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The 25-year-old Colombian cyclist, Egan Bernal, is conscious and with mobility in all four extremities after having undergone several surgeries to which he was subjected after the serious accident suffered on Monday morning near Bogotá, Colombia, as confirmed by the Sabana University Clinic where he was hospitalized.
It is not yet known whether Egan Bernal is aware of the serious accident he suffered on Monday morning near his native Zipaquirá, a few kilometers north of Bogotá, the Colombian capital. However, according to the statement from the Universidad de la Sabana Clinic, the 25-year-old cyclist is conscious after the operations he had to undergo.
“After noon the patient adequately tolerated the extubation protocol without any complications. At this time he is conscious, with mobility in all four limbs, ”the clinic to which he was transferred after the accident announced in a statement.
A relief for the world of cycling and for Colombia, a sport and a country that were dismayed after learning the extent of the injuries suffered by one of its main sports figures. The best Colombian cyclist of all time, the first Latin American to win the Tour de France.
The signs of affection towards the cyclist and his relatives came from all corners of the country, including President Iván Duque and sports figures of the stature of the soccer player Radamel Falcao or the also cyclist Nairo Quintana, who in a public video assured that he would keep Bernal in his prayers so that he would soon be back representing Colombia on the roads.
Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome also remembered Bernal on Twitter, where he shared photos of them sharing Sky kit. The Slovenian Tadej Pogacar did the same on Instagram: “Cheer up, champion”, was encouraged by the athlete, Egan’s direct rival in the highest cycling competition and winner of its last two editions.
Multiple serious injuries
The various communications from the Sabana Clinic about the cyclist’s condition left no room for doubt about the severity of his injuries. Already on Monday night the clinic confirmed that the cyclist had fractured his femur in several small parts and that he suffered an “open fracture” in the patella, that is, that the bone came to pierce the skin.
In addition, the doctors had to perform a “thoracostomy with drainage for secondary hemopneumothorax”, a procedure that indicates serious injuries to the athlete’s trunk. With this news, the concern within the world of cycling was no longer when Egan Bernal would return to compete, but that he would recover in the best possible way.
On the afternoon of this Tuesday, the Clinic of the Universidad de la Sabana offered good news again. “The medical staff operated on his right leg and after being stabilized he entered a second surgery where they stabilized the fracture of the vertebrae,” they said.
“The ventilatory support and inotropic support were monitored and adjusted. In addition to this, antimicrobial and antithrombotic prophylaxis was carried out. He was also given fluid and electrolyte management,” added the statement, which also announced that the patient had “had an excellent response to treatment” and had “reduced the dose of inotropy.”
Importance of safety and medical equipment
In a conversation with France 24, neurosurgeon Remberto Burgos, a member of the National Academy of Medicine of Colombia, wanted to recognize the important role that the entire trauma team plays in an accident like this from the moment of the accident until it reaches the hospital.
Burgos also insisted on the importance for cyclists of a safety element such as a helmet. “I think it saved Egan from absolutely irreversible damage to his central nervous system,” he said.
The serious accident suffered by a sports icon in Colombia has once again brought to light the shortcomings in road safety in the Andean country. Although it is speculated that the accident could have been due to a mistake by the cyclist, the truth is that both Bernal and the teammates of his Ineos-Grenadiers team who trained with him these days had suffered recklessness on the part of drivers.
After the accident, social networks were filled with messages reminding that a life goes on the bicycle whose only protection is its own body and calls for caution were made by cyclists and motorists.
It must be remembered that in 2021 the National Road Safety Agency (ANSV) of Colombia counted a total of 471 cyclists killed in road accidents.
Among them, the boy Julián Esteban Gómez, whose face became known on social networks for his image crying in celebration of Egan Bernal’s victory in the 2019 Tour de France, a competition that Bernal had as his main sporting goal in 2022 until his accident .
with local media
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