That's a pretty big sacrifice, for a momentary thrill! But
intelligence is not the mountain bikers' long suit....

Mike


http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/ne...l/article.html

Derbyshire firefighter bounces back from broken neck and back

07:30 - 30-August-2008

A FIREFIGHTER has told of his incredible fightback from devastating
injuries he suffered in an accident.

Darren Buckby broke his neck in three places, fractured his back and
suffered bleeding on his brain in a mountain bike accident 13 months
ago.

The 33-year-old, who was a crew manager at Derby's Nottingham Road
fire station, feared he would never walk again.

But next month, the father-of-two hopes to complete his rehabilitation
by taking part in the Robin Hood Marathon, in Nottingham, after a
miracle recovery.

Although he has titanium plates and screws in his spine, he is able to
run as normal, despite a "strange sensation" in his spine and
occasional discomfort in his neck.

Now a station manager at Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service
headquarters, in Littleover, he will raise money for The Fire
Fighters' Charity, which aided his recovery.

Darren, who lives in Nottingham with girlfriend Sue – a trauma nurse –
and children Alex, three, and Callum, eight, recalled the biking
accident: "At the time, it was the worst thing in the world. It was
incredibly painful as I didn't lose consciousness. I knew it was very
serious. But I'm OK, I've been very lucky. Everything has worked out
pretty well."

"I had always enjoyed sports and outdoor activities but cycling was my
real passion. Competing in national time trial events, I had recently
returned to mountain biking."

But on the evening of Wednesday, July 11, a dramatic series of events
unfolded.

Darren had been following a trail at Cannock Chase with four of his
colleagues from Nottingham Road station. He had ridden the track
several times before but, while cycling down a steep drop, his front
wheel stuck fast – while his body kept going. He flew over the
handlebars and hit a telegraph pole.

As blood streamed from his head, Darren's colleagues feared the worse.
They called the emergency services and an air ambulance arrived within
30 minutes.

His injuries was severe. He had fractured the base of his skull,
cracked both his cheek bones and eye sockets, fractured his thoracic
vertebrae, broken his neck in three places, broken ribs and suffered
inter cranial bleeding.

He was taken to University Hospital of North Staffordshire, in Stoke,
where he spent six days before being transferred to Queen's Medical
Centre, in Nottingham. Once there, it was decided that he needed
surgery to correct the fractures to his spine.

Although Darren described the pain as "horrific", he would not accept
defeat and was determined to get himself fit and back to work.

Initially he was unable to move any of his limbs from the waist down
and had lost flexibility in his spine.

As the weeks went by, he realised he could make small circular
movements with his feet and by practising daily it was not long before
he could stand again.

Only six weeks after the surgery, Mr Buckby stood a bicycle in his
kitchen and began to train statically for five minutes at a time.

Determined to speed his recovery, he applied for therapy at the
Firefighter Charity's rehabilitation centre, Jubilee House, in
Cumbria. He had a two-week stay in December and returned for
additional rehabilitation in February.

He said: "The therapy I received was life-changing. I had no idea what
I would get out of it beforehand, but it really helped accelerate the
recovery process.

"The therapists watched me like a hawk to make sure I was doing
everything correctly, provided me with great emotional support and
pushed me when I needed it.

"They had unbelievable patience. After an accident like mine, emotions
run high and you become very selfish."

Darren said the psychological support he received helped him overcome
his problems and put things into perspective.

He said: "By being able to off-load, I left the centre equipped with
all the skills to cope with everyday life once more."

Darren's goal was to become fitter than he had been before the
accident and the physiotherapy and nursing gave him the confidence to
push himself further.

It also gave him the opportunity to talk about his experience with
psychologists.

He is now fully operational and has returned to work, though, rather
than resuming normal duties, he has been promoted to station manager.

Even more remarkably, he cycles the 25 miles to work in Littleover
every day, although admits he probably would not be allowed to go
mountain biking again for a while.

Darren will run the Robin Hood Marathon on September 14 and aims to
complete the 26.2-mile course in under four hours and raise £1,500.

Anyone interested in sponsoring him should e-mail
.
--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of!

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande