More good news!!! Monday, November 2, 2009 4:06 PM, PST Hello Everyone, It’s late in the afternoon on Monday and I am at home for a few hours. Justin had another great 7 hour block of sleep, which has helped him get through the busy day of therapies. This morning his Dr. and therapists’ had a meeting regarding Justin. Great news- Justin is well enough to come home for the week-end on Sat. and sleep in his own bed for one night!! We couldn’t be happier. And on top of that, he is doing so well, Justin might be released by Thur. Nov. 12th. I am so blown away with his recovery, but still hesitant a little on everything. We will have to see how things go for visits this week-end. I would love to have a big get together, but don’t want to wear him out or overwhelm Justin. So, we will wait till later in the week and see how everything pans out. But he will be home sooner than I thought, so we may need help with the bathroom: bathtub chair and grips. Look forward to seeing everyone at home, Sheri
11/4 Update Wednesday, November 4, 2009 8:08 PM, PST Hello Everyone, Justin is still progressing amazingly. The therapists are working Justin hard and he still needs an afternoon nap. The right hand is moving more, but the arm movement is slow. The strength in his arms is what is frustrating him, but his endurance is slowly getting better. We are all looking forward to this weekend! The plans so far are to have a BBQ at 6pm Saturday. The reason for this is to allow Justin time for a nap in the afternoon so that he can have energy for saying “Hi” to family and friends. So, stop on by and take a look at Justin’s smiling face! No plans for Sunday, so if you can’t make it Sat. give us a call and we will see what’s up. Alls I hope for on Sunday is that he is able to SLEEP IN and enjoy his Dad’s most awesome breakfast. That is all for now. Thanks again for all the messages of encouragement and gift cards. They will come in handy. Call if any questions, Sheri
11/8 Update Sunday, November 8, 2009 1:37 PM, PST Hello everyone, it is Sunday afternoon already and we are all enjoying being home. We all enjoyed a delicious breakfast made by Justin’s dad, Christopher. Last night was awesome having so many of Justin’s friends over,see new pic. One of his racing buddies Mike Cousi even showed up! Justin was walking to the front door at first letting everyone in, which I know blew them away. They thought they would come over and Justin would be lying on the couch not moving! It was 3 hours of Justin moving and interacting with everyone and eating his dinner all by himself. By the time everyone left, and Justin was all cleaned up and ready or bed, and boy was he tired, he reflected on how awesome it was seeing everyone. I have always told my kids, it not things in life that fill your heart, it’s the relationships with people, and boy did you all fill up his HEART! Besides Justin’s friends, my mom and Don drove down from Nipomo and my brother Eric and sister-in-law Ida drove up from L.A. It was great having them all here to visit and help Christopher and I out. I did not have my usual energy and organizational skills in operation, so they all helped me serve food to all of Justin’s friends. Sorry guys if there were not enough yummy bratwursts- our brains were not functioning to realize we were feeding teenagers! Also thanks go out to the Vezina family, you all mean a lot to our family and are truly blessed to have you as friends. I can’t wait for more adventures in the future! J Monday morning, Christopher and I meet with Dr. Lin and all the nurses and therapists and talk about Justin and his recovery and transition to out patient therapy. I have already made and appointment with Justin’s neurosurgeon, Dr. Moza on Thurs. afternoon. He wants and x-ray to see how Justin’s neck is fusing and to give us his recommendations on moving forward. I will let you all know what transpires in the next week. I start back at work on Wed. so we will see how that all goes. Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers from near and far! Sheri
I talked to someone who went to the party and he said he was in great spirits. He had to use two arms to get his hand up to shake your hand but overall doing really good considering the situation. Justin says he will be back racing in a year, and cant wait to get back on his bike.
11/14 Update Saturday, November 14, 2009 5:21 AM, PST Well, it's been almost a week since I have communicated with you all. When we arrived back at Northridge Hospital Sun. night, Justin was bummed to be back in the hospital bed. He did not sleep well, so all day Monday Justin was extremely tired and cranky! On Tues. they took Justin and a couple of other patients on an outing. They picked up Subway and went to a park. Justin did a lot of wallking on grass. His balance is doing a lot better! Wed. was my first day back at work, so Christopher went to the hospital and hung with Justin. Then in a blink of an eye, it was Thursday and time to pack up and bring Justin home! It was a busy day. We stopped by Los Robles and picked up his x-rays and will try and put up pictures of his injury soon. We also saw his Neurosurgeon Dr. Moza. He is very pleased with Justin's recovery. His neck is begining to fuse, but he needs to wear the neck brace till the next visit in 4 weeks. Justin's right hand has a lot more movement! There is no strength, but all this movement is awesome in such a short time, he can open and close his hand. The Dr. explained that the next 6 months we will see the most healing, then things begin to tapper off. We then stopped by the Physical Therapy and Occupatonal Therapy and made appt. for next week. He has a lot of work ahead of him. What Justin needs from us now is some fun and creative ways to use his right hand and arm and the rest of his body that needs strengthing. If you come over to visit, even though he has not been into board games ( videos is his cup of tea ) they would be a good start of using his right hand. A walk around the block will help build his endurance. The medicine he takes for pain makes him tired, but friends bring up his energy naturally, so please motivate him to move, not just hang out watching t.v. or computer, not until you have done some kind of fun( haha) therapy. Justin is experiencing some depression. It seems now that he is home he is soaking in what has happen to him. When he sees his emaciated body in the mirror, the reality hits him hard. He has lost around 20lbs. of muscle! The fortunate thing for him is that he has movement and it seems alls he needs to do is build muscle back to get his arms to work properly! His doctor says he can do anything he wants to do once his neck fuses. I asked," even Magic Mtn. rides?" Yep he said! Of course, Justin wants to Downhill Mtn. bike race, so look out when that happens. He will have a whole new outlook on everything! A special thanks to Aaron Gwin who called Justin while he was at the hospital. Justin was smiling so big! This smile brings Justin the energy he needs in his recovery. So please, if you are thinking of calling Justin, please do, he needs to hear from you guys to not give up and to get out there and do what he needs to do to get better. Justin's cell number is 805-368-9900. That is all for now. Thanks for all your support. Family and friends are what are helping us get through this life changing event. Sheri
11/20 Update Friday, November 20, 2009 11:10 AM, PST Hello Everyone, I am at work today, so Christopher is at home driving Justin to all his appointments, helping him with his home exercises, motivating him to do his school work, cooking, etc…. Christopher had major shoulder surgery on Sept. 25th, so his has his own Physical Therapy appt. and home exercises. Injuries sure make time management very important in an already busy schedule. There is always 13 year old Melissa who just wants you to take her shopping! I took Justin to the Spinal Cord Injury Therapy Group at Northridge Hospital on Thurs. What a humbling experience. Justin and one other female that lives close by us who also broke her neck while cross country mtn. biking, are the only two not in a wheelchair. There are people there who have been in wheelchairs since they were a teenager who helps Justin and others like him process what is happening and ways to cope. There are people there who have auto-immune problems that are affecting their spinal cord. Life can be very complicated. Justin and I are heading to the mountain bike races in Fontana this week-end. We will be there on Sunday. Justin heard he should be receiving a trophy for his placement in the series, so it will be an exciting and emotional day. It will great to be with all of our friends in the mountain biking community. You all are a very supportive and caring group and I am so glad to be a part of it all. One item we are wondering if someone has for us to borrow for a few months is a bike trainer. It will help him start building his endurance. Call me if you have one, Sheri-805-857-4690. Peace Be With You All, Sheri
I heard he was out there on Sunday. I wanted to stop by but I was up on the hill all day so I never got a chance.
It was great to see Justin yesterday. We saw him walking down the side of the DH course, simply amazing!!!:clap:
11/24 update Tuesday, November 24, 2009 6:48 AM, PST Hello everyone, yesterday Justin and I went to Fontana to visit with all our friends and when Justin is racing, his competitors. We arrived right before the start of the Downhill races. Justin was feeling good. After being driven part of the way up by our friend’s, the Aiello’s, Justin hiked all the way up to get a good view of the technical rock section. His friends from Newbury Park that weren’t racing hung with Justin and they all watched as all his competitors went by. The race course was a new spot on the Fontana hills and Justin was very bummed he was not racing! His friends Brad King and Nibal Elias looked very smooth going through the rock garden. Brad King ended up 1st – good job Brad. I was also told by Brad’s mom that he just came home with a straight A report card! Another of Justin’s friends Adam Digby showed great support to Justin by writing on his race shirt “Get Well Justin”. When the race was over, Justin didn’t want a ride from the shuttle van, he wanted to walk all the way back to the finish line! He was getting great exercise and visiting with friends along the way. Justin thought they might be giving overall awards away at the end of the race, but that won’t be happening till the Awards Banquet in Dec. But what Justin did receive yesterday was the highlight of his day. One of our friends that we have spent a lot of time with hanging out in the Fontuckey dirt and elsewhere, Steve Dulmage, came up with an AWESOME gift for Justin. He asked the race director Donny Jackson to donate a helmet so that he, Steve Dulmage, could paint it for Justin. A little history, back in the summertime, Justin and Steve were talking about painting one of Justin’s helmets. Steve is very talented and as a side job, started painting helmets. Justin and Steve agreed on what Justin wanted, but I said, “No”, due to I was only buying what Justin needed to race. So, while Justin was in the hospital, Steve went to work and custom painted Justin a helmet! Not only did he do that, on Saturday, he went around asking Justin’s competitors to sign the helmet and ALSO to donate some money to help us out! They presented the helmet to Justin right before handing out the awards for the race. Steve, I can not thank you enough. I hope I didn’t hurt you yesterday when I hugged you, but it was a GOOSEBUMP moment. Justin is so stoked and the helmet will always bring many memorable memories to Justin as he reads all the well wishes from so many good people in his life! Thank You Everyone for such a great day! Peace to You All, Sheri
11/26 Update Thursday, November 26, 2009 10:36 AM, PST HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE, we are at home today making a turkey dinner with Justin's Grammy Wyche and Auntie Jennifer. Tomorrow we head up to my mom and Don's home in Nipomo for a yummy feast. My brother Steve and his son Cody are driving all the way down from the state of Washington to see our mom's new home, she and Don moved to Nipomo almost 1 year ago, and of course to see Justin! It is turning out to be a relaxing Thanksgiving visiting with family. While we are at my mom's, Justin will be doing his therapies in her heated pool. That will be interesting! I uploaded a few more pictures. There are a couple from Fontana and a couple x-rays of what hardware in now a part of Justin's neck! I hope you all have a peaceful Thanksgiving feast with family and friends. We are all very thankful for all of you in our lives! Thank you for the continued words of encouragement and thoughts written on the Guestbook. Justin woke up this morning and hopped on the exercise bike and did 30 minutes while playing a video game! Later on he will demonstrate to everyone what he is doing for PT and OT. He is feeling better each day and I believe encouraged by his continued progress. His right arm and hand are getting stronger!! and his endurance is increasing. We look forward to seeing you all in the coming months. Peace Be With You All, Sheri Here is a xray of the posterior view of what is inside of Justin's neck C3-C6 Sheri with jar of donations, Steve who custom painted the helmet and Justin
12/16 Update Wednesday, December 16, 2009 7:09 AM, PST Hello Everyone, it has been 3 weeks since I last updated. It now 8 weeks since Justin crashed and broke his neck! He is doing so well; I can’t tell you how grateful we are for his recovery and all of your support! Justin had his Dr. visit with his Neurosurgeon Mon. Dec. 14th. He is very impressed with Justin’s recovery. Justin no longer needs to wear his neck collar! It’s a good thing because he was starting to go crazy with the collar around his neck! Justin was not given the ok to drive or ride his bike yet. The Dr. wants to let his neck heal 1 more month before he gets on a bike. They set Justin up with a bone stimulator. It’s a device he wears at the back of his neck for 30min./day for the next 6-9 months. It sends out some current that stimulates bone growth. Justin continues to go to physical therapy 3 times a week and occupational therapy 2 times a week. Both are helping him tremendously. Justin now has enough grip strength so that in physical therapy they are able to give him a really good workout. He is really working up a sweat these days! It has been a 30 min./ visit, but starting on Wed. Justin will do 30 min. of physical therapy and then 30 min. with a personal trainer. Body Logic is soooooooooooooo supportive of Justin. They know he wants to get back to competitive downhill mountain biking and they are doing what it takes to help him get back fast! Speaking of Downhill Mountain bike racing, a manager of Team Yeti has been talking with Justin and as of last night, offered Justin a spot on their National Team! They know Justin is recovering from a fractured neck. We are all so excited- it is just what Justin needs to keep the motivation going to get fully recovered! The only thing is it is not a full sponsorship. He has to pay for his bike, at a discounted rate, and race support. Race support means he will have a mechanic to help him fix his bike, pay for some race entry fees and Pro riders will be working hand and hand with the Jr. National Team. I saw this first hand at race in Colorado, and it really helps the Jr. riders! As for Justin’s sister Melissa, she was invited on an All Star Soccer Team! She loves soccer, so we were so excited she gets to continue to play. The All Star tournament is in January for 3 week-ends, then there will be 1 tournament each month after that till June. That is all for now. We are having a quite Christmas this year so that we can all catch our breath and begin strong for 2010. Thank You all for your continued thoughts and prayers. We truly blessed to have all your support. Peace Be With You All, Sheri and the rest of the Wyche Family
I spoke with Justin out at Fontana yesterday and he said he is getting ready to ride XC and hopes to be back on the DH bike in time for Angel Fire this season.
1/13 Update Wednesday, January 13, 2010 5:35 PM, PST Hello Everyone and Happy New Year! This will be my last entry on this web site. If you want further updates, please send me an email and I will make a group to keep updated. My work email is [email protected] . It is a slow healing process now. Justin had his last Dr. visit with his Neurosurgeon yesterday Jan. 12. He is pleased with Justin’s recovery and gave Justin the green light to start bike riding, no dirt yet, just flat land. Justin and I were anticipating this, so we had his bike in the car. We drove down to Malibu where the bike path starts, Justin with his bike and me on my skates. I thought it would be a slow cruise, boy was I wrong! We both had an awesome workout. We went all through Santa Monica and Venice beach for an hour total. It was a beautiful day. Justin’s legs are very strong. It was his butt, right side only, and his right wrist that hurt. His left side does not feel the same pain as the right. He still has a lot of HEAT (FIRE) on the left side, but it is mainly from the elbow down and knee down on the left side. He takes 1200mg of Neurontin for this fire going on due to nerve damage. The Dr. says he’s lucky that’s all he feels. Some spinal cord injury patients feel like someone is taking a knife and stabbing them on the effected side. Justin is driving again, which is nice not to have to take him to all his appointments. He is still working on his classes for high school at home. A teacher comes a couple times a week and gives Justin his assignments. He is well enough to sign up for his Welding class, which will give him enough credits to graduate in June. Wow, graduating from high school- and his 18th birthday is Feb. 7th. My boy is growing up! I wanted to thank everyone again for all your support and prayers. Justin is very fortunate to have the opportunity to get movement back in all extremities. We will still be attending the Spinal Cord Injury Group Therapy. We get a lot from everyone there, and they all get a lot from seeing Justin and his recovery! It is all a great reminder to truly appreciate a body that works because we never know when an accident or virus, or cancer, or stroke or the mystery one that can change it all in an instant! I know what helped me get through it all- family and friends and people we haven’t even met yet. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You. We are all truly blessed. Sheri, Christopher, Justin and Melissa Wyche P.S. Justin made a video from all the races he competed in in 2009. It was what he put together for getting a sponsor in 2010. It’s 2mins. Long. Check it out! www.pinkbike.com/video/109987/
Just looked at his sponsorship video and there is footage of him riding/racing in a Leatt. I look at my Leatt everytime I ride and when I choose not to wear it I always think, "this is the time I'll break my neck." Glad to hear he's back on the bike and I bet you won't catch him riding dirt without the brace ever again.
Justin races again! Here's an update from Sheri, totally amazing!!! From: Sheri Wyche <[email protected]> Sent: Wed, February 10, 2010 7:32:35 AM Subject: Justin races again! Hello Everyone, yes after 4 short months after breaking his neck, Justin participated in a Super D race on his 18th birthday weekend! I just wanted to pass on a 30 sec. clip of him in action. On the website to the right , there are a few other video clips Justin has put together of his '09 season. Enjoy and thanks again for all your support! Sheri http://www.pinkbike.com/video/121861
its amazing hes already riding a bike in competition. hopefully he can get back into that groove he was in.
