uh event that they they said I came home in a wheelchair, uh very little uh adjustment uh required in my uh condo at the time. The wheelchair fit in the door and all that stuff. And um, well, um I started uh walking, you know, and when uh they asked me uh to walk, I don't know, uh three meters in the in the uh rail uh uh uh thing. I walked 10 meters. Um something in your mind made you start doing it for yourself rather than for them. When I realized it was for me, the whole situation changed. Changed. And as you may or may not know, um ultimately um I was able to walk with the assistance of um walking poles. Um I went from uh a walker uh to crutches. Um and because I was an avid downhill skier, I was much more comfortable with the poles. So I I took to them, and they helped me a lot. Uh in fact, I still use them uh on occasion. Uh uh not that I'm unable to walk. I mean, I walk funny, there's no question. I walk slow, I waddle a little bit, but I walk. Um, you know. I was something of a golfer uh from time to time. And uh uh uh uh I I tried to swing a club uh at one point in my recovery, and uh lo and behold, I was able to do that, and I was able to hit the ball occasionally. Did your golf game improve? Actually, uh it could only improve because uh it depends uh who you ask uh if I'm a golfer. To a golfer, I'm not a golfer, but to me I like the social aspect. So I I I I got to the point where I I you know I consider myself moderately handicapped. Uh I don't move quickly, I can still drive my car. Um, I do get the handicap sticker, it was just renewed for five years. Um, and uh I'm able to carry on life. I want to ask you, Jack, about something you've talked about before, which is the accident. Uh I know that the driver who hit you, he stopped and he helped you, right? He certainly did. After after I was hit, uh I got lucky. The first uh uh uh thing is that the driver stopped and immediately called uh for uh 911. And he stayed with me until the uh ambulance arrived. Um when uh the ambulance arrived, I um requested to be taken to the uh Jewish General Hospital only because I have relations there. I I've worked there as a volunteer. Uh some of my friends are doctors there, and uh all my family doctors, etc., are aligned with the uh Jewish General Hospital. But this uh ambulance driver, he insisted that I be taken to the uh Montreal General because that was the trauma center, or the best trauma center. So that was my second piece of luck. Uh I got to the Montreal General Trauma Center, and then I got even luckier because a guy called Jeremy Grushka, who I think is the chief or was the chief at the, I'm not sure what his position was, but he was the surgeon on duty at the uh trauma uh center when I arrived. And they saved my life. I mean, there's no question in my mind that they absolutely saved my mind. All my injuries were internal. Uh I found out later that I had a broken pelvis. That's a whole other story of uh um being placed in a an external fixator for for I think three months or more. And um so so uh I I got lucky uh again. You know one of the things that came back though, although the driver stayed with you, you didn't get to meet him afterwards. Oh, that was a sore point. It's still a something of a sore point. Um I wanted to uh meet the driver. I wanted to thank him for for uh staying with me after I was hit. And above all, you know, I was a very, very experienced cyclist. Been cycling for 50 plus years, cities, country roads, uh you name it, Europe, United States, wherever. And I I to this day don't know how the accident happened. The collision uh was not like a uh a uh 90-degree uh uh uh collision. Uh it was on a road in downtown Montreal where two rather main streets merge. And he was coming from one side and I was coming from the other, and we sort of he sort of sideswiped me. Anyhow, I I I really don't know how the accident happened, and I spent probably too long trying to find out or get in touch with him, and the uh the laws of the land protect his identity. Uh, the police, of course, did interview me in hospital at length. Um I I was clear that unless he was inebriated, uh, this was uh purely an accident, uh, and and not that he was in no way uh uh criminally responsible or anything like that. But uh it came to the point where, you know, uh I was a uh CA, a chartered accountant at the time, and I told him that although I'm not a lawyer, I know a lot of lawyers, and that through freedom of information I could find out who he is. And the police very empathetically told me if you uh uh get the report, likely his name will be redacted, even if you got his name and telephone number. And you called him and he answered the phone, he could simply hang up on you. So at that point, I I dropped it. This episode is presented by the MUHC Foundation. The MUHC Foundation helps fund life-saving equipment, groundbreaking medical research, and programs that improve the patient experience across the hospital network. If you'd like to learn more or support the incredible work happening at the MUHC, visit muhcfoundation.com. Together, we can help shape the future of healthcare. How did you deal with the not being able to get answers to it that was bothering you? At a certain point, you know, I'm uh a senior guy. At a certain point, you say, Well, that's it. You can't fight City Hall, and uh I mean I didn't like it, but I had to accept it. I mean, it's simple. When you accepted it, did things change? Well, you know, what did I say? Seven years after there are days when I'm putting on my socks and having difficulty getting down there. I don't know if it's a result of the accident or I'm just getting old. Um, I say to myself, I wonder what that guy's doing at this minute, even today. But uh I I'm okay. I'm okay with it. I'll never know. Um you know, there's something in the back of my head that uh gives me partial responsibility. I don't remember exactly, but I don't think he was totally at fault. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. There was there was a time where I remember you telling me, and I think you know, we talk about a lot about acceptance of change and you know, Jack 2.0 and uh colloquially spoken, but um where you you had you were a very busy guy involved in a lot of things, social and not political, but you know community and professional. And there was a time after your accident, not right after, but in the recovery period, if that can be uh defined in any way, uh, where you said to me that you inverted into yourself. You didn't want to have anything to do with the other organizations anymore. And that was not really you. I always was one to participate in community uh events. I was always active in the uh various service organizations, fraternal organizations, and uh uh business organizations. Um I was a practicing accountant uh for over fifty years, and uh people sought out my counsel, sometimes business, sometimes personal. Um I had uh important positions on the boards of various uh organizations, and here I was really committed to a wheelchair, and I thought that that part of my life is over, and it took um some sessions in uh psychology uh for me to realize that I I still had those abilities, and slowly I started taking back some of those responsibilities that I had, and I found acceptance, so much so that I got to the point where I voluntarily gave up everything, and I'm free as a bird. They're asking me to sit on the board of this and the board of that. I said, no way, no way, no way. I just put my my neck out recently. Uh, one of our uh, how can I say uh clubs is going through some uh harassment uh which which uh may wind up in court. And I volunteered to appear as a witness if I could be of any help. So when when you said some sessions in psychology, I I do remember the beginning of that. And and just to give a a plug for psychology, you've often said you you have to really find the person that you click with, eh? Because well, I was through a few. Um I went through I went through uh uh one psychiatrist and several psychologists, and um there has to be a fit. Uh I I think I'm a sort of a very personable kind of a guy. I can get along with most people. I mean, uh maybe there's one or two people in this world that uh speak ill of me, but I'm a pretty not in this room, a pretty nice guy. Um so it took some time. Um I I finally uh hit on one that really straightened me out. And that made a big difference. It made a big difference. All right. I I urge anyone going through this, uh, don't do it alone. Um uh of course, David, you know that I had a tremendous, tremendous support from my family. Yes. Uh my wife, by the way, my wife and I will be celebrating our 65th wedding anniversary in two weeks. Amazing. April 16th. And you better tell everybody how many kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids you have. We're married 65 years. We have three adult daughters, we have seven almost adult, uh, some adult, some teenage uh grandchildren, and uh three, no, two great two great grandchildren. Tell me something, Jack. You have been coming to our Peer Sport group for a while, uh, for a long while, and everybody loves you in the group. What do you find the the the in the group, the the power of community, the shared experience? Why why is the group something, why is sharing with people who've been through similar experiences so powerful? Well, I don't know why, to tell you the truth, but it works. And I've been to uh over my lifetime, I've been to sharing type groups. Uh many years ago we took marriage encounter, and my wife and I, many years ago we did the est training. Um uh I've taken transcendental meditation, I've done all kinds of stuff. And um what I uh uh find is when you're able to express your innermost feelings in a safe environment where the people that you're speaking with really get you. I mean, that's liberating. And I keep coming back for two reasons selfishly, because it really helps me. I I have to say, when I walk out of these meetings, uh, we only have them once a month, and I miss them when I'm in Florida, believe me, I come out exhilarated. And also I feel a responsibility because I feel that it has been so beneficial to me, I feel a responsibility to welcome newcomers to our table, uh, or or uh uh long-standing. I I don't think there's anybody in these meetings currently that are here as long as I am. Maybe Monique, I'm not sure. No, no, no, Manik, uh no, Manik, I remember. Anyhow, uh so I keep coming. Um I once jokingly said to you, you know, maybe it's time for me to step away, and uh I'm the oldest by to remember that, and I'm the oldest by event. Uh, and you insisted that uh I was not permitted to to uh to resign or disassociate myself, and I continue to come. I consider you a dear friend, and and uh as long as I'm able uh and as long as you'll have me, I will continue on the on this wonderful quest. Well, I think we will have you, and everybody listening will have you as long as you want to keep coming. Thank you so much for coming and talking today. If you enjoyed today's conversation, make sure to follow or subscribe to Intensive Caring, voices from the ICU, wherever you get your podcasts, so you never miss an episode. To learn more about the work of the MUHC Foundation or to make a donation supporting patient care, research, and innovation, visit muhc foundation.