Eric Truelsen

Retired High School Teacher

I live in San Jose, but often come up to Napa on weekends to visit friends. Last May, I was riding around their property on a golf cart with my dog in my lap. His girlfriend, a black Lab, got excited and jumped in! When she landed on us, it pressed my foot on the accelerator, and the golf cart flipped and squashed me like a bug. My friends Erin and Adam Simms took me to the Queen’s Emergency Department. The doctors told me they would need to knock me out and put me on life support, or I wouldn’t make it.

They later told me that I broke all my ribs except one; lacerated my kidneys, spleen, and liver; and filled my lungs with fluid. I was at the Queen for at least a month and my total recovery was about six months.

I do recall that, whenever I opened my eyes, I didn’t have to stress or panic because there was always a nurse right there. A few years before, I’d gone to another hospital when I had a stroke. I remember how abandoned and neglected I felt. It wasn’t even close to this experience.

Oh, and don’t worry. The dogs are just fine.