Fairfield man recovering from bike accident

A Fairfield man is recuperating from injuries he suffered during a traffic accident two weeks ago.

Steven Timm, 79, of Sydney, Australia, was knocked off his bicycle and landed on the windshield of the car that struck him from behind, driven by Ethan Daniel Ball, 27, of Cedar Rapids. The collision occurred June 13, and it sent Timm via AirCare to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

The crash broke two bones in Timm's lower left leg, and broke bones in his right hand. He also has cuts and bruises all over his body, and his back was pierced by many shards of glass from the windshield.

Though he has them as a backup, hospital staff recommended Timm avoid using crutches, and instead rely on a walker or wheelchair. He said the walker is clumsy to use, and the wheelchair is inconvenient because it doesn't fit through his apartment door.

Despite his injuries, Timm has been able to exercise with the help of a machine that moves his legs.

'I'm a therapist, so I know that, after a big shock, a patient recovers happily for a few days because you think, ‘I survived!' And then a couple of days later, you die from psychological shock,” he said. 'I felt that psychological shock at 4 a.m. on the third day [of recovery]. I could feel it coming; my heart was slowing down.”

Timm said he could feel his heart rate drop below 40 beats per minute, so he took a supplement to boost his energy.

'I don't want to go to heaven. I've been there and back,” he said.

Timm is living in a room on the campus of Maharishi University of Management. His room was on the second floor, but he had to move to the first floor after the accident. He said friends come over occasionally to help him with chores or run errands for him.

He is worried about his medical bills in America, because his Australian Medicare won't pay for them. He's counting on the insurance carrier of the other person involved in the accident, Ball, to cover them. The Iowa State Patrol's crash report does not list a citation for Ball, so it's unclear whether he will be required to pay Timm's medical bills. The Ledger attempted to contact the investigating officer at the Iowa State Patrol, but learned he is on vacation and won't return for a few weeks.

Timm is confident the other driver will be held liable.

'Anytime someone hits you from behind, they're guilty,” he said.

Ball had not returned a request for comment by press time.

Timm said he the bicycle has been his main mode of transportation for more than 25 years. He used to work for IBM, which allowed him to drive a company car. Timm had to give up the car when he left the firm, but he realized that wasn't so bad. Cycling has kept him in great shape ever since.

Sadly, Timm has not had great luck as a pedestrian or a cyclist. This month's accident is the latest in a series he has suffered. In 1970, he was hit by a car in his native country of Chile. In that case, he said the driver hit him on purpose for political reasons, because of Timm's opposition to communism. He said there was another incident in Chile where a member of the mafia tried to run over him on his bike.

Timm was also injured in a bike accident in Thailand, where he spends eight months of the year. He said the irony of that accident was that the driver who hit him was American.

Despite his injuries, Timm is still planning to travel to Ireland on July 9, a trip he had been planning for weeks to treat a medical problem that preceded the car accident.

Timm spends three months of the year in Fairfield, though after this recent accident, he's not sure he can stay here because he lacks medical coverage. He said private insurance is prohibitively expensive because of his age.

'Maybe I will go to Canada instead,” he remarked.