Original Staff Report of Incident Chelsea’s to host benefit for injured grad student Storyville selling shirt to support injured student Bitton’s Letter to the Editor
Doctors told geography graduate student Michael Bitton he wouldn’t be able to ride his bicycle again, but 10 months after being severely injured from a hit and run, he can swim, run and ride.
A Toyota truck hit Bitton on the morning of May 15 while he was riding his bicycle on River Road. Bitton was found in a ditch shortly after and spent the next four weeks in the Intensive Care Unit at Baton Rouge General Hospital.
Bitton said doctors weren’t sure if he would make it through the first few days.
“Baton Rouge General did an amazing job,” Bitton said.
He said doctors didn’t offer much optimism to his parents during that time.
Bitton said he was then transported to a hospital in his hometown of Listowel, Ontario, Canada, where he spent about three more weeks under hospital care.
“The doctors said I wouldn’t be able to bike again,” Bitton said.
He said at first he was spending 23 hours a day in bed, so he believed he might not bike again.
He said he has no recollection of the accident or anything seven and a half weeks after it.
“The last memory I have is the night before the accident,” Bitton said.
Bitton said he received care for his open wounds at his parents’ house in Canada for two months. A month after being discharged, he underwent surgery and spent another week in the hospital.
Bitton said he returned to Baton Rouge in October and got clearance to begin swimming and water jogging. He said his doctors cleared him to start running and biking again in January.
Bitton said he couldn’t run far when he first started, and it was painful because of the injuries to the vertebra in his back.
“The day I was allowed to get back on a bike was one of my happiest days,” Bitton said.
Bitton said he attends physiotherapy once a week and does four hours of therapy exercises every day. His back is constantly sore, which could be a lifetime issue, but he feels best when exercising.
“The four hours of physiotherapy is the best I feel all day,” Bitton said.
He said he was grateful for the support from the LSU Cycling team, triathlon team, the University, and the Geography and Anthropology Society during his recovery. Fundraisers were organized for Bitton at Chelsea’s Cafe and Storyville to help with travel and recovery expenses.
“The support across Baton Rouge was amazing,” Bitton said.
Bitton said the support from his hometown in Canada was also helpful during his recovery.
He said he plans to participate in bike races and an Ironman competition sometime in the future.
Bitton said he tried to never think about things he couldn’t do. Instead, he thought about how to get back to physical activity.
He said he would think, “How do I work toward that?”
Bitton said what he appreciates most is being able to do things like trash talk with friends and any “element of normalcy.”
Bitton said he will be in a public service announcement for bicycle awareness consisting of a 30-second clip and a print ad. He believes it will begin in mid- or late April.
 
 
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Contact Celeste Ansley at [email protected]