Friend Pelle Sederholm Inspires
But the real reason I’m doing it is because of my friend and fellow quad Pelle Sederholm. Pelle is a Swedish-born ski professional who broke his neck in a freak ski accident five years ago. Like me, he’s an incomplete quadriplegic. But he’s well on his way to making the team. Pelle says, “Why shouldn’t we try?” He’s right. Regardless of our challenges, we have to keep trying. Diving Into Quadriplegia
And I’ve had my share of challenges. I broke my neck in 1972 when I dove into a reservoir and hit a submerged tree stump head-on. A C-5 fracture damaged my spinal cord and left me quadriplegic. Fortunately, I hadn’t completely severed the cord, and regained some use of my legs and arms. I can walk—with all the grace of a wounded whooping crane-- and I have just enough coordination to play golf (badly), ride a bicycle (slowly) and cross-country ski (wobbly).
Surgery
But 37 years of weakened muscles caused my right foot to collapse, so in January I had my right foot rebuilt by Dr. Timothy Beals at the University of Utah Orthopaedic Center. After 4 ½ hours of surgery I have a metal plate with five
screws in my forefoot, a bolt in my heel, a tendon transfer and a bone graft—basically a new foot. Today my almost healed foot isn’t perfect, but it works. It still sticks out like a ventral fin, but it supports me better when I walk. Riding a bike is better. My foot doesn’t collapse like it used to. Training for Paralympics
As soon as the tendonitis in my shoulder (from being on crutches) settles down, I can start training. I have goals. I’m a Team Captain for the MS Bike Ride in June. I want to finish a century ride (100 miles) sometime this summer. In September I plan to ride in the 50 mile Summit Challenge to benefit Park City, Utah’s National Ability Center. And the ultimate goal: make the U.S. Paralympic Cycling Team with Pelle.
First I have to be evaluated and approved by a physician, and by an official of U.S. Paralympics and be assigned to a specific classification based on my disability. Then I must have a valid racing license issued by USA Cycling. Then I have to train like crazy and compete against others with my same level of function. If I’m fast enough I might get selected for the team.
To get there, I plan to tap into the expertise of Dr. Massimo Testa, a legendary trainer who has worked with the likes of Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer. The next step is to have Dr. Testa re-evaluate my riding position with my new foot, and test my oxygen capacity with a Vo2 Max test. It’s a test to see how big my engine is—my fitness potential. Basically you sit on a stationary bike and pedal like mad until your lungs max out. I doubt if Dr. Testa has had many quadriplegics in his lab other than Pelle and me. It will be a life changing experience for both of us. Check back next month to see if I completed the test without passing out. I’ll have pictures to document the occasion either way.
