JUSTIN WEEKS: HOPE NOT LOST
Author: Brent Stallo	Features | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 12:26

An intro just can’t do this interview justice. Our interview with Justin, originally set for last Tuesday, which was then pushed back to Wednesday, finally happened last Thursday. And good thing it did, because the timing could not have been better to find out some of the most inspiring news to cross our desk since Justin Weeks crashed over one month ago, breaking his T2 and T3 vertebra, leaving him what doctors call a Level A Complete, with no feeling above the nipple. There are mountains still to climb, but there is hope on the horizon, as huge a breakthrough has taken place in regards to Justin’s progress over the last week. Read on to get the full story on Justin Weeks and hear what he had to say about the progress of his rehab.

Justin, how goes it, buddy?
I just got back from my first trip to the rehab.

How did it go?
It went really well actually. I went to a place called SCI (Spinal Cord Injury). It’s a pretty well known place where a lot of injured athletes go.

So that was your first visit?
Yeah, we just went there to go check it out.

You are finally home! After being in the hospital for over a month how does it feel to finally be back home?
It’s awesome. Staying in the hospital is definitely not the most fun thing to do. They treated me well there, though, and I did my therapy every day, four times a day, so it was a difficult experience.

How is the adjustment being back home and away from the hospital?
It’s good. We’re renovating my upstairs right now. We’re just making a lot more space up there and are getting a hospital bed up there so I can have my own space. I’m in the middle of the living room right now, it’s a little cramped, but it’s not too bad. We’ve already got some wheel chair ramps put in, but hopefully we won’t be needing those for too much longer. I actually got some BIG news today!

That’s awesome. Give it to us!!
My dad and I were doing my stretches this morning on my leg and he was telling me to try and push my leg to see if I had any resistance. When I did he felt my muscle start to tense up. Then when he did my left leg I was able to wiggle my toes a little bit and move them back and forth. Also at the hospital I was starting to get some sensation back, like I could feel when I had to go to the bathroom and whatnot. I've also got some sensation in the back of my knee and in the middle of my ankle.

Then today I went to the therapy place, SCI, and they put me on the matt and were telling me to wiggle my toes and I was able to lift my left foot up and kind of swing it back and forth. It was a really big day for me.

WOW! What did the therapist say when you were able to do this?
Well I just found out today that I was able to do it, so we haven’t really heard anything. The therapist was in near disbelief, though. And the doctors were most impressed that I can feel now when I have to urinate. It actually wakes me up in the middle of the night, which is a huge breakthrough.

What exactly do you mean when you say you have “sensation” in certain parts of your legs?
Well they do this test when they prick you with a needle and a cotton swab. They hit all the main sensory in your body where you get the most feeling. Some of the main sensory are by your ankle and behind your knee and pretty much on your butt cheek. Pretty much I was able to feel those today.

When I first got to the hospital I was what they call a complete injury, Level A, which means I had no felling. I was a T3, which means there was no feeling above the nipple line. Now a few weeks have gone by and I’m now an incomplete injury, Level B. I am now a T4, which means below the nipple line. Now that I can wiggle my toes and move my leg a little I’m probably a Level C now! It goes all the way to Level E.

You have to be ecstatic right now!
You have no idea. I am so pumped right now. It brings tears to my eyes knowing that there’s a chance that I can come back to riding.

What are you plans for the immediate future?
Just to keep going to therapy and continue working my hardest. I’m going three times a week to SCI and then there’s another place called Drake Therapy Center in Cinncinatti and I was thinking about going two times a week there so I can work five days a week and just hit it hard. I just want another chance to race again, you know?

Do you believe you will be able to walk again?
There’s really no telling, but with the breakthroughs I’ve had over the last few weeks there is definitely a chance that I can. My ultimate goal is to get back to riding. I want to start riding before I can start walking again. I still need to let my back heal, though. I’ve got two rods, three plates and six screws in it, and there’s about a 10 inch scar down my back.

You have had a tremendous amount of support from the motocross community. Talk about that a little bit.
You never realize until something drastic happens just how many people you have in your corner. The love and support I’ve received since my injury is amazing. You really don’t know what to say to all the people who have helped except thank you. That’s the only real way to put it.

Maria, my girlfriend, she does absolutely everything for me. She backs me up 100%. She’s been working day and night to get me back up to health because she knows how much I love racing. Also my mom and dad. I can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done for me. It really means a lot.

Has anyone else in particular reached out to you?
Yeah, the Scheltema family definitely has. Here recently Trey Canard became the highest person to donate money. He and I go way back to racing 80s and we’ve always been pretty good friends, so that really means a lot.

There are a lot of people I’ve been able to talk to that I’ve always wanted to speak with but never had the chance. I’ve received calls from Jeff Emig and David Bailey and Mitch Payton. Just a few days ago I got to talk to Travis Pastrana. He called me to give me his best wishes and to tell me to be strong because he’s had a lot of friends go through this injury that have pulled through it. That really meant a lot to hear from him. Shane Lusk and Chase Boarders have also been a lot of help, giving us the best places to go and advice on everything I’m going through.

So when will we see you again. Will you be attending any races in the near future?
Yeah, definitely. I want to go to every race I can once I get all the therapy stuff scheduled and once everything starts to calm down. I want to try and make it down to Mini Os this year and just go around and thank everyone for their support.

Good luck with everything, keep us in the loop on your progress and we can’t wait to see you soon.
Thank you guys so much. Hopefully I will see everyone at Mini Os.

For information on how to help Justin Weeks log onto www.justinweeks381.com