Update 2

Talked to Chris this morning and he is heading home right now in the BoxTruck.

Jefe is still being kept for observation, but no word of surgery yet, thankfully. Chris had a similar spleen injury as a kid (rollerblading with some excessive speed -- we all should've learned then to keep him in a plastic bubble) -- so at least Chris can commiserate with his situation. They haven't let Jefe start drinking liquids yet, so being terribly uncomfortable and thirsty seems to be his status right now... hey, it's like racing the race anyway :) Someone is coming down from Colorado to keep him company and drive him back when he is released.

For now, Chris is starting the 10+ hour drive back in a giant Uhaul. While it's not his preferred method of transportation (by the way, THANK YOU to everyone that offered to help shuttle him back!!), but he wanted to take the quickest and least inconvenient method home and this seems to be it for now. I hope to see him before 10:00 tonight, but we'll see. He slept in a crappy chair in the hospital and says his only sore spot is near his shoulderblade. The reality of all of the implications of this accident seem to really be sinking in... i.e. good thing we have a cushioned savings account.

Got a few more details of the accident: tires blew off the rims, they landed rubber (uhh, I guess rim) side down thankfully, they were still able to open the doors to get out, back end took most of the damage, bottles and glass everywhere from the cooler, they couldn't locate the driver's side mirror anywhere.

I am so glad they both turned out as ok as they did.

As for me, if I keep the "What ifs..." out of my head, I do ok. I now have a raging fever and have to head off to my uncle's funeral this afternoon. I foresee a weekend filled with good food, an obscene amount of snuggling, and a lot of tears.

I can't believe the good people that we are lucky enough to be associated with. Thank you to everyone who left such nice comments and offered to go out of their way to help us. I appreciate it so much, and Chris will be so touched when he gets back to see all of the comments and emails. The biking community is an incredible group of people.