Published: July 23, 2008 03:47 pm            

‘Race to Recovery’ ongoing for Neylon

BROWNSBURG — Just over two years ago, Brownsburg teacher and coach Bret Neylon was fighting for his life. After winning that battle, the fight to improve his quality of life has continued.

Competing in a cycling race in Ohio on June 17, 2006, Neylon was involved in an accident that resulted in a C4 vertebrae fracture. Though the severity of the collision left him a quadriplegic, paralysis was not the most immediate concern, as he was placed on a ventilator for months so he could breathe — and live.

Along with numerous other fundraising efforts that followed in the weeks after the accident, Neylon’s friends created the first “Race to Recovery,” a 5K event that will run for the third time Saturday at Brownsburg East Middle School. The event netted more than $30,000 in its inaugural run to assist with Neylon’s many expenses. It was a day that participants will always remember, capped by an emotional groundbreaking ceremony at the site of Neylon’s new handicapped-accessible home.

“It all took me by surprise,” Neylon said. “I was in the hospital still and my friends put it together in a matter of weeks, which was amazing. It really meant a lot. I got pictures in the hospital of the race that I put up on the wall and a video of it. Just that type of outpouring of support from the community was really touching.”

The tireless effort of Neylon’s then-girlfriend/now-wife Tracie, family, and friends was needed. In addition to the house, Neylon’s wheelchair and van alone cost nearly $100,000. But while the financial end was nice, it was the emotional support that pulled him through his darkest hours.

“They all meant everything to me,” Neylon said. “I couldn’t imagine going through what I had to go through being all alone. There were some people that I saw in the hospital that were in that position, that might’ve had just one person with them or nobody. Everyone was there in the toughest of times when I was wanting to give up and was really depressed. They were there to lift my spirits, and that was everything for me.”

After being released from the hospital more than three months after his accident, Neylon made a memorable appearance at the Hendricks County cross country meet. His goal then was to get back to teaching and coaching as quickly as possible.

“When I got home, I wanted to go back to a life that was as normal as possible, and that primarily involved teaching and coaching,” Neylon said. “That meant everything to me after I returned home. I couldn’t imagine just sitting here at home and not doing much of anything. It is still difficult living with paralysis, but it’s important to keep my mind off of it as much as possible. That and helping the kids has meant a lot.”

Along with coming back to the classroom and the track, rehabilitation was also a top priority for Neylon. Once the insurance coverage of rehab ran out, he began doing it from home and continues that today, including electronic stimulation of his limbs. While gains have been small, they have helped him achieve a more comfortable life.

“When I first got in my wheelchair, I could only sit in it for a few minutes,” Neylon said. “Now just to be able to sit up in my chair and carry on the activities that I do every day, it’s been a huge advance for me. And just being able to breathe and get my blood pressure under control — it used to bottom out and I’d pass out or get real lightheaded.”

While the rehab process continues, Neylon hopes that stem-cell research — which many believe to be mankind’s best shot at reversing paralysis — will become his and others’ tickets out of their wheelchairs someday. It is likely to be a hot-button issue in this year’s presidential election, and Neylon would like to see a candidate support wholeheartedly what could be one of the most important breakthroughs in human history.

“It would be nice to see somebody — at least at the presidential level — that would support stem-cell research,” Neylon said. “I believe that is going to be the biggest hope for people that suffer from paralysis — stem-cells that can rebuild the spinal cord. Hopefully, one day I can walk again if we can get that research really going.”

This weekend’s race will benefit the National Transplant Assistance Fund Great Lakes Spinal Cord Injury Fund, which will help Neylon and Brownsburg resident John Wassen with future medical expenses. Wassen sustained a C5 spinal cord injury last August in a fall from the second story of a home he was working on.

For more information on Saturday’s event, lvisit the website at www.racetorecovery.org.

        

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