When Habersham County Commissioner Dustin Mealor talks about saving the county hospital, he now speaks from firsthand experience as to why that’s so important.
On May 2, the first-term commissioner and former Baldwin City councilman was out riding mountain bikes with friends in the Lake Russell Wildlife Management Area when he was injured in an accident.
“I took a curve too tight that had a large boulder in it and clipped my foot. The impact severely dislocated my foot and broke a few bones, including my tibia in my leg,” Mealor tells Now Habersham.
That’s when his friends sprang into action.
Piedmont College’s head cycling team coach Jame Carney and his wife Erica made sure the EMT’s were contacted and knew where to go. Another friend, John Lilly III, stayed with the injured Mealor who was stuck deep in the woods. “My friends Kim Cantrell and Keith Owen helped further by making sure the proper gates on the WMA were open to allow the EMT’s to arrive sooner,” Mealor says.
Paramedics arrived within an hour. They “took amazing care of me,” Mealor says. Adding, they got him “out of the woods very fast.”
“Even though I know we have great public safety staff it surprised me at the level of expertise exhibited and made me proud to have them there to help,” he says.
At Mealor’s request, Habersham EMS transported him by ambulance to Habersham County Medical Center where he says “again I received amazing care.”
After spending about two hours in the hospital emergency room where they re-set his foot and ankle and splinted him up, Mealor was sent home. He’ll undergo surgery at the hospital on Wednesday (May 6) to stabilize and correct all of the damage done to his leg.
It’s a tough break for a guy who coaches the county’s middle and high school mountain bike team, but Mealor won’t let it keep him down long. Once he recovers, he plans to resume mountain biking and coaching.
The timely medical attention he received immediately following his accident likely helped make that goal more attainable.
“This entire situation just reaffirms that we have not only amazing public safety but also amazing hospital care in our county,” Mealor tells Now Habersham.
