Keep your chin up SRH!!!!

[Pappy]

Billy wrecked this weekend and broke his back. I dont have alot of details, but please say a prayer for him!!!!

It happened during the first lap of practice, and he was taken out to the hospital where surgery was preformed. The good news is that he is starting to regain feeling below his waist so thats a huge positive!

[Mxjunkie]

Get well soon man! :D

[Quad18star]

Man I hate hearing about this kind of stuff. Seems liek this summer has been a rough one for guys breaking their backs.

A few weeks ago I reported on here that a guy I know crashed and was thought to be pretty badly injured with a broken back and neck. After being taken to Toronto for testing it was revealed that he didn't break his neck and that the break in his back was a clean one and he has full movement .


Keep your head up SRH ... we'll be praying for you.

[Ryan]

Ouch :( ! Hope you have a full recovery.

[Tommy 17]

Hang in there billy!!!

[Dan_Guetter]

oh man:( Get well soon buddy!

[416exfreak]

Get well soon SRH!

I hate hearing about people getting hurt enjoying the sport they love:(

[jcv400ex]

Man SRH, I wish you a full recovery! Hope it all works out for you!

[400exrider707]

He was riding side by side with one of his buddies, a younger kid who Bill has actually been helping out the last couple of years with training and suspension setups as well as other racing things, they both went off the jump at the same time and freak accident just drifted into each other mid air. I guess the other kid is OK though, no one has mentioned him being hurt. There is nothing about this on the local forums or anything, not even the track has anything up on their website.

I talked to his cousin last night. He can wiggle toes on one foot, the other he can not, but does have feeling in his foot, which I think is a good sign. He is very bummed out about this and is telling everyone to give up racing! :ermm: He said the pain he's gone through isn't worth it anymore, and will stick to trail riding only.

I dont think that will last. Bill is one of the most naturally talented riders I've ever seen and for a big dude he can kick my arse any day on the track. This is his life, he owns his own small shop "Trikes, bikes and quads" and pays for all his own toys. He has two completely decked out YFZ's and just built up a sweet 400EX for his girlfriend.

I will talk more with his cousin tonight about it and will visit him this weekend when I make it back that way.

Hang in there Big Bill. Keep it snarly.

[400exrider707]

Here's a couple pics of the crazy SOB right here. How many other guys you know that do cordovas on trikes over a double?

[400exrider707]

Big double in the SNOW on his trike again. He loves riding the three wheelers more than his decked out YFZ... haha

[400exrider707]

One more, this is him on the finish line at twister valley, the very next jump after this is supposedly where he went down.

[JRP]

Get well soon billy, its never good to hear about this, but atleast you have some feeling!

[05Z400rdr]

He's in my prayers. It's good to hear that he has feeling, though!

[Pappy]

Not alot of info tonight. He has been regaining some feeling so I have my fingers crossed that this works out for him. Hang tuff bro...we are all pulling for you!

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1101/1184048080_82f1ebde2d_b.jpg

[400exrider707]

Ken, any idea if they trasnferred him to another hospital yet? Do you know what hospital he is at now? I haven't had a chance to talk to his cousin yet about it, but I'm going back that way friday to see him and want to know where the heck he is at. I guess he tried getting a hold of me at some point but it didn't happen. Thanks.

[Pappy]

No, he did not have an exact date when he would be transferred to rehab.

[LTandRaptorider]

Hope you have a full recovery! get well soon :cool:

[jcv400ex]

Hang in there dude! Hopefully once the swelling goes down, you'll regain all your movement.

[LTandRaptorider]

any update?

[Pappy]

Nothing new relayed to me, just the fact he did not have health insurance:(

[LTandRaptorider]

Oh dam, that is NOT good to hear. :(

[DEAL]

Hope he pulls through this ok.. I've been talking to him for years .. since I started visiting this site ..

[400exrider707]

I went and visited Bill yesterday, he is staying at sunnyview in schenectady, its a very nice rehab place.

Ken I asked him and he DOES have insurance so that is great news.

He is in very good spirits and was the same old bill cracking jokes and hitting on the nurses!:chinese: As of now he can move one leg slightly, and he said he does have some sensations, if he scratches his leg he can feel it. Right now they have him working on upper body stuff so that he can take care of himself. He said if he can get to the point where he can stand on his own again he'll be happy:ermm: , but I think he'll go farther. He's already looking into buying a Polaris Rzr. He said he will be selling all three quads and his pitbike and if he gets anything it will be a UTV.

His explanation of his crash was baffling. He said he and another rider went off a step up at the same time, he was going bigger though to clear the entire thing, his front tire landed on the other riders nerf or rear tire and he landed in a panic rev. He said after that he got tossed and vividly remembers being in the air thinking, "Ok I should have hit the ground by now..... ok still should have been down now..... ok why am I not on the ground yet.....and then thought about it a little more and then finally hit the ground." He said the impact was intense and he landed right on his rear end. He didn't get knocked out at all and felt everything. He said it hurt at first and he was very TO'd. He was trying to crawl off the track and said he was on his hands and knees at one point, but he was just basically balancing himself there. He said the pain started to go away slowly as everything went numb. His quad was OK relatively speaking, just a bent axle from what I've been told. He compressed 3-4 disks in his back, but did NOT sever the spinal chord. Fragments of the crushed vertebrae went in and touched the spinal chord, which is why he lost his feeling from the waist down. Doctors did operate but did not take the fragments out for fear of doing worse damage. Like I said he is doing good and is in good spirits which is great news. I will probably visit him again next week, he really seemed to enjoy the visitations.

Keep your head up Bill, and try to take it easy on the nurses!:cool: Did you order that Walsh wheelchair yet? haha


-Mike-

[Pappy]

Thats great news on the insurance. Cody and I talked about that all day yesterday.

Get us an addy or me a # to call him.....

[Mxjunkie]

Good to hear you have insurance bill... Now don't tell me your going to quit stuntin those damn trikes now are you? :p

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by Mxjunkie
Good to hear you have insurance bill... Now don't tell me your going to quit stuntin those damn trikes now are you? :p

He said he's selling everything. He said even if he could walk/stand on his own right now, he wouldn't even ride the pitbike.:ermm:


Ken, I'm sending you a PM

[Quad18star]

Glad to hear he's doing a bit better ... we're pulling for him to make a full recovery.

It sucks that he's going to sell all his toys, but I see where he's comming from. I know a few people that have had serious crashes and it really puts things into prespective. You don't know how precious it is to be able to walk, until you can't do it anymore. :ermm:

[Pappy]

Originally posted by 400exrider707



Ken, I'm sending you a PM

Hey thanks bud, I will give him a call this afternoon

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by Pappy
Hey thanks bud, I will give him a call this afternoon

If he doesn't pick up dont be surprised, I'm not sure that he had his cell phone in the hospital with him. I think he had told his cousin John to call you at one point, which is probably who you spoke with and got your information from I'm guessing. Oh well call him anyways and leave a message if he doesn't pick up. He'll get it at some point. I'm going back probably on friday or saturday to see him again. He really enjoyed the company and to be able to BS about quads with someone else.

quad18star - yeah it's sad that he wants to sell it all off, but in the same respect he's already picking out parts to build up a RZR haha. I'm sure walsh will be getting some phone calls from him once he's out of the hospital.

If anyone is looking for an MX YFZ, you wont find a cleaner one than Bill's quads. Both were just 100% gone through and ready to ride. I think he used one of them once before his crash here.

[SRH]

i broke 2 or 3 vertabre in my back it compressed them and they blew apart and pieces of them went into my spine, thats what causing my loss of sensation and movement now i got some titanium rods and plates in my back and they fused the vertabre

i got movement in my right leg i almost kick it but dont have much feeling in my foot, my left leg has sensation to the knee and i can move it some and get the musclles to activate but not strong enough to do anything with i guess it just takes time i think ill be walking sooner or later it seems to get better everyday ,its tough tho

what nobody realizes about getting paralyzed is you dont go number 1 or 2 on your own anymore and getting dressed is a chore on its own, it sucks, i dont blame the sport but after 15 years im done racing motocross maybe someday when im healed up ill get back into it on a recreational level but no more racing, in the next yr im gonna get rid of my yfz's and pick up a razr s maybe do some racing with that but im sure theres going to be pain associated with hitting bumps and stuff

the way it happened was i pretty much came down on another riders front wheel with my front wheel in a panic rev and it jjust shot my body like a rocket and i was thrown thru the air kinda laid out on my back and ended up hittting *** first seemed like it took forever to hit the ground, then wham instantly felt like i got shorter and then i just did a summer salt and realized i couldnt feel my legs and rag dolled ripped off my chest protector i ended up with bruised lung too, i was just in pain the whole time no pain meds the whole ride to the hospital that will put some hair on your chest:macho


anyway im in a rehab right now, thanks for everyones concerns, pappy sorry i didnt have him get ahold of u again on that ill pm u my number when i get a chance, u can give me a ring if u get bored, i dont have internet access except when my buddy brings his laptop down for me to use

[SRH]

oh by the way both my quads are for sale

id like to get $6500 for my new walsh one, its fresh from the chassis up, new plastic everything all new oem fasteners and what not absolutely flawless 1 ride on it


my practice bike has a gibson front end with walsh everything else , majority of it is new $5500 less than 6 rides on it since fresh

[LTandRaptorider]

Great to see you on here! :cool:

Sounds like you're on the road to recovery. Hope it continues to go well. I only broke 1 vertebra at a race last year, but I understand your thoughts on racing. After a wreck like yours, I think most would give it up. Yeah, it's fun, but being able to walk and function on your own is MUCH more fun. ;)

Take care, good luck :)

[400exrider707]

Bill, sorry we didn't make it down this past weekend bud, and I dont think I can make it out for probably another 3 weeks.:ermm:

We'll get together when you're back home and talk walsh wheelchairs and how the nurses fondled you:cool:

[SRH]

well its been about a yr, i figured id revisit this thread....

its been a crazy yr,i never would of imagined that morning when i woke up id be in this position a yr later,but you gotta play the hand your dealt, thanks to everybody who pulled for me and helped me out, ive yet to meet ken (pappy) 1 on 1 but hes been a great guy for me to talk to from time to time, hes a wise old geezer:p

some of you might have seen my other thread....the kid i wrecked with on the 22nd...a good friend of mine crashed practicing and was buried on the 22nd this yr...i had been looking forward to the date to look back @ what ive accomplished but instead attended a funeral....no fun

as far as my recovery im thankful to regain as much as i have althought im not functioning like a normal joe, still in the wheelchair...which isnt that bad..fun at times i liek a challenge and wheelieing and hopping over stuff is always fun, its just a bit of a pain if i want to run in and grab a soda at a gas station or when im wrenching on quads, moving around is frustrating at times, ive got good strength of 1 knee, and the other side i have a some hip muscles, i can walk 3-400 ft at a time on a level surface without many turns with a walker but its mainly for exercise, still a possibility ill get more movement back and maybe be functioning more normally by next yr this time:p

i sold both of my 450's by february, rode snowmobiles a bit and then rode our electric shift rancher a few times when the weather broke, bought a used yamaha wolverine in may for $2700 with 200 miles on it:eek2: and got back to riding a few times a week , i said i was done riding and racing but after sitting around for 2 months in nice weather i said id take the chance

its been a rough yr, the first 6-7 months were the most unimaginable torture of my life, you basically watch your life end in a sense, everyone looks at you like welp....he was a good guy ill miss him and this kinda magnifys any depression...luckily i pull my **** together and progressed in the fast lane, i was back driving before i hit 6 months....living on my own in 7, back working in my shop by 7, started riding 5 months after....that was pretty painful i was still surgery fresh lol...

im currently getting things prepped to race the unadilla gncc sept 12th:D not sure how ill do, things have been rushed but my speed has plateaued out and i can outrun some of my riding buddies , my goal is to finish the 2 hrs but id like a top 10 in my class.... its refreshing when i could finally grasp my situation in the hospital i couldnt invision id be this far ahead in 1 yr

thanks mike (400exrider707), ken (pappy) and everyone else

[Pappy]

Im just going to razz you until you get up and kick my ***!!!!:eek:

[matt14c]

I'm somewhat new to the forums and seen this thread and didnt really realize until almost the second page that it was a year old. I wasnt around when this first happened. Good to hear that your fighting hard. Good luck with everything. Keep up the good fight!

[motofreak2772]

So wait do you still ride? What exactly is wrong with your legs if you don't mind me asking(sorry you said one knee worked so is just one leg your trying to get back to normal?)
Sounds like you've had quite a year, good to see you doing so well.

[SRH]

initially i was paralyzed from the waist down, i have feeling of varying degrees to the ankle on one side, and good strength in my knee, but no muscles work below the knee and my butt muscles dont work.... i have weakness in others, on my other leg my knee doesnt work, nor does anything below it, i have severe weakness in the hip but i can move it some, also weak back muscles etc....the spinal cord is a complicated thing.....

think of it this way...you got your wiring to your quad right by the gas tank you whack it with a claw hammer and some of the wires are broke ....some are damaged and some are in tact....so you might have tail lights and no brake lights, or you might have weak brake lights and tail lights....or nothing at all , this is basically the same idea if you injury your spinal cord, its the wiring for your body....

i dont care what anyone says ,you always here on tv OMG hell never walk again:rolleyes: big deal.... they never say omg hell never have normal sexual, urinary or bowel functions again thats the stuff that makes it tough , not the legs, granted its a big change, but damn id feel just as normal as a guy walking if i had my other functions...its like anything you gotta adapt to survive, first site everyone thinks the legs oh man he cant walk....there is such a list of different things about the injury that are way worse than the actual mobility issues luckily my injury is low enough in the spine to avoid a good amount of them

[Giz400ex]

Originally posted by SRH
initially i was paralyzed from the waist down, i have feeling of varying degrees to the ankle on one side, and good strength in my knee, but no muscles work below the knee and my butt muscles dont work.... i have weakness in others, on my other leg my knee doesnt work, nor does anything below it, i have severe weakness in the hip but i can move it some, also weak back muscles etc....the spinal cord is a complicated thing.....

think of it this way...you got your wiring to your quad right by the gas tank you whack it with a claw hammer and some of the wires are broke ....some are damaged and some are in tact....so you might have tail lights and no brake lights, or you might have weak brake lights and tail lights....or nothing at all , this is basically the same idea if you injury your spinal cord, its the wiring for your body....

i dont care what anyone says ,you always here on tv OMG hell never walk again:rolleyes: big deal.... they never say omg hell never have normal sexual, urinary or bowel functions again thats the stuff that makes it tough , not the legs, granted its a big change, but damn id feel just as normal as a guy walking if i had my other functions...its like anything you gotta adapt to survive, first site everyone thinks the legs oh man he cant walk....there is such a list of different things about the injury that are way worse than the actual mobility issues luckily my injury is low enough in the spine to avoid a good amount of them Glad to hear you are doing well, its kinda weird you say "Twister Valley" because they just had a serious accident (or fatal )a couple of weeks ago. Reading this thread I thought it was you but obviously not. I drive by it almost everyday :D

[bigd's ex]

Glad to hear your're doing well, keep up the good work !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. BTW, how are your seat mods coming along ?

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by Giz400ex
Glad to hear you are doing well, its kinda weird you say "Twister Valley" because they just had a serious accident (or fatal )a couple of weeks ago. Reading this thread I thought it was you but obviously not. I drive by it almost everyday :D

I think you're confusing this with the accident he is talking about.

Bill and Dustin Watson crashed almost one year ago at twister valley, that is where Bill was seriously injured. Almost one year to the date his friend Dustin passed away after an accident at Eagle Bridge race track.

Bill, no problem man, glad to help out. I'm still planning on going out to Dilla with ya on the 12th, we gotta make plans for that soon haha.

[Giz400ex]

Originally posted by 400exrider707
I think you're confusing this with the accident he is talking about.

Bill and Dustin Watson crashed almost one year ago at twister valley, that is where Bill was seriously injured. Almost one year to the date his friend Dustin passed away after an accident at Eagle Bridge race track.

Bill, no problem man, glad to help out. I'm still planning on going out to Dilla with ya on the 12th, we gotta make plans for that soon haha. I heard of something about 3-4 weeks ago that somebody got hurt ect... idk

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by Giz400ex
I heard of something about 3-4 weeks ago that somebody got hurt ect... idk

Back when Bill (SRH) originally was hurt, he crashed with a friend, Dustin Watson. Almost one year to the day of Bill's crash, Dustin was in his own wreck, and passed away from the damages sustained. It was at Eagle Bridge though. That is another story on its own and if Bill cares to tell it, he can.

I'll try and get some pics of Bill racing, but I believe Pappy said he'd be there.... I'll leave the pics up to him haha.

[SRH]

twister is a pretty safe track, its hard pack dirt and supercross not motocross which ups the danger level a bit, the inicident you probably heard about was my buddy, he was from the same area but unfortunately the way rumors spread who knows what you may have heard, however he did die @ eagle bridge near albany ny

[SRH]

Originally posted by bigd's ex
Glad to hear your're doing well, keep up the good work !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. BTW, how are your seat mods coming along ?

i ended up just making a hump seat for the time being, im going to have to refine it a bit more over winter

[Giz400ex]

Originally posted by SRH
twister is a pretty safe track, its hard pack dirt and supercross not motocross which ups the danger level a bit, the inicident you probably heard about was my buddy, he was from the same area but unfortunately the way rumors spread who knows what you may have heard, however he did die @ eagle bridge near albany ny Yeah, I checked with some people I know from Little Falls, NY and they thought it was Twister but I mentioned Eagle Bridge and they said " thats it" So........ a little confusion there:D

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by Giz400ex
Yeah, I checked with some people I know from Little Falls, NY and they thought it was Twister but I mentioned Eagle Bridge and they said " thats it" So........ a little confusion there:D

Who do you know in little falls? I have a friend from college that lived there and quite a few friends in the Utica area now.

[extremeblastr]

Originally posted by 400exrider707
Utica area

Utica-Rome Speedway:macho god i love my dirt track racing lol