Motocross driver recovers from major accident on the track

Terry Chaffee, 61, loved doing motocross, a physically demanding and dangerous sport, for 45 years. That abruptly ended after an accident on the racetrack caused him to lose mobility in his arms and legs.

“I hit a jump that is a step up, and you have to hit it and clear a little bit higher. I clipped the top of it with my back wheel, and it took my bike straight over with me and crushed me into the ground,” said Terry, patient at Methodist Hospital | Texsan Rehabilitation. “I immediately felt like my hands were going straight up in the air, and I knew I was paralyzed. It was a nightmare.”

Terry said his doctors told him they were not confident he would ever walk again.

“When I first met Mr. Chaffee, it took me a moment to get over my emotions. I ride dirt bikes, just like him. And now I was looking at an experienced rider about my age who was almost completely paralyzed by a slight miscalculation,” said Christopher Chaput, MD, spine surgeon. “It was hard to tell him the odds were against him using his hands again.”

Terry needed spine surgery to repair the damage to his spinal cord.

“I had to remove the pressure on Mr. Chaffee’s spinal cord and then place two rods along the bones in his neck to stabilize the injury,” said Dr. Chaput. “I have seen people recover from this injury many times, but I could not remember seeing anyone his age with such a severe injury living independently.”

After spine surgery, Terry spent four weeks at Methodist Hospital | Texsan doing Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy, which was vital for his arm and hand function to return. Terry was unable to feed himself or write when he arrived at Texsan’s Rehab Unit, and now he can do both independently. He spent weeks rebuilding his strength, so he could start taking steps again. 

He is grateful to the entire team for everything they did for him.

“I stopped by before Mr. Chaffee left and to see his progress, and I was floored,” said Dr. Chaput. “He wanted to show me that he could walk and use his hands again. He was very proud of how hard he had worked with the rehab team and even knew them all by name.”

Terry is now home and said he is getting stronger every day.

Learn more about Spine Care at Methodist Hospital | Texsan here.