Snowmobile athlete Colten Moore suffers spinal cord injury – The Denver Post

Snowmobiler Colten Moore suffered a spinal cord injury attempting a double backflip at the X Games last month.

The seven-time snowmobile X Games medalist from Texas was rushed to an Aspen hospital Jan. 29, after overrotating the trick, which would have been the first in X Games history. The 27-year-old then was flown to a Denver hospital, where surgeons performed emergency surgery on his back to repair a dislocated T-12 vertebra. But the dislocation bruised his spinal cord.

Daniel Petty, The Denver Post

Moore, whose brother Caleb suffered a fatal injury during a snowmobile freestyle contest at the X Games in 2013, has been up and walking with the help of his care team, according to a statement released Tuesday.

However, due to the injuries suffered, there are some complications and hell need to go to a rehabilitation center specializing in spinal cord injuries. Unfortunately, the costs involved with such a rehabilitation center are extremely high and insurance will not agree to send him to the private facility, readthe release from the Road 2 Recovery Foundation, which has set up a website seeking donations to help fund Moores recovery. Colten has a great team of rehab specialists waiting for him back in his hometown in Texas. But before he can go back home, he will need to be admitted into one of the worlds best inpatient rehabilitation centers to ensure the best possible outcome.

The nonprofit Road 2 Recovery Foundation helps professional action sports athletes motocross racers, as well as wakeboard and BMX competitors finance rehabilitation efforts if they sustain career-ending injuries, according to the foundations website.

Lori Amstutz with the foundation said Moore is studying four spinal cord injury facilities around the country, including Englewoods Craig Hospital. Each facility costs about $3,000 a day, requiring about $100,000 more than what Moores insurance will cover, she said.

Moores progress after his Jan. 29 surgery will determine which facility will work the best for him, Amstutz said.

Hes got to overcome a couple obstacles after surgery, she said. So much will happen in the next 48 hours.

The day after his surgery, Moore posted on his Facebook page: Im good!! Thank you all for the support!!! We do what we love. Period.

A statement from the Moore family a tight-knit crew that travels to Moores contests, waving Texas flags at his medal ceremonies said the day after the accident that Moore had undergone successful surgery to treat a lower back injury and was resting and recovering well.

Moore and Idahos Heath Frisby were vying to become the first snowmobilers to land a double backflip in competition on the final night of the Winter X Games in Aspens Buttermilk ski area. Frisby went first and flipped his 500-pound machine twice but underrotated, coming up short and breaking his snowmobile. Moore followed, flying higher than any other athlete in the first X Games Best Trick contest since 2013. He landed back on his sleds track and smashed into the snow. Writhing on the ground before medics reached him, he seemed to be clutching his legs.

Four years earlier on the same course, Moores 25-year-old big brother, Caleb, underrotated a backflip in a freestyle competition, causing his sled to strike him as he tumbled down the landing ramp. He suffered a concussion and bleeding around his heart. A secondary complication with his brain followed. He died a week later; the first fatality at the X Games.

Colten Moores inspirational Catching the Skybook details his life with Caleb and his return to competitive motorsportsafter his brothers death. The double backflip would have established the athlete from Krum, Texas, as one of snowmobilings top athletes in history. He had practiced the trick at least 100 times, landing in a foam pit, he told The Denver Post the day before the contest.

Its a mental game. As long as you can get your body to do what it needs to do, its your head thats going to screw you up, Moore told The Post the day before his attemptandshortly after winning silver in the freestyle snowmobile contest. Ive spent a lot of time trying to get my head straight. I feel good. Get ready.

The release from Road 2 Recovery said Moore remains very positive as well as thankful he can walk.

However, the release adds, serious complications surrounding the injury are necessary to address and the rehabilitation team is ready to welcome Colten.

For more information about supporting Moores rehabilitation, go to road2recovery.com/cause-view/colten-moore/.

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Snowmobile athlete Colten Moore suffers spinal cord injury - The Denver Post