WILDWOOD CREST – Mayor Don Cabrera ascended the commissioners’ dais in his wheel-chariot and ran the Wednesday, Nov. 6, commissioners meeting.
Cabrera fractured his right arm and busted his hip socket in a bicycle crash Oct. 19 during an Ironman event in North Carolina. Called the “Iron Mayor” for his frequent participation in Ironman competitions, Cabrera hit a pothole while competing in a half-marathon.
Still unable to walk and put weight on his pelvis, the mayor nevertheless participated in person at the Nov. 6 meeting.
“It was good,” Cabrera said of being back in the saddle, although he still had trouble signing documents with his injured right arm.
“I accessed behind the dais through administrator’s office, went through the conference room and down the hallway to get to the dais. Outside of the difficulty I had taking notes, it went well,” he said.
He said the meeting did not go on long enough for him to feel uncomfortable, adding he could now appreciate the Americans With Disabilities Act access modifications the borough completed that made it easy to get into the building. He plans to participate in person at all commissioner meetings.
“I’m getting stronger each day,” he said.
Cabrera said the first couple days home after his release from care in North Carolina were “rough going,” but he is doing physical therapy and getting “solid nights’ sleep,” weaning himself off prescription painkillers, drinking plenty of fluids and eating well.
The mayor said he had an upcoming appointment with a specialist for his arm, due to the fracture of his right humerus, the bone from the shoulder to the elbow.
He said in several weeks he will see a specialist for his pelvis, but he has been given the OK to walk in a pool. He said it is a very important part of his recovery regimen, as there is a tendency to begin walking crookedly after such an injury.
Cabrera said he was told it would take about three months to fully recover and begin running again, but that will not prevent him from attending borough meetings.
“You can’t keep me down. I want to make sure I’m accessible and doing my job,” he said.
So far, in addition to attending the meeting, he has been able to stop by borough hall and sign documents from his car, and he reads and reviews items of borough business via email.
Cabrera clarified that he was competing in a half-marathon, not a full marathon, called the North Carolina 70.3, and was at the 41st mile of the 56-mile cycling portion of the race when he hit the pothole at 22 or 23 mph.
He said he tried to hang on but realized he was going to fall and was able to fall on his right side – protecting his neck, spine and head. He ended up with injuries on the right side of his body, but in his words, he is “healing up nicely.”
The mayor said his bike is hanging on its rack in his living room, and he is not yet able to lift it and inspect the damage. This is his third major accident on a bike, he said, having crashed in Ironman competitions in Virginia and Maryland. He said in addition to the scrapes and broken bones, his pride was also broken.
“I was killing that race,” he said.
Cabrera said he heard from a lot of people before he arrived back in Wildwood Crest, and since then has heard from many residents and borough employees, people who have been wishing him well, sending cards and emails and dropping off meals.
“You know, you just go about doing what you’re doing, and in some small way, you don’t understand the appreciation of the community, the respect, the friendliness, but it shows up in response to something like this,” he said.
Cabrera received a packet of get-well cards handmade by every student at Crest Memorial School.
“Wow!” he said. “Feeling the love!”
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
