Blair morgan paralyzed V. crappy canadian healthcare

EDIT: my friend just send me this… this is a quote from a paramedic who commented on teh story

Not even sure where to start when you get news like this. Best wishes go out to Blair and his Family.

It is a sad day when anyone sustains this sort of Injury. I have see the 2 photos posted at this site.
Update on motocross rider Blair Morgan's condition | Car News | Auto123

Everyone of us who takes part in any of these sports such as Motocross, suppercross, snowcross need to know that the event organizers are doing a very poor job in looking after our interest should we become injured.

I have been a Paramedic in Ontario now for the past 19 years. I have to say I am appalled at the level of medical services that are on hand should one of us get hurt. What I am talking about is the fact most of the time the people you see attending to the rider are not Paramedics.
They are St Johns Ambulance or some other first aid provider who have no where near the training that is need to deal with the sort of Injury that Blair has sustained. If I preformed at the level of the providers at Blair’s side that day I would no longer have a job and face litigation.

I will point out first off in the picture you can see they fail to remove his helmet 2nd they do not place a C-spine collar on him. 3rd when log rolled you can see no one is supporting his head and neck(C-Spine control) 4Th once placed on the spine board his head is not immobilized with head blocks on either side to prevent farther movement.
After treatment like this a first aid provider can not walk away and say I know I did not cause any further injury or damage to this patient. We as riders and spectators need to demand that the organizers start providing Fully trained Paramedics at such events. People think just because they see some guy/girl with a T-shirt with the staff of life on it they are in good hands.

It is time for a change and that time is now how many more people have to be put at risk.

As you can see, there is NO neck brace on him, and NOONE is supporting his neck. a few people say that he was able to move his legs before he was placed in the ambulance.
I know the title change is a bit misleading…but, seriously you would NEVER EVER see this happen in america
http://www.auto123.com/ArtImages/101487/blair-morgan-inline.jpg

90% of you on this forum will have no idea who he is, but blair morgan pretty much MADE the sport of snocross what it is today. He was one of teh most talented riders on this planet on a dirtbike and a snowmobile. You can’t turn on the winter X games without hearing his name, or see him ripping it on the track.

This past weekend he came up short on a jump and was slammed into the dirt, severing his spinal chord. He will most likely never walk again.
Two ironic things,
He is nicknamed “superman” in the sport of snocross.
He also has a snowmobile vacation/ride in B.C with all proceeds going to spinal chord research.

He is a true athlete and does not deserve what he was dealt (not like anyone does) and my thoughts and prayers are with his him and his family.

http://www.racerxonline.com/blog/racer-x-staff-blog/2008/09/22/blair/

've tried to write this twice now but couldn’t find the words, but I figured if I just sat down and typed something, anything, it would be better than nothing. By now most of you reading this have probably heard about Canadian MX and Snocross legend Blair Morgan getting hurt this past weekend at the Montreal Supercross. I don’t have the full details yet, but from what I know in texting Blair’s wife on Sunday, and the reports from people close to the scene, it doesn’t look like Blair is ever going to be able to walk again. Blair and I have been friends for a long time, we used to race each other up in Canada, and one of my claims to fame (ask my wife, she’s heard all about it), is that I beat him on more than one occasion. Anyway, Blair went on to be a two-time Canadian motocross champion,one of the nicest guys of the sport, and a pioneer in the snowmobile world with his titles over there. I don’t know much about the Snocross world, but I have some friends that follow it like I do motocross. When I told them I know Blair and have his number in my phone , they would get all excited and tell me how he is “the man” on the sleds. I am proud to say that Blair is my friend, and like all of you, cannot believe this news.
Life isn’t fair, and certainly the sport of motocross has proved that to us, the fans, over and over again.

I just saw the man that has the nicknamed “Superman” twice this summer, once when I went to a Canadian national and then again at Steel City when he was down there just supporting the new Canadian king, Colton Facciotti, at his first ever AMA National. We always make it a point to talk to each other and catch up, and Blair was telling me that he was going to race for probably one more year, and that he was excited about the upcoming MXDN, where he was going to go on his own dime just to support the team. Blair has represented Canada at the MXDN many times, and many times when the team was borrowing bikes and wasn’t very organized. He always went, no questions asked, and rode his ass off every time. If there is a guy that epitomizes Canadian motocross, it’s Blair Morgan, no questions about it.

Life isn’t fair, and certainly the sport of motocross has proved it to us, the fans, over and over again. We all know what can happen every time we get on a bike but we choose to do it anyway, and I’m sure Blair will have no regrets about what he did and what happened. He knows it’s part of the deal, and even though this accident will hold him back somewhat, I’m betting that there is still no limit to what Superman can and will do for the sport in the future. Get well soon Blair, I can’t wait to see you at the races.

If you would like to send Blair your best wishes, email allison@racerxcanada and she will make sure Blair gets them.

Wow that’s terrible. Sounds like a real pioneer of the snowcross sport.

that sucks, but with modern technology theres always a chance, look at that guy from the bills.

wheres the vido at?

Blair is aa amazing athlete. So talented on a bike or a sled. I have a few pics of him from the Binghamton Outdoor National from '98 or '99 floating around. I’ll scan and post them when I get home from work.

Really sucks for Morgan. He was definitely a pioneer.

Is it necessary to use such a shitty thread title? Why not something that even remotely hints to what the subject of the thread is about.

i still cant believe this

Oh man.

Damn… I met him when a few of my friends raced against him back in the ~'00 time frame in Snocross when they raced at Hamburg Fairgrounds… Great guy…

Dayum. he was like the top of snocross racing for a long time! Mr SkiDoo. that sucks

loved watching him on espn2 during the winter

sucks.

i have the blair morgan limited edition sled. I cant believe it. i feel so bad for him. he seriously was an amazing rider.

He started as an Artic Cat rider…

still can’t believe that happened to him; sucks, that’s for sure…

bump for my edit in orig post

Hope he pulls through this. He is definitely a pioneer, I have been watching him as far back as I can remember and loved watching him from the first race I saw him in. An amazing snocross racer.

Would restraining the neck prevent seperation of the vertebrae in his middle back? I agree his neck wasn’t restrained properly…but the issue accured farther down his back.

anybody with educated input?

Oh come on, socialized health care is the cure all for everyone. The democrate lovers here keep telling me we are cruel humans for not having “free” healthcare.

the article also pointed out that they “failed” to remove his helmet. Anyone who knows remotley anything about first aid knows not to remove a helmet when there is a neck or back injury.

bump

that was my thought…