Quantcast

Stephen Murray Fund...

Cru Jones

Cru Jones

Turbo Monkey
Sep 2, 2006
3,025
2
Hell Track
This is extremely sad. Here is a press release...

http://www.bmxonline.com/bmx/news/article/0,15737,1636876,00.html

"Stephen Murray is a BMX Athlete that could use help from the BMX community. Stephen is a professional dirt jumper that is well known for his amazing tricks like double back flips, 360 back flips, turndown back flips and so much more.

Stephen Murray came to the United States from New Castle Great Britain over 10 years ago with a dream of riding with the best athletes in the sport. He came over here originally as a BMX racer but quickly took to Dirt Jumping and Freestyle in the scene of Huntington Beach and Sheep Hills.

2001 and 2002 marked the biggest year for Stephen Murray of his career. He won the Gold Medal in Dirt Jumping at X Games and back to back wins at the Gravity Games, the two biggest contests at the time.

Stephen is quoted on his own riding style, “I go 110%, go big and send it!” (EXPN.com)

On Friday June 22nd at the AST Dew Tour BMX Dirt Finals in Baltimore, MD, Stephen Murray took a horrific fall on the final set of the dirt section while sending a double back flip. Stephen has received career ending injuries to his spinal cord and vertebrae.

Unlike the NFL or other major professional sports, which have unions that provide funds to athletes who are injured, BMX has nothing like this. BMX however is much more like a family than any other sport. Now is the time we need to reach out and support one of our family members like never before.

The injuries that Stephen sustained are no doubt going to affect him for a life time. Medical bills alone can reach astronomical dollar amounts. As a BMX community we have the power to help him. Stephen is a young 27 years old and is the financial provider for a wife and two young children.

This message has the potential to reach millions. Even if you are only able to donate $1 if we did it all together we can accomplish a great deal. This is for real, this is an opportunity to help out one of the most loved riders in our sport. Please find it in your hearts to contribute any dollar amount that you can, and say a prayer for Stephen Murray and his family in this difficult time.

Here are three ways you can contribute:
Email StephenMurrayFund@hotmail.com with the dollar amount you would like to contribute. You will then receive an email back with the invoice that leads you directly to a Pay Pal Secure account where you can pay by credit card or bank account number.

Mail a check payable to Stephen Murray Family Fund:
92 Corporate Park Ste. C #171
Irvine, CA 92606

Make a bank deposit or wire funds directly to:
Stephen Murray Family Fund
Bank of America
4500 Barranca Parkway
Irvine, CA 92614
Routing # 121000358
Account # 1015867459

If you are a minor get your parents permission first. Donate today, don’t hesitate. "
 
Cru Jones

Cru Jones

Turbo Monkey
Sep 2, 2006
3,025
2
Hell Track
More...

"We set up an e-mail account so the BMX world can let Stephen know we are behind him. Send him your thoughts and wishes as he begins his road to recovery.

Stephen went down on a double flip attempt at the Panasonic Open in Baltimore Friday evening. He broke three vertebrae in his neck and has already had one surgery and will have another today (Monday the 25th). He is reported to be in "critical but stable condition." We all wish him and his family the best.

To send your thoughts and words of encouragement to Stephen, type out an email to GetWellStephen@gmail.com. We will make sure his family gets every last one of them. Thanks in advance. "

 
DirtEveryDay

DirtEveryDay

Turbo Monkey
Nov 24, 2003
2,692
4
Pacific North Wet
I haven't had time to read all the attached links yet, but what's the outcome of this look like?? I mean is he looking at not walking again? No riding if he can walk? I really don't know how much spinal damage you can sustain before you get really fuked.
Sh*t like this is pretty much the ONLY reason I still work a crappy factory job for less than $20 per... INSURANCE. And I've got AFLAC on top of that. Everyone should check into that, **** will happen sooner or later.
Hopes for a fellow rider.
 
Cru Jones

Cru Jones

Turbo Monkey
Sep 2, 2006
3,025
2
Hell Track
THRILLSEEKA said:
I haven't had time to read all the attached links yet, but what's the outcome of this look like?? I mean is he looking at not walking again? No riding if he can walk?
Click to expand...
They don't know, yet. As of right now, it looks like he might be paralyzed. Before the first surgery, he didn't have any movement below his neck. After the surgery, he had a little movement in his shoulders. He had another surgery today.

There is going to be a benefit jam at The Compound. I'll be there...

 
Cru Jones

Cru Jones

Turbo Monkey
Sep 2, 2006
3,025
2
Hell Track
"Yesterday was quite a big day for everyone. The general surgeon arrived to discuss his tracheotomy operation which should hopefully be a temporary measure rather than a permanent fixture (amazing). This procedure takes the respirator out of his mouth and into his throat relieving pressure off his voice box. They will also take out the feed tube from his mouth and insert this into his stomach. This leaves his mouth free and should be a lot more comfortable for him. It should also enable him to mouth words over the coming weeks, something which has been really frustrating for him. They hope to do this today.

Today, they also plan to operate to put a filter into his vena cava vein to prevent the build up of blood clots along with an MRI to check on the status of his neck.

Quote of the day came from the director of the neurotrauma team.

"he's not going to end up like Christopher Reeve"

This, as you can imagine, was a massive boost for everyone. There are plenty of rumors still flying round that he'll be riding by xmas, he's gonna be able to walk etc. etc. The only thing to listen to is this blog/update. He has sustained a life altering injury and we have come to terms with the fact that he may never walk again. The most we could ever hope for at this moment is for some use of his upper body and the ability to breath on his own in the future.

He did also manage to tell my Mam "happy birthday" for today!

Last night his friends from england, Scott Edgworth and Marco Delisola flew in which put a smile on his face.

The comments on this site (and others) and emails we have received are so comforting to us, and they will be even more comforting to Stephen over the coming weeks when we are able to read them out to him.

Thanks again.

Updates to follow

Murrays"
 
mattmatt86

mattmatt86

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2005
5,347
10
Bleedmore, Murderland
I was there, it was a horrible scene. I'm just glad that baltimore has one of the best shock trauma centers in the country. The local rock station here that was at the Dew tour is setting up some kind of fund raiser as well, I'm glad theres such an outpouring of help for him.
 
Cru Jones

Cru Jones

Turbo Monkey
Sep 2, 2006
3,025
2
Hell Track
Bump. Updates...

7-2
Stephens had a bit of an up and down time over past few days. There are lots of complications associated with such an injury and these are the main concerns at the moment, as opposed to just thinking about letting the bones in his neck heal. Things like fevers, high temperature, breathing complications (his lungs still aren't working efficiently for him to breathe on his own so he's still on the life support machine/respirator), O2 and CO2 levels in his blood, avoiding pneumonia etc. etc.

Yesterday his breathing showed some signs of improvement and he was able to breathe on his own with the respirator machine still working, but mainly as back up. Today, the machine has been turned back up as he took a bit of a backwards step, but we have come to terms with the fact that there isn't always going to be positive news. Its definitely a rollercoaster!

He slept most of today but did manage a huge smile when i read him out a message from Andy Ruffell!

Thanks for all the support, it really is overwhelming.

Murrays

7-3
Unfortunately Stephen has developed pneumonia as a side effect of his injury. The hospital assures us that this is commonly associated with spinal chord injuries so we're confident that with antibiotics they can get this under control. As a result of this he has really high temperatures and sleeps for most of the day. He's also suffering from bad nightmares as a side effect of one of the sleeping aids they are giving him so they are changing this. Poor kid has all this to deal with alongside his broken neck. This has knocked his breathing ability back quite a bit so we are no further forward with getting him off the ventilator and he is still in intensive care.

He'll eventually come through this though and hopefully we can start thinking of the best rehab facility for him to go to. We have a meeting with the Christopher Reeve foundation on thursday who have kindly offered their support and guidance.

Updates to follow

Murrays

7-5
Alright, Martin flew back to the UK last night and has asked me to take over the updates until he returns.
Some good news yesterday, the hospital changed Stephen's medication and the nightmares and hallucinations he was having have since gone away. His temperature fluctuated yesterday peaking at 103 but is now back down to just below 101. The hospital have explained that this is to be expected and we're hoping that it will return to a more normal level.
We appreciate that a lot of you are worried about the pneumonia but this is almost par for the course and the fact that the hospital caught it early and are treating it with anti-biotics can only be a good thing.
Although Stephen's visitors are restricted to family, we decided to make an exception when Travis Pastrana dropped in 10 minutes after Martin left for England.(unlucky Muzz) This was a huge boost for Stephen and definatlty put a smile on his face.
Today has been a quiet, settled day of rest, which is greatly needed since he is still in critical condition. Melissa has been by his side all day while Cynthia and I have been in meetings for 7 hours with various organisations relating to rehab.
Please keep your E mails coming as they are a great source of support to Stephen and his family alike. The amount of concern and support from everyone has been nothing short of phenomenal and is very much appreciated.
Believe.
 
Cru Jones

Cru Jones

Turbo Monkey
Sep 2, 2006
3,025
2
Hell Track
More updates from the family...

7-7
"First of all, Stephen and his family would like to send thanks out to everyone around the World who have sent messages and well wishes, it is a source of inspiration for all of them. They would like to send out special thanks to the medical team at the Dew Tour and the Paramedics in the Ambulance who gave Stephen mouth to mouth and CPR. It is hard to put into words their gratitude.They cannot thank them enough.
Today has been a better day. The pneumonia is now in remission and his temperature has dropped for the first time to under 100 and is now at 99.7.
He still remains on the ventilator but they are slowly weening him off and we remain optomistic.
Today, Stephen has been in the wheelchair twice for 2 hours each time, which is tough because it's very uncomfortable and hard to get used to because it makes him dizzy.
This morning a DVD with well wishes from riders who attended Red Bull Elevation in Whistler, Canada arrived and Stephen was stoked to see it although he was disappointed that there was no footage of the actual contest. He has asked to see footage of the crash from Baltimore. The fact that he wants to see it and know what happened is a sign of how mentally strong he is.
Tomorrow Cynthia and I are flying to Denver to see Craig Rehab Centre, which is predominately for Athletes like Stephen. The average age there is 33 and they are known for aggressive Rehab therapy. Also we are looking at Shepherd in Atlanta Georgia later in the week. Where he has his Rehab is vital to his recovery and so we feel we should visit each facility before making a decision.
Melissa will be at Stephen's bedside whilst we travel. Jeff and Stephen's Grandad arrive on Monday a couple of hours before we return.
Thank you once again for all your love and support.
Keep it coming."

7-10
"Sorry for the wait for this latest update, the trip to Denver and the fact that so much has happened in the last 48 hours that it's hard to comprehend.
OK, the last couple of days have certainly been a rollercoaster. First of all, Sunday, Stephen was exhausted due to lack of sleep, however, his pneumonia has almost passed and his temperature is near normal and his lungs are improving. So, Melissa has been awesome and supported him whilst Cynthia and I have travelled 5600 miles, 4 plane journeys in 26 hours to Craig Hospital in Denver Colorado and back. This was an experience but that's another story. The most positive thing that came out of this trip is that Craig is definately the place that Stephen should have his Rehab.Tomorrow, Wednesday, the Craig hospital, is flying a nurse to Baltimore to see if Stephen is ready to fly to Denver, this could happen as soon as Thursday or next Monday, depending on when we can organise the Air ambulance. Stephen is definately focussed on getting out of ICU and geting into Rehab and we will update you as and when.
Yesterday, Stephen's Dad, Jeff, and his Grandad, Bob arrived from the UK, this put the biggest smile on his face you can imagine. This is a huge support for the rest of the family.
Today has been extremely busy and somewhat tiring but very productive for Stephen. He recieved 4 distinguished visitors.The first was Wade Martin, President of the Dew Tour, who flew in from Chicago, specifically to see Stephen for the day. This was amazing and the family would like to thank him for the time and everything he and the Dew Tour have done for Stehen and continue to do since the accident. The next two were Dr John McDonald( a true inspiration)(Google him) and Patrick Rummerfield( Google him aswell)(unbeilievable). Dr McDonald will be his outpatient rehab Dr, after Stephen has finished at Craig. However, the biggest smile on Stephen's face appeared when Brian Foster (BMX legend and one of Stephen's hero's) came to visit.
Stephen says he is now over ICU and his main focus is getting well enough to take the Air Ambulance journey to Denver ASAP.
We have had so many headaches with Stephen's health insurance, so next time anybody has anything to say about the NHS, thank your lucky stars you live in the UK.
Many of you may not have met Melissa, Mason or Seth but Melissa would like you to know how much your messages of support mean to the family. Keep them coming."
 
Cru Jones

Cru Jones

Turbo Monkey
Sep 2, 2006
3,025
2
Hell Track
Update 7-14

"This is a difficult E Mail to write but we want you know the facts.
First of all, let us say that Stephen's condition is continuing to improve.
Thursday morning started early with a sensation examination by the neurosurgeon. This was a high point as Stephen showed more signs of sensation in his upper arms, and at various places from his buttocks to his toes.
Then came the transfer to Denver.
At this point we don't know all the facts but this is what we do know. After being prepared for the journey Stephen was happy to be leaving the Shock Trauma unit and there were smiles all round. He was tranferred onto a portable ventilator and taken by stretcher to the Ambulance.
Five minutes from the Airport his heart rate started to drop and then breifly stopped. CPR was administered and within a minute he responded. He was then rushed to the nearest hospital. There he was checked over and eventually it was decided to return him to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Unit. Not only was this traumatic for Melissa, who was travelling in the Ambulance with him but also for the rest of us back at Shock Trauma.
By the time of Stephen return, his condition was the same as when he left and he was again asking for ice cream! The hospital are investigating what could have caused this incident and the general feeling is that it was more likely to have been a problem with the ventilator rather than a problem with Stephen.
It has now been decided to have a transition period where Stephen will slowly get used to the type of ventilator required for travel. This should lessen any worries that a similar incident may occur. It now appears that Stephen will transfer to Denver at some point next week.
Today, Stephen had another challenge as the Hospital tested to see whether he was ready to swallow. The first test was to see whether he physically could, which he passed but it was decided to not give him food until a more comprehensive test has taken place. This will be conducted on Monday.
To say the last three weeks have been a rollercoaster ride would be an understatement but their are no words to desribe the highs and lows of the last 24 hours.
For those of you out there who are willing Stephen to come through this, keep it up because even when it looks like everything is improving, there are still unforseen bumps in the road. There are still mountains to climb and your support will help Stephen to do this."
 
ebrider510

ebrider510

Monkey
Dec 7, 2006
410
0
Bay Area, CA
Cru Jones said:
Video from the Stephen Murray Jam at The Compound...

http://www.vitalbmx.com/videos/features/Murray-Benefit-Jam-Video,8303/Stephen-Murray-Benefit-Jam-Video,1053/Losey,112
Click to expand...
thanks for the updates Cru! it's some seriously heavy stuff to hear...I can relate to his family's updates since it sounds so much like a family member of mine's situation this past year. i need to donate still and will be doing so as soon as possible. also, was that you on the big bike in the Vid? could swear it looked like your bike.
 
Cru Jones

Cru Jones

Turbo Monkey
Sep 2, 2006
3,025
2
Hell Track
ebrider510 said:
thanks for the updates Cru! it's some seriously heavy stuff to hear...I can relate to his family's updates since it sounds so much like a family member of mine's situation this past year. i need to donate still and will be doing so as soon as possible. also, was that you on the big bike in the Vid? could swear it looked like your bike.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I know what you mean. It seems like I keep wanting to believe that it's not that serious and he'll be riding soon... but, the updates keep confirming that it's a very serious life changing injury.

Yeah, that's me in the vid. It was cool to meet and ride with those guys. They were all super chill about me being on "big wheels."
 
Zach Dank

Zach Dank

Turbo Monkey
Jun 28, 2005
1,296
0
Gnarcal
Saturday August 10th - From artin Murray

Sorry it has taken so long to do an update on Stephen. I know a lot of people have concerned about the lack of updates, but his condtion has been changing so much that i wanted to make sure he was more stable before we could let people know how his condition, as the updates quickly become out of date.

So, the biggest bonus of all is that he is really mentally strong and in good spirits. He is positive about everything and like he told me yesterday 'its the only way to be". This could be the biggest healer of all.

Two weeks ago, he could only manage 4 minutes off the ventilator (life support machine). On thursday, he managed two 2 hours 'weans' off the ventilaor so he is improving at a good rate on that front. The hospital are optimistic of getting stephen completely off the ventilator, its just going to take some time, maybe 4 - 8 weeks. Getting off this and being able to breathe on his own will make a lot of dfference to his rehab ability.

A few times a day they are able to adust his ventilator, allowing him to talk and communicate. This tires him out though so is there are only limited periods (1-2 hours) in the day when he can do this, although again as he becomes stronger this window will grow, as it has done from 20 minutes to 2 hours over the last 2 weeks.

He has very patchy sensation across various parts of his body, some parts of his arms, stomach and feet. He says this feels like a numb sensation and i'm sure this can only be a good sign. As for movement, he can shrug his shoulders consistently. Sometimes, he is able to very slightly move his knees inwards about an inch, although this takes about 30 secs from the time he thinks about moving his knees, to the movemet actually happening. Some days he is able to do this, some days he isn't but it can only be a positive sign.

His spirits are lifted by not only the great rehab team who work with him everyday, but by the friends and family who have been visiting. Stephens wife Melissa brought his little boy Mason out to see him and he just loves having him around. Some of Stephens other friends, Dale Holmes, TJ, Fuzzy, Scurto and Nasty have been out visiting which again has been a nice lift for him.

As those of you who know him will know, everything always happens to Stephen. Yesterday, he had to be taken to the dentist to have a tooth pulled out which had been giving him agony for the past few days, so he was a little groggy for the remainder of the day. As you can imagine, this wasn't a simple journey to the dentist with his condition but it went pretty smoothly in the end.

He is likely to be in Denver for at least aother 3 months, although as his condition is constanty changing its impossoble to put a date on this.

Thanks again for all the support, it realy is a huge comfort to Stephen.

Thanks

Martin
 
Wumpus

Wumpus

makes avatars better
Dec 25, 2003
8,161
153
Six Shooter Junction
Several mountain bikers are teaming up for a fundraising effort to help Stephen Murray, a rider injured during competition in June.

On Friday, June 22, dirt jumper Murray took a horrific fall on the final set of a dirt section while sending a double back flip at the AST Dew Tour BMX Dirt Finals in Baltimore, Maryland. He suffered career-ending injuries to his spinal cord and vertebrae. Murray has won the X-Games gold medal and back-to-back Gravity Games Gold medals.

Nigel Page and Steve Peat are among the riders and friends who are trying to help Murray pay for the special treatments he is receiving. "Medical bills can reach huge amounts in the USA, so here is where we can all help," said Peat.

A group of mountain bike pros have donated signed jerseys which will be auctioned at the Fort William World Championships, but bids are being accepted in the meantime at nigel@nigelpage.com. Whoever has the highest bid for each jersey at the end of the auction wins it.

The list of riders donating jerseys includes: Steve Peat, Shaun Palmer, Sam Hill, Nathan Rennie, Greg Minnaar, Cedric Gracia, Brian Lopes, Michael Prokop, Gee Atherton, Dan Atherton, Brendan Fairclough, Chris Kovarik, Matti Lehikoinen, The Kona Team, Tracy, Fabien and Kamil, Rob Warner, Jill Kintner's Number one Jersey, Kirt Voreis, Andrew Neethling, Josh Bryceland, Mik Hannah, Nico Vouilloz, Marc Beaumont, Will Longden, Neal Donaghue, Nico Vinc, and Claudio Calouri. Donations are still being accepted.
Click to expand...
http://www.cyclingnews.com/mtb.php?id=news/2007/aug07/aug17mtbnews
 
DirtEveryDay

DirtEveryDay

Turbo Monkey
Nov 24, 2003
2,692
4
Pacific North Wet
That IS good ****. I've been kinda following along with his progress on Carter Hollands site...I'm really curious to see what a man with the courage he's known for and a generally fearless attitude can do with an injury like this. As long as he maintained the moxy he had while riding it can only be good.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom