Daniel Muse

Daniel Muse was riding a MX track Sunday March 30, and is now paralyzed from the chest down. There is a triple that we had just been rolling all day, we had all already decided it was not jump-able and needed to be re-worked a bit before anyone jumped it. Daniel continued rolling it trying to convince himself he could hit it. About the time all the other guys decided to take a break for water, he decided it was time to do it. We were all sitting next to the landing (shade tree to sit under) and did not think he was really going to do it. We heard him rail the corner and never let off the gas till he was mid air. The lip kicked his back end up, and being that the face of the jump was about 6'5, it launched him a good 10 foot over our head. Since he was so high, the back end kept going higher, and the nose kept diving. By the time he hit the ground, the front had dove so low the back tire was more forward than the front. He basically did half a front flip. He rode it straight into the ground; the bike pancaked him literally in half. Immediately we knew this was bad, first thing we did was grab his legs to see if he could feel it. He could not feel anything, no pinching, no pulling, and no pain really all the way to his nipples. They care flighted him straight to Parkland ER here in Dallas and gave us the news. He fractured his sternum and broke several vertebrae in his neck and back. The C6 and C7 are fractured. T1 and T4 are fractured and he shattered T5 . Originally they said T5 had shattered into his spinal cord, which is causing the paralysis. The hospital did an MRI and finally gave us a small bit of hope, it revealed that the T5 did NOT puncture or sever the spinal cord, but it has a ton of swelling around it. The MRI also revealed he has a hematoma around the cord at T5. The hematoma was causing pressure on the cord which may be what is preventing movement or feeling.

He had back surgery today (April 2nd) to have a cage built from T4 to T6 and fuse all the vertebrae in between for stability. We are praying that the swelling is the cause of the paralysis at this point and that it is only temporary. During surgery the doctors were able to drain off some of the fluid buildup and put a drain to prevent any more buildup. He had a blood transfusion during surgery, but is stable and now in a room. He is in great spirits and is already joking about getting a 4 wheeler, and as he put it "bolting some boots to the side so his legs don't flop off and trip someone."

They have moved him to room 571 in Parkland. The doctors said they will be putting a brace on him today which should allow him to sit up in the bed, rather than lie flat on his back. We are all very excited by the news of his spinal cord being in good shape on the outside layer. We are praying the nerves on the inside are in just as good of shape. It could take days, weeks, months or possibly years, but if everything is okay inside, he could very well have a 100% recovery.

www.supportingdaniel.com has been created to share Daniels story and keep updated with his condition. He has no medical insurance and we are doing everything we can to raise some money for him. We race with the TCCRA and the organization is donating money to him from a bucket at sign-ups and at the gate. Many of you do not know him personally, but we are asking for any support we can get. Whether it is $1 or $1000, anything helps.

As his best friend and fellow racer, my heart is bleeding for him, seeing him hit the ground is all I see over and over in my head. Daniel was one of the most happy go lucky, would not hurt a fly, sacrifice anything to help someone type a guy. He has an adorable and incredibly smart 3-year-old daughter, Peyton. He has only been married to his wife, Heather, for about 6 months. Daniels family lives in Atlanta and have all come to support and help him in his time of need. Daniel is going to need long term support and prayer to keep his spirits high. His family needs all the support they can get, and will continue to need it throughout this journey.

Again, he is in room 571 at Parkland Hospital and the more visitors he has, the better his mood should be!

Thank you to everyone that has donated so far, please keep him in you thoughts and prayers. God bless.

-Dusty