Paramedics arrived on the scene. The decision was made to get me a helicopter in to get
me out as fast as possible. I kind of broke my motorbike slot but my brother was actually
in to the main biking side of things. You kind of got into it when the sport was quite
new and just being a young kid at races it just made me want to do it so he was kind
of like my main influence when I come to mountain bikes. As a youngster I used to take
part in what was called the Pee Wee category and basically I was just some just young four
year olds doing circuits in a field. But then obviously as I grew up I kind of got
into downhill. I was at a semi professional level racing in the expert category with the
goal to reach the elite category in 2012. When I actually decided to race Viola it was
only midweek which is not something I usually do as a bit of a last minute decision. I've
raced at it a lot as a youngster. I know it's all about kind of a guy who's got the biggest
balls. It's all about letting off the brakes and just getting into a rhythm so I felt good.
The bike I'd finally got the bike where I wanted it to feel and I have to say I was
riding sections and feeling like I could just go as quick as I liked. I kind of went in
and out of I think I lost consciousness through just pain and I kind of came around and I
was let on my back and everyone was saying just like lie down. Mountain biking has always
been my release. At the age of 16 when your friends are going out kind of I don't know
drinking and getting the girlfriends I rush in from school at like three o'clock jump
on my bike and just ride to the highest peaks and that's how I enjoyed my time. I did the
check but you know you always check if you can move your limbs. My legs were good which
was a good thing. My left arm was good but when it came to trying to move my right arm
I had no function at all. When we arrived at hospital it was very unclear of my injury.
I think it was a trainee actually picked up on it but my right pupil had kind of shrunk
and that's an effect of nerve damage. When such a serious accident happens to someone
the whole like main and bike community kind of it affects everybody and I think that's
what I found hardest about the injury was not so much how it affected me. It was seeing
how it kind of affected my parents and my dad's a real hard guy but you know seeing him upset
that's what makes things hard. So when I was let in bed in hospital I kind of dreamt
up the idea of well what if I just created like an axis skeleton like a brace for my
arm and no one had made a brace for my injury to ride main and bike to the level I wanted
to ride.
Thank you so much.
You
