Stephen Murray update...

All of the messages below are from bmxtalk.com where Stephen's family posts updates on his condition.

- From June 30, 2007 -
Stephen's tracheostomy operation went well and has made him more comfortable. He now has the respirator breathing for him via a tube into his throat and a feed tube into his stomach rather than everything going into his mouth. This has meant he is able to communicate better and we can understand most of what he is trying to say. Although no sounds comes out when he speaks, we are optimistic that with time and speech therapy, his voice should slowly but hopefully improve.

The doctors and surgeons have said that being so fit and healthy has been a major help to him in both sustaining the shock of the injury and in his ability to recover.

Yesterday he was put into a wheelchair by the side of his bed for 2 hours which gave him a huge lift.

His next goal is to gradually wean himself off the respirator and to hopefully breath for himself in the future. Whether this is possible we aren't sure but should he overcome this it would be a great aid in his recovery. This is more of a mid-term goal than an immediate one.

We hope that with some improvement to his breathing he will be moved out of intensive care and down the corridor to a slightly lesser dependent unit within the next week. That will be another big step.

His spirits are strong and he is so determined to overcome this, it gives us all hope.

We want everyone to know that we really appreciate everyones support. Some of the things people have said, have done, and are doing is overwhelming. Unfortunately we haven't had the time to reply to everyone at the moment, but Stephen has said that he will reply to each and every person that has contacted him over the last week to show their support.

He is in the University of Maryland Shock and Trauma Unit Hospital, widely regarded as one of the best Spinal Chord injury hospitals in the world. Can you believe he injured himself 300 yards from here!

Updates to follow (hopefully tomorrow)."
— Murrays

Update on Mr. Murray

Here's the latest on Stephen.



Stephen came through his operation yesterday and the doctors were happy with the way it all went. Having ths operation was the next big step that needed to happen. It was a big un at 7 hours but during that time they managed to stabilise his neck some more by pinning and plating the posterior side of his 3,4 and 5th cervical vertebrae. During this op, they also found he has fractured his T4 (4th thoracic vertebrae) and decided the best way for this to heal was to use a body brace.

There are a few further complications. He has a lot of crap on his lungs which is affecting his breathing. Because he is lying down his lungs are flat and this enables all the crap to build on his lungs and increase the risk of him catching pneumonia.

He also has a stomach infection cause by his body being immune to regular antibiotics, so he is now on IV antibiotics for the next 5 days which should clear it up.

He also has trapped air in his neck and upper torso following the surgery which they are trying to get rid of. This is again affecting his ability to breath.

Increasing his ability to breath on his own is now their primary concern.

Hopefully later today they will sit him up in bed (as long as x rays come back to confirm the surgery has given sufficient support to his neck). Tomorrow they intend to put him in a wheelchair for at least 2 hours a day. This will be a big benefit to him as he wont be staring at the ceiling all the time and due to to gravity this will help to disperse some of the crap and prevent the build up in his lungs.

On a light hearted note, grotbags (paul roberts) saw him yesterday and asked him whether he should go to whistler for red bull elevation to commentate this weekend. Stephen was desperately trying to say something and when we finally figured out what he was saying, he told paul to "have fun". Amazing.

We have been getting lots of questions regarding how authentic or official the 'Stephen Murray Fund' is. This is something that Aaron Cooke has kindly set up to initially provide some help financially, and is at this time the official way to donate. Other people (in particular Steve Mateus and Kimarie that we know of) are busy trying to set up a non profit tax free charity so the donations received will be tax free. This should hopefully be set up by early next week and as we know, we'll let you know.

Kimarie (stephens friend from HB) has also put together an amazing myspace page for him @ www.myspace.com/murraystrong and is also in the process of setting up www.stephenmurraybmx.com.

As you can see there is so much going in the background we aren't even aware of. The support is unbelievable and very much appreciated.

One of stephens quotes from an interview he has done in the past is this:

"When you think there is nothing left, reach within and dig deeper", "Believe in Yourself".

This is what we are doing and we definitely believe in him. He is strong!

Murrays

Please read... Stephen Murray and his family need our help...

On Friday night, while competiing at the first stop of the Dew Tour dirt jump finals, Stephen Murray bailed out of a double backflip attempt. According to other riders, he only made it 1 1/2 rotations before he jumping out of it and landing on his head, breaking his neck and stopped breathing. He was revived and rushed to the local ER. Stephen had crushed his 3rd, 4th and 5th vertebrae and was paralyzed from the neck down. Since then, he has ungone the first surgery of what could quite possibly be many in an attempt to give him some sort of a normal life. After the first 7 hour surgery Stephen surprised his friends and family by shrugging his shoulders and having some sensation on his upper left side of his body.
Stephen and his family are going to need help from the cycling community in his battle with his injuries and I'm asking for your help too. Stephen has always been an inspiration to me and thousands of other riders alike...not just BMXers!

Thanks
Carter

Here is some infomation about Stephen and the info you will need to make donations:

Stephen Murray Fund

Stephen Murray is a BMX Athlete that could use help from the BMX community. Stephen is a professional dirt jumper that is well known for his amazing tricks like double back flips, 360 back flips, turndown back flips and so much more.

Stephen Murray came to the United States from New Castle Great Britain over 10 years ago with a dream of riding with the best athletes in the sport. He came over here originally as a BMX racer but quickly took to Dirt Jumping and Freestyle in the scene of Huntington Beach and Sheep Hills.

2001 and 2002 marked the biggest year for Stephen Murray of his career. He won the Gold Medal in Dirt Jumping at X Games and back to back wins at the Gravity Games, the two biggest contests at the time.

Stephen is quoted on his own riding style, “I go 110%, go big and send it!” (EXPN.com)

On Friday June 22nd at the AST Dew Tour BMX Dirt Finals in Baltimore, MD, Stephen Murray took a horrific fall on the final set of the dirt section while sending a double back flip. Stephen has received career ending injuries to his spinal cord and vertebrae.

Unlike the NFL or other major professional sports which have unions that provide funds to athletes who are injured, BMX has nothing like this. BMX however is much more like a family than any other sport. Now is the time we need to reach out and support one of our family members like never before.

The injuries that Stephen sustained are no doubt going to affect him for a life time. Medical bills alone can reach astronomical dollar amounts. As a BMX community we have the power to help him. Stephen is a young 27 years old and is the financial provider for a wife and two young children.

This message has the potential to reach millions. Even if you are only able to donate $1 if we did it all together we can accomplish a great deal. This is for real, this is an opportunity to help out one of the most loved riders in our sport. Please find it in your hearts to contribute any dollar amount that you can, and say a prayer for Stephen Murray and his family in this difficult time.

Here are three ways you can contribute:
Email StephenMurrayFund@hotmail.com with the dollar amount you would like to contribute. You will then receive an email back with the invoice that leads you directly to a Pay Pal Secure account where you can pay by credit card or bank account number.

Mail a check payable to Stephen Murray Family Fund:
92 Corporate Park Ste. C #171
Irvine, CA 92606


Make a bank deposit or wire funds directly to:
Stephen Murray Family Fund
Bank of America
4500 Barranca Parkway
Irvine, CA 92614
Routing # 121000358
Account # 1015867459


If you are a minor get your parents permission first. Donate today, don’t hesitate.


There are other people working the major legal task of creating a foundation for Stephen but this is the fastest and the first step in to helping out him and his family

Mustache club......

Somebody tell Mark Weir and Forest I'm coming for the covetted Mustache title!!!!

Travis Pastrana on a Riot!!!

A few weeks ago, Jim DeChamp called me saying he was in need of a couple of frames for himself and X-Games Superstar and future WRC Champ Travis Pastrana. Travis has been into mountain biking for awhile and actually used race DH and dual slalom. He uses moutain bikes to help learn tricks into his foam-pit that will someday translate into the crazy shit you see him doing on his moto over 120' gaps. Now, I'm happy to say he learns some of his tricks a Riot. Jim hooked me up with a few photos of Travis on his little bike. Now, go ride your bike!!!!

Teva Mountain Games...mud, bikes and dogs

Mud runner taking a dive.


Kyle Ebbet taking a dive.


Dog taking a dive!


Takin the skinny to beat Ebbet.


Course overview with Hacksaw.

Mountain bike legend Jeff Lenosky once again put together a fun event at the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, Colorado. This was my second time here and definately the best version of this event so far. The Freeride Challenge included the speed trials event and a slopestyle contest. The speed trials was a head to head race where riders ride identical courses like dual slalom. This year the course had alot of flow and even a water hazard that claimed its share of riders including Kyla Strait, Nate Adams and myself. Jeff took the highly contested win at the finish line as Kyle's front wheel missed the skinny and he went head over heels at the end of the water hazard.


The slopestyle course was designed and built by Kyle Ebbet and he did a great job. It was a one line course which started with with a gradual roll-in to a small berm into the first hit, a hip to the left followed with a slight hip to the right. After the second hip the course took you into a dirt lip with a 5' tall hitching post, then down to a 7' wood lip that shot you onto a 10' platform where you would take a crank to the 1' lip down to the landing that was 5' down and 10' out, this would take the rider to the final jump, a 6.5' wood kicker with a 18' gap and 9' tall landing. The course was fun and flowed pretty good, the only issue was the fairly flat landing on the first jump.

There were lots of other crazy events going on during the week end, here's a sample of the mud run/dive and the professional dog jumping contests...no tricks... just dogs jumping as far as they can. This is a fun event if you can make it next year and I'm sure its just getting better...