Paralysed teen plans to ride again

Following a motorcycle accident that nearly killed him, a teen who was paralysed is defying the odds by learning to walk again, and is also planning to ride again too.

When Wyatt Tidwell from Arizona, USA had an 84mph crash he was lucky to escape with his life but was unfortunately left paralysed from the waist down. He was told he would never walk again. 

The accident happened while the 19-year-old was out riding his motorcycle when he lost control of the machine. With a throttle problem that meant his bike wouldn’t slow, he found himself rapidly running out of road and hurtling towards a set of railings.

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Back from the brink of death

His injuries were extensive, with a femur that was broken in half, broken ribs, extensive arm damage and a broken nose. All alongside severely puncturing his lungs and damaging his spinal cord. The future wasn’t looking good for the American student.

Doctors didn’t think he was going to survive. The damage to his lungs and the trauma of the accident was such that he was put into an induced coma to try and help his body recover.

But then things started to happen. He pulled through the worst of it and even awoke from his coma early, his determination was apparent from the offset. He woke to be told that he was never going to walk again.

His body had taken such a battering that he was just grateful to still be alive. 

Signs of improvement

His left arm was also badly damaged in the accident and he could hardly use it, but thanks to a successful stem cell treatment, he was able to regain movement.

Grinding pic.twitter.com/ryT9TvuQOS

— Wy (@TidwellWyatt) June 30, 2017

From there, Wyatt was determined to get himself walking again. Following the success of the stem cell treatment, he moved onto strength training, physical therapy and electrical stimulation to help him get back on his feet again.

Then, just six months after the accident that should have killed him, Wyatt found himself defying doctors and standing on his own two feet again.

I was told I would never walk again. Don’t say what you’re going to do, show em. pic.twitter.com/5KdkCkwgcU

— Wy (@TidwellWyatt) April 5, 2017

Now his mission is to get to the point where he can partake in sports again and not only walk again, but also get back on a motorcycle.

What an inspiration.

There’s also a GoFundMe page set up to help Wyatt with his extensive medical expenses. You can find more on that here.

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