ANOTHER Mountain Biker Seriously Injured, Nearly Paralyzed

So much for the alleged "health benefits" of mountain biking!

Mike


http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20...EWS/107260043:

Local attorney hurt in bike crash


'It's a miracle' he survived

By Joel Stonington
Aspen, CO Colorado
July 26, 2007

TELLURIDE — Aspen attorney Arthur "Boots" Ferguson was badly injured
after a head-on collision with a motorcycle while mountain biking near
Telluride, his ex-wife said Wednesday.

Ferguson, an Aspen resident for 32 years, is an attorney at the Aspen
offices of the Holland & Hart law firm.

Helene Gude, Ferguson's ex-wife, said he suffered multiple facial
fractures and two stable fractures to his spine. Had the spinal cord
been severed at the C4 bone, where Ferguson had a stable fracture, he
likely would have been paralyzed from the neck down.

"The neurosurgeon basically coined it as a miracle," Gude said.

The accident happened around noon Saturday on Imogene Pass. Ferguson
was mountain biking before a Bob Dylan concert in Telluride. He
rounded a blind corner and crashed with a motorcycle coming up the
pass. The motorcyclist was not injured.

Gude said Ferguson was taken to a medical center in Telluride and
airlifted to St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, where he spent
three days in the intensive-care unit.

Doctors have requested that Ferguson not take phone calls or visitors
until after a full facial reconstructive surgery Tuesday. Doctors have
not set a date for a full recovery, though they expect the process to
be extensive.

"He was very lucky," Gude said. "He has full feeling. He's been up
walking, and his appetite is increasing daily. It's a miracle."
--
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