Secretary of State John Kerry is well-known for his love of cycling and he often takes his bicycle with him when he travels. It's not only his favored form of exercise but also an effective way to wind down and relax.
After a further six hours of talks in Geneva with Iranian Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, it is little wonder that Secretary Kerry felt in need of some R&R. Closely followed by his motorcade, he took his bike for a spin in the French countryside around Sconzier, 25 miles south-east of the Swiss border.
Unfortunately, rather than relaxing, this ride took an unexpected turn... straight into an unyielding curb. Down went the bike and Mr Kerry with it. Fortunately, paramedics and a physician were travelling with the Secretary's motorcade at the time of the accident. The diagnosis was a broken leg and Secretary Kerry was flown by helicopter to Geneva's main medical center where x-rays confirmed a fractured right femur.
Secretary Kerry was on the second leg on a four-nation diplomatic trip which was to include travel later that day to Madrid for meetings with Spain's king and prime minister, then onto Paris for a two-day international conference on combating the Islamic State group. His participation in that conference will now be conducted remotely.
Secretary Kerry regrets calling off the rest of the trip but is following his physician's advice to return to Boston. From the wire report in the Chicago Tribune:
Kerry was in stable condition and in good spirits as he prepared to return to Boston for further treatment with the doctor who previously operated on his hip, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
Kerry's decision to seek treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital was made because the fracture is near the site of his prior hip surgery, Kirby said.
"The secretary is stable and never lost consciousness, his injury is not life-threatening and he is expected to make a full recovery," Kirby said in a statement.
May you make a full and speedy recovery, Mr Secretary.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~❀~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~