LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- Rodney Walker of Coweta County has spent most of the last three days suffering through a heart breaking vigil at the Gwinnett Medical Center.
"It is a waiting game, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day," he told 11Alive News on Wednesday.
Walker has been waiting for any sign of improvement from his wife, Kirsten, since she suffered a terrible bicycle accident Sunday morning.
The former lifeguard, runner and biker was participating in the Iron Girl triathlon at Lake Lanier Islands when it happened.
She completed the one-third mile swim and was about to finish the 19-mile bicycle event when cyclists in front of her heard a sudden crash.
No one, including her husband, is exactly sure how and why it happened, especially since it apparently didn't involve anyone else.
"I've raced bicycles and I've crashed plenty bad, and I don't remember ever seeing anybody get wrapped up in a crash and end up this bad," Rodney said.
Kirsten ended up in the hospital's intensive care unit with a broken collar bone, some broken ribs, a partially collapsed lung and even more serious brain injuries, mostly on her left side.
Although she's mostly unconscious and unresponsive to complicated commands, her husband and 4-year-old daughter are praying for her recovery.
He also believes she'd do the event all over again, if given the chance.
"She would tell you not to let this be a negative setback, for you to go out and pursue an activity such as this," Rodney said.
He hopes and prays she will soon recover enough to be able to tell him herself what happened.
Meanwhile, he appreciates the support of her fellow enthusiasts, especially like Meredith Atwood's blog, swimbikemom.com
"We've got a lot of prayer chains going, basically throughout the world right now, and if it wasn't for that, she probably wouldn't be here," Rodney said.
One special irony is the support of a close friend's family.
Rodney said the friend's nephew suffered severe brain injuries in a car wreck last November and some didn't even expect him to survive.
But with the support of people like Rodney's wife Kirsten, Rodney said the boy is now talking and walking again, although he's still in physical and speech therapy.
Now that boy's family members are among the hundreds pulling for Kirsten to overcome her brain injuries.
"Now the roles are reversed, and they're the ones adding support and helping lead some of the prayers and getting the word out," Rodney said. "Without that, it would be a longer road and a tougher situation to be in without God being here."
Kirsten's friends have set up a Facebook page to pray for her and to keep up with her progress.