Martyn Ashton Is Soooooo Inspirational For Me! :: Bruce Snyder's Status

Imagine for just a moment, if you will, you are going through your day and everything is routine -- you take the kids to school, you collaborate with some co-workers, you eat some lunch and then you head outside for a bike ride. You are enjoying the weather, riding your bike and suddenly something goes terribly wrong. You don't understand, you hear someone screaming but you can't figure out what is happening. Then you realize... the screaming is you.

Blinding pain, you are bleeding, breathing is getting increasingly difficult, you are physically unable to move your legs, paramedics telling you things you don't understand, doctors and nurses running frantically and then blackness.

When you regain full consciousness in the hospital a couple of weeks later, you are confused and scared, still unable to fully comprehend the situation. Then reality sets in like a swift blow to the head as you become aware that the last two weeks were not a horrible, dark nightmare.

This is what I lived through from my cycling accident. Nearly two years later, I am now making it out the other side of my injuries and this video of Martyn Ashton back on his bike is the most inspirational thing that I have seen so far! Thank you, Martyn! I recommend watching it in full-screen mode with the volume turned up so you can hear the laughter of these friends as they help their buddy get back to the sport he loves.

'I am now making it out the other side of my injuries and this video of Martyn Ashton back on this bike is the most inspirational thing that I have seen so far!'

The joy on Martyn's face at getting to ride his bike again is amazing and seeing his friends set him up on his bike and careen down the mountainside together bowls me over every time I watch it. I dream of doing this again one day!

Martyn Ashton has been a professional mountain biker for over 20 years and in 2013 he experienced a spinal cord injury while on his bike. Martyn is now wheelchair bound, his life changed forever. To understand why this video has such a dramatic efffect on me, check how talented Martyn was on his bike before his accident in this wildly popular video of him (nearly 1.2 million hits!). This is truly inspirational for me and I wish Martyn continued success!

For an interview about the main video I posted above, check out this interview with Martyn.

New Leg Braces :: Bruce Snyder's Status

Recently got some new leg braces to replace the old ones that kept breaking repeatedly.

Every week to two, I would need to schedule an appointment to get the old braces fixed. I visited two different locations of a huge orthotics company and was told by folks both locations that they had never seen someone break the braces as often as I did. So they were always asking me what I was doing and my response was that I was just walking. But when they started asking me how much I was walking they began to understand why the braces kept breaking.

Below on the left you can see the old braces -- they have a plastic food bed and calf support with aluminum struts along each side. The new braces are one continuous plastic mold.

Old Braces	New Braces

The new braces have absolutely no flex to them whatsoever. By contrast, the old braces had enough joints that the large amounts of movement had kind of worked them somewhat loose giving them the feeling that there was at least some flex. In fact, with the old braces, I even broke the aluminum struts ... twice.

The first break of a struts involved a big chunk of the aluminum just popping out while I was out on a walk around my neighborhood. This meant that the ankle on that side was free to move which my body was too weak to handle and I had to ask a neighbor for a ride home. The second strut break occurred while I was out walking and it just snapped in half. Although it took me a while, I was able to hobble home on my own. But then I had to cut a ruler in half to splint the strut and wrap it with a bunch of duct tape so that I could keep walking until they could order a new strut. These two breaks really surprised the orthotists!

Now I am learning to walk in these new braces which is quite a challenge. I have more stability with the new braces but they are much more rigid. So the motion is different. At any rate, I am already happier with the new braces because they don't feel like they are going to fail at any moment.

I am so thankful that I am fortunate enough to no longer be in the wheelchair, that I can actually walk, even if it is with arm crutches. Small improvements every day amount to big improvements over time. This is now my goal -- small, continuous improvements.

A Re-Evaluation of My Spinal Cord Injury

Recently I had to go back at Craig Hospital for a re-evaluation of my spinal cord injury and the news turned out to be pretty good.

Last spring when the accident occurred, I really had no real idea what I was in for with regard to experiencing a spinal cord injury and the very long recovery to follow. And honestly nobody knows what will truly happen with regard to the recovery. The doctors have told me that I have all the good signs of healing and regaining movement, but only time will tell if my body can truly heal itself. 

The re-evaluation consisted of five days worth of inspection by many people looking at your body from every angle. I know it probably doesn't sound like much fun, but after you've already been through everything associated with a spinal cord injury, experiencing a little more inspection isn't a big deal. In fact, I was even eager to hear the results myself because the bottom line is I'm still a patient who relies on the professionals who have helped many others through this devastation many times before. 

The bottom line is that there is still no movement below my knees yet, but I have gotten some feeling back in my feet. My doctor tells me that this is a very good sign, especially in under a year since the accident. I still have a very long way to go but this is definitely good news. At this point in my life, after all I've been through since the accident, I'll take any bit of positive news I can.