Education Minister Alden McLaughlin was released from hospital Friday morning; 12 days after a bicycle accident left him with a broken collarbone, three cracked ribs and a punctured lung.
Complications from the injuries caused Mr. McLaughlin’s right lung to collapse Saturday, 2 June, prolonging his hospital stay.
Doctors said late last week that it appeared the lung was now functioning normally, though they urged Mr. McLaughlin to take things easy. The minister thanked his doctors and well-wishers the day before his release.
‘I am truly grateful to God,’ he said. ‘It has been a very humbling experience.’
Cyclists who were with Mr. McLaughlin the morning of 27 May said his bike flipped after going over a bump in the road at Pease Bay. The minister has not been able to recall how the accident happened.
‘I’ve crashed before,’ said Mr. McLaughlin, an avid bike rider who said he often rides 200-plus miles a week. ‘And there’s usually that split second when you feel you’ve lost control or you see the accident coming, and you try, usually vainly, to avoid it. But that was conspicuously absent from this incident.’
Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts said the Legislative Assembly’s Finance Committee, which had postponed its hearings all last week at Mr. McLaughlin’s request, was likely to resume Wednesday.
The only issue left for the committee to consider is the budget for Mr. McLaughlin’s ministry; which includes such areas as education, training, employment, youth, sports and culture. It is the largest area of expenditure in the Cayman Islands central government operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
‘By that time (Wednesday) he should’ve been with enough rest that he could come and wrestle with finance committee,’ Mr. Tibbetts said.
‘The setback that (Mr. McLaughlin) had a week ago is nothing more than it was: a setback. But all else is going well, he just simply needs to rest a while longer and pace himself before he’s back in full swing.’
If for some reason Mr. McLaughlin is unable to attend finance committee, his ministry’s budget would have to be presented by another member of Cabinet, likely Mr. Tibbetts.
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