Spoke101 Posted August 12, 2016 Posted August 12, 2016 The admin posts are no more. It's me, Keagan. I had planned a detailed post for this page, but it's gone bigger than that. Read up on everything that happened and is happening at CyclingTips : http://cyclingtips.com/2016/08/in-his-own-words-keagan-girdlestones-long-road-to-recovery/
Spoke101 Posted August 12, 2016 Posted August 12, 2016 https://youtu.be/KUtXFl7uMIE In his own words: Keagan Girdlestone’s long road to recoveryby Keagan Girdlestone August 12, 2016Photography by SuppliedBack in early June, 19-year-old New Zealand cyclist Keagan Girdlestone crashed during a race in Italy and was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries. The promising youngster had severed his carotid artery, jugular vein, and nerves and muscles in his neck. Major blood loss at the scene saw the right side of his brain starved of blood and oxygen. The 19-year-old was beyond lucky not to lose his life. Now, more than two months later, Keagan is still in hospital in Italy. His recovery has been slow and it’s not clear exactly what the future might hold in terms of his mobility. A career in pro cycling has slipped well down his list of priorities. On the eve of his long-awaited return to New Zealand, Keagan took the time to provide the following update on his condition, with dictation help from his mother Deseré. I have been in the San Giorgio rehabilitation hospital in Ferrara, Italy since June 27, 2016. I have improved my gross motor skills which involve sitting, standing and walking. I’ve gone from collapsing after a mere five seconds of sitting, to being able to walk. My fine motor skills are improving but at a much slower rate. The latest test results show that I still have no nerve or muscle activity in my right bicep, which means I can’t bend my right arm. This is the result of damage to my brachial plexus – a network of nerves located near the clavicle. The deltoid muscle in my right shoulder is only just showing activity and is exceptionally weak. The supraspinatus tendon in my shoulder is also not working. If these nerves and muscles do not show activity within three months, surgery would be an option. The damage is not too close to my spine so the risks associated surgery are relatively low. Of course, surgery is the worst-case scenario but at this stage it’s looking probable. When I say my right arm doesn’t work, people assume it’s just weaker than it used to be. But no, I mean it actually doesn’t work. This is a long road to recovery. There are many activities I used to take for granted that I now struggle with on a daily basis. Getting out of bed, showering, washing my hair, drying myself, getting dressed, spraying deodorant … feeding myself. Just being able to turn onto my side while lying in bed is difficult. Each of these activities is an exercise in itself for me at the moment. Two weeks ago I fell over in the gym and couldn’t get up without assistance. That sucks — talk about a sitting duck! My day starts at 8:30am. I eat breakfast and get dressed and then go to physio from 9:30am to 11:30am. I have vocal therapy from 11:30am to 12:30pm — my right vocal chord was damaged in the crash — and then it’s time for lunch! At 1:30pm I have “robots”, a machine workout for my arms, a second physio session goes from 2:30pm to 4:30pm and only after that can I have a break. My days are pretty hard out. Heck, I’m training harder now than I ever did for cycling: five to seven hours a day, five days a week! The fine motor skills on the left-hand side of my body were affected by a lack of blood and oxygen to the right side of my brain, in particular to the basal ganglia. Essentially I had a stroke. I have movement but not without a lot of shaking. I spend more time chasing food around the plate than getting into in mouth. Further EMG (electromyography) tests are still being done. My right vocal cord is paralysed and has not shown any improvement in the past month. However, my left vocal cord can compensate for this loss through continued vocal therapy. I still sound like Batman. I guess my audition on X-Factor is a long shot now. Every day I have to work on everything; every part of my body. Hands, feet, fingers, voice, you name it — as a result I am tired all the time. I am clinically stable enough to be repatriated to New Zealand, but flights and dates are still to be confirmed. I need to be escorted by a medical doctor and transferred to a hospital in Christchurch. So, even when I do get home, I actually don’t get to go home per se. But being in a familiar environment and being able to see my friends will be awesome for my morale and further recovery. Thanks to everyone that’s offered messages of support in the past few months. I and my family appreciate it greatly. Keagan
Patchelicious Posted August 12, 2016 Posted August 12, 2016 Glad to see he has a positive outlook on life!
Long Wheel Base Posted September 14, 2016 Posted September 14, 2016 Keagan posted on twitter yesterday that hes going home. 3 and a half months in hospital, Going home to continue physio there. EDIT:
'Dale Posted September 14, 2016 Posted September 14, 2016 What a journey And more to come Be safe out there, cyclists ????
Grogs Posted February 19, 2017 Posted February 19, 2017 From sportsgazette.co.uk: Miracle Man Keagan Girdlestone Returns to Racing By Ross ChampionPublished: 30 Jan 2017 Less than a year since cheating death in an horrific crash, young rider Keagan Girdlestone overcomes all odds to race once again.In February 2016, at the age of just 18, Girdlestone took an impressive fifth place in the South African national time trial championships - earning himself a contract with Team Dimension Data.Sure to profit from the experience of superstar teammates such as Mark Cavendish and Edvald Boasson Hagen, Girdlestone’s future in professional cycling could hardly have looked brighter.However, in June 2016, as he was racing to regain contact with the peloton, Girdlestone had a crash that should have killed him.Riding at the Coppa Della Pace, 19 year-old Girdlestone collided into the back of his team car - crashing through the rear window.The crash was so severe that the event organisers took the decision to cancel the rest of the race, with initial reports dubious as to whether or not he was going to survive.The teenager suffered severe lacerations to his neck and throat and was rushed to the hospital.Both the carotid artery and jugular vein were severed and Girdlestone also suffered bruising to the brain as a result of the impact. Girdlestone’s blood loss at the scene of the accident starved his brain of oxygen and meant that the long term implications of his crash were unknown.The young South African was treated in intensive care for over three weeks and spent a total of three months in hospital.I should be dead. It's a miracle I'm able to walk, talk and have brain functionality”Touching tributes were paid to Girdlestone around the cycling world and the Give a Little Campaign raised almost $30,000 to aid him with his rehabilitation.Eight weeks after his life threatening crash, Girdlestone took to social media to update his fans on his situation.He wrote: “I should be dead. It’s a miracle I’m able to walk, talk (very softly as my vocal chord is damaged) and have brain functionality.”Missed me? #IWillKeepFighting pic.twitter.com/LU4j4EOL2B— Keagan Girdlestone (@Keagan_vtc) July 31, 2016Girdlestone has defied doctor’s expectations at each stage of his recovery and last weekend, just eight months after his near-fatal crash, he raced his bike again for the first time.Now currently riding without a team, Girdlestone raced the 130km Around Brunner event on the West Coast of New Zealand.Girdlestone finished in 3hr 38.54min, significantly adrift of the race leaders, but was delighted with the result.It's been done! Lasted 50km with the leaders then cruised in! 130km in 3h35 not bad! Can't believe 8 months ago I was in a coma! pic.twitter.com/pJqkQOQWu4— Keagan Girdlestone (@Keagan_vtc) January 27, 2017Taking to Facebook Live after the event, Girdlestone told his fans: “I finished around 15 minutes behind the winners but I was the only rider in my age category so I’ll claim that!“My goal was do it sub four hours and I did that, I’m pretty stoked with that. I’m pretty broken to be honest.”However, in typical fashion, the teenager wasn't just content to be back on his bike, racing for fun.He described the race as being a huge morale boost - giving him the confidence to see a return to professional racing as a definite possibility.Chapeau Keagan!
Nakoota Posted February 19, 2017 Posted February 19, 2017 We should change the title now, I thought he'd crashed again!
Bonus Posted February 19, 2017 Posted February 19, 2017 He's miles faster than me - and I've never had a serious accident! Great to hear. Well done KG!
CogitoErgoSum Posted February 20, 2017 Posted February 20, 2017 This kid has guts. I have seen some of his postings on FB. Much respect to him and his parents. To come from that challenging trauma and to be back racing, that is something Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk
Cheese Posted February 20, 2017 Posted February 20, 2017 Followed a bit on twitter, As I remember he indicated his FTP went from 120W to 260W in 6 Weeks prior to the race.
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