[Uncle Cliffy]

A friend of mine is paralyzed.

It happened last week while I was at work. A couple friends came in the shop saying they were meeting my buddy Matt for a ride at some of our favorite trails, then going for an evening shuttle. I agreed to join in the evening but was obviously working and couldn't go in the morning.

Fast forward to the afternoon and we got a call from one of my friends telling the circumstances. Matt tried a jump and went OTB and landed in such a way to fracture two of the vertebrae in his neck. He got knocked out and when he came to, couldn't move at all... He got heli-lifted out. Matt wasn't exactly a pro, but he could jump and ride just fine. He had a pretty good set of moto skills. Since I wasn't there, I don't know exactly what went wrong...

Currently he's in the ICU because his lungs are collecting fluid. He is alert, but can't feel anything from his chest down. The doctor says he will probably be in a wheelchair.

I really don't know what to think... Sorry to post it here since it's a buzz-kill, but things happen and I was curious what you guys here and on MTBR have to say about it. I've been thinking about a Leatt brace lately, but I couldn't see wearing one where this guy was riding... This is a real mind bender for me.

Cliff.

 

[Bicyclist]

Man, that's a bummer.
It's always a shocker when stuff like this happens, but it's easy to forget it's part of the sport.
I know I will be buying a Leatt soon, seems like riding without one these days is almost asking for it.

A few years back a kid I knew died skateboarding going about 3 MPH, just hit his head wrong. It sure makes you think about how fragile people really are.

Healing vibes to your friend.

 

[Demomonkey]

Very sad news. My thoughts for your friend and his family.

Leatt style braces are becoming the norm. Most younger DH riders these days are wearing them even if they are not wearing other sorts of armour.

Having gone OTB more than a few times makes me think about investing in one too.

 

[.:Jeenyus:.]

what trail/section?

scary news, best of luck to Matt.

 

[Uncle Cliffy]

what trail/section?

scary news, best of luck to Matt.

It was on the flat pedal out to Chucks Chips. The double to hip set...

 

[FCLinder]

Wish your friend the best and hope he gets well!!!! I had my reality check in May of 2008 at the US Open. It has really made me think twice!!!!

Cecil

 

[OB1]

Tennis, golf, bowling...what's wrong with these sports? I wouldn't be riding 2 wheels without the danger. But I always put armor between the ground, and my self distructive tendencies. I have bmx, mx, and mtb friends that will never ride 2 wheels again. We're all psychotic. Good luck Matt!

 

[demo 9]

Just got the leatt brace, my advice (since iv unfortunately used it already) get one, it may be too late for your friend but with passing the word around, hopefully it wont be too late for many other riders.

 

[AlCapone]

Holy shit. +++++vibes to him and his friends and family. I went OTB twice today, and didn't think anything of it. This could happen to any of us, and I think we should all recognize the dangers of the sport.

 

[DHperu]

PEOPLE please, you guys have no idea how much a leatt brace is worth to you until something like this happens and its too late, could this have been prevented with a neck brace? i'l say with 99% certainty yes.

theres braces out there for as little as $150 (EVS EVO) and the cheapest Leatt is only $225, well worth the money when we're putting our lives at risk everytime we go out and ride.

$150 or ending up in a wheelchair or worse????

 

[Brian HCM#1]

WOW! That's awful news Hopefully he can make a full recovery, I'll be sending my good vibes his way.

 

[greenhood]

Sorry to hear about your friend.
I was just bitching to my friend today about how much Leatt braces cost. I will be buying mine tomorrow.
This sport is not worth breaking your neck over.

 

[RUFUS]

PEOPLE please, you guys have no idea how much a leatt brace is worth to you until something like this happens and its too late, could this have been prevented with a neck brace? i'l say with 99% certainty yes.

theres braces out there for as little as $150 (EVS EVO) and the cheapest Leatt is only $225, well worth the money when we're putting our lives at risk everytime we go out and ride.

$150 or ending up in a wheelchair or worse????

I tell this to everyone when they ask me about my leatt, the cost and the "restrictive" aspect of it.

Took me 2 rides to get used to it. Best money that I have ever spent in mountain biking.

$400 or $4 million, take your pick.

Really, really sorry to hear about your friend man, horrible news for sure.

If he has decent insurance see if he can look into cold therapy. Still not known if it works or not but it never hurts to give it a shot. Needs to be done fairly quickly though.

 

[jonnynails]

Healing vibes to your friend. I really hate to hear those stories. I did see that tons of people were wearing the Leatt Braces at practice at Nationals today. Sometimes I don't feel like I'm pro enough to wear one, but who cares if it will protect your neck and back effectively. I'll say a prayer for your friend tonight.

 

[gonefirefightin]

Huge bummer.......hard to shake that off

I have a local bud that crashed then got ran over by the guy behind him, been in ICU for a week, they say hey wont make the end of the week.

changes perspectives a bit

 

[offtheedge]

Good luck to Him, and all his family and friends.

It's not what I want or expect to hear when I come here, but the risk of this sport, even on a recreational level is very high.

 

[Delimeat]

Terrible news, but remember that some crazy miracles happen so lets hope for one.

As someone who usually wears a XC lid and rides a play bike I would love to see a Leatt type brace for half lids.... for obvious reasons that may never happen though.

 

[greenhood]

Damn, wtf is going on in Oregon? This is scary stuff. I have been riding for 18 years and I know the risks, but ****!

 

[kootenaytallboy]

Damn.

Best wishes to your friend.

This is truly a dangerous sport. We all know that. That's why we wear helmets, gloves, pads, and so on. I too have a friend that is paralyzed at the neck from biking. I rode for a couple of years having that in the back of my mind, and this year I decided to bite the bullet and buy a Leatt Brace. It cost me $365. In my mind, that may be some of the best money I ever spend, as it may save my life or keep me out of a wheelchair (fear #1 and #2 for me) It is also hardly noticeable, at least with my TLD D2 helmet (I'd bet a bigger moto helmet would be a bit different).

If you're thinking of getting a neck brace, but you're on the fence, ask yourself why you're wearing knee pads or elbow pads and not a neck brace. For example, when you crash on your elbows, you're not potentially gonna have to have a machine to help you breathe for the rest of your life.

I say this not to criticize anyone (including your friend) who doesn't wear armour. To each their own. But before you write it off, just try it. Borrow a friend's, try one in the shop, whatever. Its worth at least that much.

 

[spocomptonrider]

A Leatt brace could have saved your friend, its hard to say though, there are many types of vertebrae fractures and many of them cannot be prevented simply by using a Leatt. That being said it is cheap insurance for the many types that can be avoided by wearing one. Best of luck to your friend and his family, this sort of thing can be absolutely devastating to all involved.

 

[Prettym1k3]

This is exactly why I bought my Leatt. I joke around all the time saying things like, "Walking and eating solid foods are things I enjoy", but seriously... Walking and eating solid foods are things I enjoy. Not to mention that I would never, EVER want to put my wife or my immediate (or extended) family through the hardship of having to care for me because I thought $400 was too much money when I spend thousands on a frame.

Cliffy, sorry to hear about your buddy, man. That's really tough. I had a friend go down in a wreck a few weeks ago and he was unresponsive for a while. ER thought he might have a bruise on his brain or something but he ended up being okay. That was one of the scariest moments of my life.

 

[William42]

thats terrible, any word on if he'll be in a wheel chair for the rest of his life or if there is any possibility of recovery (or recovery to an extent?)

 

[time-bomb]

My heart goes out to your friend, his family and you.... and to everyone else that has had a similar experience. I had a cousin who was paralyzed from the neck down in a ski accident. He was a very skilled skier but accidents happen and he overshot a very large jump. They had to sandbag him and he was in a comma for 3 days. After two weeks he was able to be removed from most of the support machines he was on but there was no chance he would ever recover beyond being a quadriplegic. He would be in a wheel chair the rest of his life and require a machine for breathing assistance. Unfortunately about 2 weeks after that he passed away due to complications and obstructions in his bowels.

Anyway, I'm not trying to bum anyone out anymore than they already are, I am just saying no one expects this to happen to them or someone they know, but it can. I hope it doesn't but it is always best to take every precaution you can to protect yourself. If you don't do it for yourself, do it for your family, you will protect yourself and avoid breaking the hearts of the ones you love.

I wish your friend all best on his road to recovery and I wish the best for his friends and family too in coping with the situation and the pain.

 

[Total Heckler]

Thats awful. Hope he heals up fast and pulls through. I am no doctor, but I have heard of people being injured like that and being temporarily paralyzed because of inflammation and swelling on the spine. Best wishes to him and his family.

Reality check for sure. I have used my Leatt maybe 3-4 times now since I got it. Best investment you can make in this sport for safety equipment.

 

[S.K.C.]

Jesus, Cliff - I'm so sorry!

Thoughts and prayer are with your friend Matt and his family.

From what I gathered from your post you were mainly dumbfounded as to how this could happen at a place you all knew so well - and it wasn't like he was trying to do a Pastrana double-back flip...

I think it's just the nature of what we do and how we acclimatize ourselves to it. After riding for a while, it's easy to forget just how dangerous what we do for recreation IS. It's easy to slip into complacency and think: "Meh... it's just another set of doubles - whateva..." or "I've ridden this course so many times - no biggie". But I think the fact of the matter is that ANYTHING could happen at any given point in time. We are NOT in control of our environment out on the mountain 100% of the time - even if that's what we would LIKE to think.

ALWAYS remain vigilant. ALWAYS think worst case scenario. Even with the proper preparation - accidents will still happen. I wrecked really hard 2 years ago slamming my spine into a tree trunk. I was lucky enough to be wearing a Dainese Race Jacket so the energy-absorbing backplate probably saved my legs, but safety should ALWAYS be paramount.

If you're not going to wear a backplate, at the very least wear a Leatt.

All it takes is a few brief seconds to change your life forever.

Be careful out there and be safe.

 

[demo 9]

Now i wasnt lookin for this but i saw it and figured it should be posted here to really remind us how **** can happen.

This is the description. "jim just b4 the finish front wheel blew up lucky he was wearing a neck brase"

 

[greenhood]

That is a good reminder of how fast you can go down.

 

[Huck Banzai]

Just remember, chance can hit you no matter how 'tame' your actions are.

From OTB full on wrecks, down to standing around - the threat is there. I have posted in the past about how a friend was paralyzed 20 years ago, when loading his brothers van; a car parking in the spot behind them bumped them and he fell and hit his neck, and hasnt walked since.

Im not saying what we do isnt dangerous, but I am saying that chance can get you no matter what, and to think negative or 'the worst' is not productive or reasonable.

I am getting a Leatt tweaked for me because of my 'extreme' height in combination with a v large head on the end of an extra long neck! (DOH!) But, since I have broken my neck 2x, Im certain it is a good investment (only 1 of the breaks happened on a bike, the 1st was a car wreck.) and EVEN IF you dont get completely ruined, you can wind up with some troublesome neuropathy amongst other things.

Heal up and powerful vibes to the downed rider. People overcome amazing odds sometimes, I wish him the best!

 

[FlipFantasia]

it can happen xc'in too....I had some fork stanchions decide to detatch themselves from the crown in a rather violent manner at the end of an xc ride just over 2 years ago...3 compressed vertebrae, fractured skull, and I permanently lost the hearing in my right ear, **** happens, it sucks....really sorry to hear about this, definitely a sh!tty situation, best you can do is be there for him and support him in his recovery, good friends are the best, and absolutely necessary for him right now.

 

[ChrisKring]

sorry to hear about your friend. I hope he recovers. There is always hope. There are several MX guys that were initially paralysed but can walk today.

I have worn my Leatt full time on the MX bike for the past 2.5 years. I had some issues on the DH bike getting it set up but now that it is I have been wearing it full time for over a year for all DH. Last Sunday I was going to not wear it for a DS race since I wasn't wearing any other armor. We'll my 6 year old told me that I didn't have it on. That made me think that I better wear it. You never know when you'll need i but ou will be glad you had it on. Like other's have said, you would pay all the money that you have to go back in time after the fact.

For what it's worth, I haven't heard of anyone that has been paralysed wearing a Leatt.

 

[- seb]

Really must sort myself out some insurance to cover this sort of eventuality... anyone got any pointers/recommendations? I'm self-employed if that makes any difference.

 

[Trekrules]

good he was wearing a Leatt brace,these pictures scare the hell out of me.

 

[- seb]

And yeah, I suppose I really should buy a Leatt. I think they look stupid, and I think the restrictiveness will sometimes annoy me, and I'm not convinced how much they actually help... but for £300 maybe it's a gamble I should take!

One of the things that puts me off is the claim that if you wear one without a helmet and trip over etc, you could do as much damage as a serious crash! I can't see me being strict enough to take it off every time I take my helmet off, not even close!

 

[leprechaun]

I just got out of a full arm cast today after i f'ed up a small jump on the angel fire 4x track, i broke my full face..i have a leatt and i didn't have it on. Somehow i didn't hurt my allready really screwed up neck. I won't let that happen again!

 

[dump]

And yeah, I suppose I really should buy a Leatt. I think they look stupid, and I think the restrictiveness will sometimes annoy me, and I'm not convinced how much they actually help...

not to mention the weight! (weenie)

 

[- seb]

You make a fair point... it may only be 750g, but still..

 

[Prettym1k3]

And yeah, I suppose I really should buy a Leatt. I think they look stupid, and I think the restrictiveness will sometimes annoy me, and I'm not convinced how much they actually help... but for £300 maybe it's a gamble I should take!

One of the things that puts me off is the claim that if you wear one without a helmet and trip over etc, you could do as much damage as a serious crash! I can't see me being strict enough to take it off every time I take my helmet off, not even close!

Their claim isn't that if you're walking, and trip, you'll break your neck. What they mean is that if you go riding with your Leatt on, and you're only wearing a 1/2 shell, or no helmet, and you eat it hard, then you're liable to break your neck. The Leatt DEPENDS on your full-face helmet to keep your neck from hyper-extending/compressing (whatever the official medical term is).

I waltz around the lift line at Northstar, and the parking area of our local race series wearing mine at times. No problem there. Breathability is great except on the hottest of hot days (90+ degrees), and when riding DH, I notice it maybe 1-2% of the time. It's worth every penny.

 

[Uncle Cliffy]

Guys, I'm super stoked on your responses here.

Currently Matt is still listed as an "acute patient" in the hospital. He still can't feel anything from the nipples down... I still haven't been in to talk to him while he's awake. It just so happens that another rider friend of ours is a nurse, and is keeping us updated.

You guys have echoed all my thoughts on this. Risk and reward are something we all juggle in this hobby. Honestly, I'm still shocked by all of it. There's talk of tearing the jump in question completly down... Lots of people are still stunned by it. I think the circumstances will haunt us for a long time.

I'm hoping for the best recovery possible...

 

[ScarredOne]

Cliff, that's really terrible news and I really do hope your buddy pulls through alright. Like others in this thread, seeing very talented riders I used to know now paralyzed with very high levels of injury (cervical to high thoracic) has been very sobering.

There are just a handful of specialized rehabilitation facilities for people who have spinal cord injuries in the U.S. My suggestion would be to contact whatever centers you can so that your buddy may find a place to train as soon as his condition has stabilized. Research locomotor training, as well as stem cell implantation; I have worked with clients who have seen remarkable gains (absolutely zero to some gross limb movement, not huge but not insignificant either) from these and other procedures.

Remember, all is not lost and although a difficult road is ahead, with plenty of support and lots of self-determination, much is within your buddy's reach. PM me if you would like me to shoot you the contact of some centers which may be helpful in finding out more information.

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

I wish the best for your friend...very sad news

Thanks for posting this thread, i have been on the fence about forking over the $$$ for a brace and have now decided to do so. Where have you guys found the best price on them? I'll probably order one today.