Posted on 06/10/2014 1:48:12 PM PDT by Drew68
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Six-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Amy Van Dyken severed her spine in an all-terrain vehicle accident over the weekend, and told emergency workers she could not move her toes or feel anything touching her legs.
The 46-year-old swimmer, who goes by her married name Van Dyken Rouen, was injured Friday. She was airlifted to a hospital and had surgery to stabilize her spine.
Hospital spokeswoman Alice Giedraitis didn't provide details Monday on Rouen's injuries. She said the swimmer was in good condition.
A letter from the Van Dyken and Rouen families said she severed her spinal cord at the T11 vertebrae and that the broken vertebrae came within millimeters of rupturing her aorta.
A report by the Show Low Police Department said the ATV that Rouen was driving hit a curb in a restaurant parking lot and sent her over a drop-off between 5 to 7 feet.
Rouen was found lying on the ground next to the ATV. She was strapped to a backboard and airlifted to Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center.
A witness said he saw Rouen launch over the curb and found her unresponsive when he arrived on the scene, the report said. Rouen was not wearing a helmet at the time.
Her husband, former Denver Broncos punter Tom Rouen, told police officers he had changed the throttle mechanism on the ATV from a thumb accelerator to a twist accelerator a few days before the accident, though wasn't sure if it was a factor in the accident.
He said his wife had not been drinking alcohol that evening.
Rouen starred at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where she became the first U.S. female athlete to win four gold medals in a single games. She captured the 50-meter freestyle and 100 butterfly and also competed on the winning relay teams in the 400 free and 400 medley.
Four years later at Sydney, she added two more golds in the 400 free and 400 medley relays before retiring from competition.
In 2003, she was among numerous prominent athletes who testified before a grand jury investigating the BALCO doping scandal. Rouen never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs during her career.
"The USA Swimming family is devastated to learn of Amy Van Dyken's unfortunate accident this weekend," the organization said in a statement. "We're happy to hear that she escaped and is now in great care. That she is already 'acting like her typical spunky, boisterous, ebullient self' shows she's on a great path."
"Amy is a champion who has proven throughout her life that she is a fighter who takes on challenges and comes out on top. We know Amy will tackle her rehabilitation with vigor and be back on her feet sooner rather than later," it said.
Not bad, actually, if you treat it as a tool and not a toy. Drive it as you would a tractor, and you get a similar safety record.
Not that tractors are all that safe, mind you...
The technical stuff is halfway down..
>> Boilerplate journalism.
“The police spokesmen did not comment on whether or not the driver was in possession of an assault rifle or handgun at the time of the accident.”
Is she the swimmer in the “Tommie Copper” ads I have been seeing?
According to a witness, Van Dyken “launched” over a curb Friday afternoon in an ATV area in Arizona known as Torreon ... and plummeted 5 to 7 feet ... before crashing into the ground.
Paramedics raced to the scene and found Amy conscious but unable to move her toes or her feet. She also could not feel anything touching her legs.
According to the crash report, obtained by TMZ Sports, Amy’s husband told officials Amy was NOT consuming any alcohol that evening.
Her husband, Thomas Rouen, also told officials “just a couple days prior he had switched the throttle mechanism on the ATV from a thumb accelerator to a twist accelerator. [He] was unsure if that may have caused a problem in how Amy was used to operating the ATV.”
The report notes Amy was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
Now, Amy’s family has released a statement saying her husband Tom was by her side when a helicopter arrived to transport her to a hospital in Scottsdale where “an amazing team of doctors performed emergency surgery to repair her spine and stabilize her.”
The family says, “Amy’s spinal cord was completely severed at the T11 vertebrae, but, miraculously, a broken vertebrae stopped within millimeters of rupturing her aorta, and she did not suffer any head trauma.”
“Amy awoke within hours of surgery acting like her typical spunky, boisterous, ebullient self and has spent the last 24 hours entertaining her family and her medical staff in the ICU. She has made at least one male nurse blush. Amy’s attitude has been overwhelmingly positive and optimistic. She has been far more of a comfort to us than we have been to her.”
http://www.tmz.com/2014/06/09/amy-van-dyken-spinal-cord-completely-severed/#ixzz34H3mOMOG
Amy Van Dyken-Rouen @amyvandyken · 4h
Making progress.. First day I sat up. Thank you all for the thoughts and prayers. http://instagram.com/p/pEm_ivtZYc/
https://twitter.com/amyvandyken
ATV’s are fun, utilitarian -— and can be dangerous. (Do we want the nanny gov’t to ban everything that can be dangerous? NO!!!!)
I bought a 3-wheeler 30 years ago, and still have it. Because the design was inherently unstable, they are no longer made or sold, and it’s illegal to ride them, except on private property.
Mine has a small, 125cc motor which was adequate for hauling around an adult, even one of considerable girth and weight. It also has a low, high-torque gear range that makes it capable of flipping over backwards under certain conditions. Not long after I bought mine, they started making them with much larger, more powerful motors, and they could go a lot faster - a recipe for disaster for young and/or inexperienced riders. Add a little alcohol to the mix, and watch out!
In my opinion, the risk of accident increases in direct proportion to the inexperience, stupidity and carelelessness of the rider. Like SUVs, the machines, themselves, don’t maim or kill.
But they have no roll bar, and that’s a potential disaster.
Because, unless you’re driving slow on flat pavement all the time, you have 2 choices when they inevitably flip - stay attached to it and get crushed, or get launched airborne.
Yeah, what fun.
In an age when even small lawn & garden tractors have a roll bar, it’s not really necessary to do without one, but I can’t say I’ve ever seen one on a quad ATV or even a snowmobile. Can’t cost all that much, don’t see how it would adversely affect functionality.
A roll bar would not have prevented this woman from severing her spine, however. There are risks in life. Sometimes the adverse ones hit home.
Prayers for this woman and her family.
i thought they were safer than the trikes they were made to replace. i had a couple of them fall on me back in the day while mudding.
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