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Derbyshire Firefighter Breaks Neck and Back Mountain Biking!



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 31st 08, 12:36 AM posted to alt.mountain-bike,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.backcountry,ca.environment,sci.environment
Mike Vandeman
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,798
Default Derbyshire Firefighter Breaks Neck and Back Mountain Biking!

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
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  #2  
Old August 31st 08, 03:14 AM posted to alt.mountain-bike,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.backcountry,ca.environment,sci.environment
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4
Default Please Ignore The Troll

On Aug 30, 7:36*pm, Mike Vandeman wrote:

DO NOT REPLY, THIS IS A TROLL.

  #4  
Old August 31st 08, 09:37 AM posted to alt.mountain-bike,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.backcountry,ca.environment,sci.environment
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 85
Default Derbyshire Firefighter Breaks Neck and Back Mountain Biking!

On Aug 30, 7:36*pm, Mike Vandeman wrote:
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...ighter-bounces...

Derbyshire firefighter bounces back from broken neck and back

07:30 - 30-August-2008

snipped for Clarity --
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


http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sto...-24331,00.html



Kamahl Cogdon

May 04, 2007 12:00am

LIFE was stressful and there was no time for exercise, but Melinda
Christophersen never dreamed she was a candidate for a heart attack.
The 37-year-old mother of two was working on the computer at home
alone on March 17 when the dull pain struck.

"I started to get some pain in the centre of my chest and the middle
of my back," she said.

"I thought I had indigestion and tried to drink some water, but that
didn't do anything.

"I went back to the computer and tried to ignore it, but my arm
started to go weak and I couldn't type. My jaw started aching and I
couldn't get my thoughts together."

Ms Christophersen then made a decision that quite possibly saved her
life. She went to neighbours for help and called an ambulance.

Ms Christophersen was given medication and monitored on the way to the
Royal Melbourne Hospital, where she received more treatment and was
kept in overnight.

But the pain returned in the early hours of the morning and Ms
Christophersen was rushed into surgery.

Three stents were inserted to open the blocked arteries that caused
her heart attack.

The next day, the gravity of the health crisis dawned on Ms
Christophersen.

"Had I not gone to my neighbours and to hospital, I may not be here,"
she said.

Ms Christophersen is not the stereotypical heart attack victim.

She is relatively young, had never had health problems, ate a healthy
diet, was not overweight, did not have high blood pressure or
cholesterol levels, and did not smoke.

But looking back, she knows she did have some risk factors.

Her father had suffered a mild heart attack 25 years earlier and her
own life had been extremely stressful over the last few years.

Ms Christophersen was a scientist at Kodak's Coburg North factory and
was on maternity leave after the birth of her second child, Matilde,
now 2, when it was shut down and she lost her job of more than seven
years.

She was also dealing with significant hearing loss as a complication

of pregnancy. About the same time, her son, Gabriel, now 4, was
diagnosed with autism.

"The combination of all these things made me really stressed," Ms
Christophersen said.

She also admitted exercise was not part of her daily routine, spending
long hours sitting at her work computer.

Heart Foundation chief executive Kathy Bell said Ms Christophersen's
story was a timely Heart Week reminder that signs of heart attack
should never be ignored.

She said less than 15 per cent of Australians got to hospital within
an hour of experiencing the warning signs of heart attack and more
than half of deaths occurred before people arrived there.

"What that tells us is that a lot of lives could be saved if people
recognised the signs of heart attack and dialled 000 and got to
hospital faster," Ms Bell said.

She said ambulances were not only the fastest way to get to hospital,
but were also well equipped to provide life-saving treatment.

She said it was also important women understood they were not immune
to the risks of heart attack.

Ms Bell said coronary heart disease, which is mainly heart attack, was
the biggest killer of both men and women in Australia.

Yet, Heart Foundation research had found only 3 per cent of people
knew this.

Most thought the biggest killer of women was some form of cancer,
including 4 per cent who nominated prostate cancer as the greatest
killer.

"That is very concerning, considering women don't have a prostate," Ms
Bell said.

Be careful Mikey! Spending time working on a computer may be
dangerous to your health. Maybe, you should spent the next 8 years
working on a computer free zone and exercising....................

 




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