Once in emergency he went through the protocol procedures associated with a head/neck injury i.e. x-rays etc and was eventually given the all clear. It was good news, just a big crash and once again everything is ok. Just a few weeks or a month or two off the bike and then back riding.
Eight weeks later and Justin popped over to drop off his wheel because it was completely bent and needs a new rim and he was walking like his head was stuck on his shoulders. I mentioned if he had been getting massage as it might help due to the lack of movement from his neck.
He booked himself into a chiropractor to try and see what was going on and get fixed. This was a Friday and the Chiropractor said he wouldn’t touch Justin until he got x-rayed so he could have a look and see what was going on. Moving on to Saturday and Justin was out with his wife and daughter when he got a phone call telling him to stop whatever he was doing, lie on the ground and phone an ambulance as he has a broken neck. He made it back to his house where he phoned an ambulance and got taken to hospital in a neck brace.
Once at the hospital the doctor was a bit worried and ended up getting a surgeon in to have a look at the X-ray. It was soon discovered that he had broken C7 and T1 vertebrae and was stunned that Justin was alive yet alone walking as he had been back on the bike doing some riding. There were a few concerns and Nadia Justin’s wife with their 2 year old daughter started to break down in tears while he was staring at the ceiling. The conversation was to operate and this would have to be done through the throat so the vertebrae could be stabilised and then the cage would be screwed into his head. The surgeon was a bit worried due to the time the bones had been left to fuse together and decided to get other opinions from various surgeons. The collaborated decision was that if he has been walking and carrying out daily routines then it would be too dangerous to operate and constant check up’s would have to be carried out.
After eight hours and much to Nadia’s and Justin’s relief he was dismissed from the hospital. For some reason Justin has stunned the doctors and is going to used in a case study as to what has happened for him to survive. Between then and now he has been told that he isn’t allowed to ride for a minimum of 1 year and although this is disappointing for him we are happy that it is such a small price to pay for what happened.
Justin got in contact with a charity called “Wings for life” who deals with sports people who have had sport spinal injuries that are wheels chair bound or confined to their bed. The charity carries out research into safety gear with the Leatt neck brace as the number one item designed to stop future incidents.
