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heath sharratt

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
His wife email out his condition. He was air vac'ed to a hospital in his home town. His injuries include "a subluxation of cervical spine 1 and 2" and "three compression fractures of T6, T7 and T8 vertebrae". He is traction right now and a lot of pain apparently.

There is hope for a recovery and his family has asked for your prayers and good thoughts.
 

Mani_UT

Monkey
Nov 25, 2001
644
0
SLC, UT
sanjuro said:
His injuries include "a subluxation of cervical spine 1 and 2" and "three compression fractures of T6, T7 and T8 vertebrae". He is traction right now and a lot of pain apparently.
.
That sucks bad :(
I hope he heals fast!!

Heath should mellow out though. He is trying too hard!! Almost broke his leg in DV, ate **** hard in the 4X in BH and now this...

It's great to see that he wants to give it 100% but geez have some self preservation!!!

Anyway, heal fast!
 

F.O.G

Monkey
Feb 8, 2005
196
0
Monterey, CA
I was with Heath in Mammoth, we all stayed together and I was there when he went down. I don't think Heath was trying to hard, I think Norba built a really crap jump which took MANY people out. Unfortunately Heath took the worst spill. The jump was a 3' kicker back into the half pipe which would send you flying down into a poorly placed 1' tall landing ramp with a sharp back side which you either cleared or got bucked by. Heath got bucked when he went off the kicker and was going down in an endo, when the front wheel contacted the ground it hit directly into the back side of the landing and flipped him directly into the ground head first. We are just glad that he switched his helmet to a full face before he left the condo. When we went to the hospital to see him there were a quite a few people there that were taken out by the crap jump. I know Norba wants to build bigger jumps but they need to build safer jumps that all classes can jump/roll that don't screw people up. A big table top in the same place with a sloped landing that you could go huge on and land 20' down the backside or 5' and not have to worry about under/over clearing.
 

Zutroy

Turbo Monkey
Dec 9, 2004
2,443
0
Ventura,CA
Damn that sucks. Heath is one of the nicest guys i've gotten to meet at the races since i moved out here. Always one of the first guys to offer ya encouragement out there even though you're competing against him. Please keep us up to date.
 

punkassean

Turbo Monkey
Feb 3, 2002
4,561
0
SC, CA
F.O.G said:
I was with Heath in Mammoth, we all stayed together and I was there when he went down. I don't think Heath was trying to hard, I think Norba built a really crap jump which took MANY people out. Unfortunately Heath took the worst spill. The jump was a 3' kicker back into the half pipe which would send you flying down into a poorly placed 1' tall landing ramp with a sharp back side which you either cleared or got bucked by. Heath got bucked when he went off the kicker and was going down in an endo, when the front wheel contacted the ground it hit directly into the back side of the landing and flipped him directly into the ground head first. We are just glad that he switched his helmet to a full face before he left the condo. When we went to the hospital to see him there were a quite a few people there that were taken out by the crap jump. I know Norba wants to build bigger jumps but they need to build safer jumps that all classes can jump/roll that don't screw people up. A big table top in the same place with a sloped landing that you could go huge on and land 20' down the backside or 5' and not have to worry about under/over clearing.
I didn't see the the jump in question but I don't go for the "crappy jump" scenario. It is the racers/riders job to use their judgement to size up an obstacle and then deem how fast he or she can safely negotiate it. That is what practice runs are for. Norba is trying to make the course challenging, without a high level of challenge then it's hard to differentiate the more talented riders. Which after all is the point of racing in the first place, to identify the "winners".

Either way though, I wish Heath a speedy and full recovery and I am bummed to hear of one of our fellow riders beign seriously hurt. :( Please keep updates coming in as new info becomes available.

Healing vibes Heath!!!
 

Cant Climb

Turbo Monkey
May 9, 2004
2,683
10
punkassean said:
I didn't see the the jump in question but I don't go for the "crappy jump" scenario. It is the racers/riders job to use their judgement to size up an obstacle and then deem how fast he or she can safely negotiate it. That is what practice runs are for. Norba is trying to make the course challenging, without a high level of challenge then it's hard to differentiate the more talented riders. Which after all is the point of racing in the first place, to identify the "winners".
Bingo..!!!


I wish Heath a return to health.
We have been hearing this way too much lately.
Really sucks......
 

F.O.G

Monkey
Feb 8, 2005
196
0
Monterey, CA
Beavers,
He is at a Kaisers in Sac, I will get in touch with his wife and/or him to see if he wants the actual Hospitial named and room # given. He will be there for a bit but should be home fairly soon.
 

Ciaran

Fear my banana
Apr 5, 2004
9,839
15
So Cal
F.O.G said:
Beavers,
He is at a Kaisers in Sac, I will get in touch with his wife and/or him to see if he wants the actual Hospitial named and room # given. He will be there for a bit but should be home fairly soon.
If he is at a Kaiser hospital he likely has Kaiser insurance which *should* pay for all the med bills. (fingers crossed!)

I hope he has a full and speedy recovery.

I have a question about NORBA courses (I don't race, so I don't know) : Does NORBA have seperate courses for beginner/sport and EX/semi/pro? It would seem to me that the race promotor should provide a challenging, yet safe race course. Keep in mind that safe does not mean easy.
 

TheMontashu

Pourly Tatteued Jeu
Mar 15, 2004
5,549
0
I'm homeless
F.O.G said:
I was with Heath in Mammoth, we all stayed together and I was there when he went down. I don't think Heath was trying to hard, I think Norba built a really crap jump which took MANY people out. Unfortunately Heath took the worst spill. The jump was a 3' kicker back into the half pipe which would send you flying down into a poorly placed 1' tall landing ramp with a sharp back side which you either cleared or got bucked by. Heath got bucked when he went off the kicker and was going down in an endo, when the front wheel contacted the ground it hit directly into the back side of the landing and flipped him directly into the ground head first. We are just glad that he switched his helmet to a full face before he left the condo. When we went to the hospital to see him there were a quite a few people there that were taken out by the crap jump. I know Norba wants to build bigger jumps but they need to build safer jumps that all classes can jump/roll that don't screw people up. A big table top in the same place with a sloped landing that you could go huge on and land 20' down the backside or 5' and not have to worry about under/over clearing.
Good thing he had his fullface on, for the longest time he refused to wear one as well as more pads than some times kneeshins.

My prayers go out to him for a speedy recovery, and to his wife and kids for having to go through all of this.

AnotherMike said:
If he is at a Kaiser hospital he likely has Kaiser insurance which *should* pay for all the med bills. (fingers crossed!)

I hope he has a full and speedy recovery.

I have a question about NORBA courses (I don't race, so I don't know) : Does NORBA have seperate courses for beginner/sport and EX/semi/pro? It would seem to me that the race promotor should provide a challenging, yet safe race course. Keep in mind that safe does not mean easy.
I heard from my boss (heaths former boss) that he did have insurance at the place he is currently working at.
 

Grizzle

Monkey
Sep 7, 2005
216
0
La Crescenta, CA
In that link, that large jump with the little kicker down the landing on the backside seems like a poor decision. Maybe it's just me, but it does not look like it would really add anything to the course, all it does is make the course harder to ride and more likely to screw you up. Im all for a challenge, but i don't really agree with that jump, i think a single tranny would be much better.
 

trailhacker

Turbo Monkey
Jan 6, 2003
1,233
0
In the hills around Seattle
punkassean said:
I didn't see the the jump in question but I don't go for the "crappy jump" scenario. It is the racers/riders job to use their judgement to size up an obstacle and then deem how fast he or she can safely negotiate it. That is what practice runs are for.
I have seen courses' where they put in stupid jumps before. Yes it is your choice as a racer to go for it or not, but if the guy next to you is going to do it then you don't really have a choice do you? I mean if you want to win or place or just do the best you can and the top guys are doing it then you have to do it too. Or go home after getting eliminated in the first round if you even qualify.
 

blt2ride

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2005
2,333
0
Chatsworth
trailhacker said:
I have seen courses' where they put in stupid jumps before. Yes it is your choice as a racer to go for it or not, but if the guy next to you is going to do it then you don't really have a choice do you? I mean if you want to win or place or just do the best you can and the top guys are doing it then you have to do it too. Or go home after getting eliminated in the first round if you even qualify.
I'm gald to hear that Heath is doing well, and will make a full recovery--good stuff!

As for the course, that step-down was strange, and looked a lot faster to roll. However, I don't balme anyone for taking a different approach to see if it would be faster or smoother. I didn't have a chance to race the 4X, but I watched to pros race, and all of them rolled it.

It's no big secret that NORBA does build some terrible courses, but this one was looked pretty good; I was really surprised when I saw it.

The only course that was really f-up was the 2003 NORBA National at Snow Summit. If you saw those jumps, you know what I'm talking about...
 

Msisle Dad

Monkey
Jul 1, 2003
569
0
Catonsville, MD
trailhacker said:
I have seen courses' where they put in stupid jumps before. Yes it is your choice as a racer to go for it or not, but if the guy next to you is going to do it then you don't really have a choice do you? I mean if you want to win or place or just do the best you can and the top guys are doing it then you have to do it too. Or go home after getting eliminated in the first round if you even qualify.

Or you dont and they do and go down hard and you go on to the finish.........

The only am to clear it and gain a benefit was Josh T. Other guys cleared it only to have some pretty hard landings and loss of momentum. It seemed that the fastest way to ride it was jump down land just prior to the step suck it up then accelerate out of it.

I was watching Heath's qual run. He looked quite fast and smooth to that point.

CDR
 

Heath Sherratt

Turbo Monkey
Jun 17, 2004
1,871
0
In a healthy tension
Oh my gosh :eek: That was emotional.... I just looked at the "sequence of events" that led to my demise. :dead: Very overwhelming. I remember trying to prejump the lip and my back tire not agreeing with me so I just went of the lip rear end rising and thinking "as long as I don't hit that stupid speed bump...this is the end." and then dirt filling my helmet. I was out after that and didn't realize where I was until hours later in the hospital. I'm sitting home now with three broken vertebrae in the t678 variety and dreading the long road to recovery. If you look at the helmet photos you can see all the blood on the mouth piece. That is due to the fact that it nearly ripped the lower half of my face off. The "jaw protector" was pushed back into my face by the impact and the plastic just caught hold of my lip and gravity did the rest. I only say this because I normally don't even wear full face helmets in 4X but I did that day. I wish it would have been a moto helmet now. I will invest the money now for sure. This was purely out of my control. There was no avoiding this crash with skill, I held on to the very end hoping to roll out of it and hit that darn bump thus exploding my wheel and my body. Wear moto, Please. Thanks to everyone for all the support. You have truly been a blessing to me and my family and I look forward to seeing you all next year, God willing. Sincerely, Heath
 

TheMontashu

Pourly Tatteued Jeu
Mar 15, 2004
5,549
0
I'm homeless
Heath Sherratt said:
If you look at the helmet photos you can see all the blood on the mouth piece. That is due to the fact that it nearly ripped the lower half of my face off. The "jaw protector" was pushed back into my face by the impact and the plastic just caught hold of my lip and gravity did the rest. I only say this because I normally don't even wear full face helmets in 4X but I did that day. I wish it would have been a moto helmet now. I will invest the money now for sure.
That helmet is NASTY, I didn't think you could get blood stains on plastic but you sure can. Heal up man my prayers are defanitly with you.
 

Dan Weitsman

Chimp
Sep 27, 2005
1
0
Davis, CA
'Sup Heath, this is Dan from PHC. I registered just so I could reply since Josh linked me to this thread. What a schitty crash! I can't believe that happened to you. But just think: once the recovery is over and you feel fresh again, you'll look back and say "hey, it wasn't that bad." I know one other racer who had a seriously debilitating crash a long time ago, the doctor said he might never ride a bike again, and that proved to be WRONG. So I guess if they tell you things like that, don't listen to them, listen to yourself. But I don't know what your prognosis is, so I don't want to jump ahead here. Anyway, get well soon bro!

Dan
 

Heath Sherratt

Turbo Monkey
Jun 17, 2004
1,871
0
In a healthy tension
Dan Weitsman said:
'Sup Heath, this is Dan from PHC. I registered just so I could reply since Josh linked me to this thread. What a schitty crash! I can't believe that happened to you. But just think: once the recovery is over and you feel fresh again, you'll look back and say "hey, it wasn't that bad." I know one other racer who had a seriously debilitating crash a long time ago, the doctor said he might never ride a bike again, and that proved to be WRONG. So I guess if they tell you things like that, don't listen to them, listen to yourself. But I don't know what your prognosis is, so I don't want to jump ahead here. Anyway, get well soon bro!

Dan
Hey Grasshopper! Thanks for the attention! How are things man? PM me with some details, it is great to hear from you. Tell Joshee I said Hi. H