Waddell Update From Derrin Stockton  
(9 comments) Tuesday, 22-July-2003  09:56 AM - by DOM 
Derrin Stockton - ITS Team Manager.

My apologies for it being so long between updates, there wasnıt a whole lot of new information to report except for the last couple of days. Irene (John's mom) and I had been back in Quebec, waiting and working with John. At the same time I had been contacted by an old acquaintance after he heard the story of John on the Internet. This old acquaintance it so happens is a friend one of the best neurologists in the world. We arranged to fly out the neurologist, Dr. Peter Cassini, who is on staff at Stanford University medical center, to look John over before John was flown back to Australia.

I spoke with Irene on Saturday night about Johnıs condition, but was finally able to speak to Dr. Cassini this morning, so I finally have enough information to give everyone the latest update.

John's condition is worse than what we previously thought. Dr. Cassini had access to all of Johnıs medical records, and was able to look them over. There were some things he spotted on the scans that were not previously noticed.

Some of the injuries to Johnıs Brain are on the inside, and are not just limited to the surface. Because of this, his prognosis for recovery is not as positive as we had previously hoped. In short, John will have some permanent damage from his crash that will be with him for life. Exactly how bad it will be is really still up in the air.

When one has an injury to the brain like Johnıs the damage that occurs relates to the connective tissue that transfers information from oneıs brain to their body. In the condition that John is in, his brain is repairing those connective tissues, and until his brain has completely healed, we will not know the final extent of the damage and what type of recovery that we can expect from him.

On the short side, John will not compete again, at least not at the level he has in the past. How close his speech, personality and motor skills return to their normal pre-crash state will not be known for 6-12 months. In three months they will perform another scan on Johnıs brain after it has completely healed, and they will be able to see what areas of Johns brain have had permanent damage. After that it will give us a much clearer view of where his progress will go.

Obviously, this is a lot worse than what we had all previously believed. And while it is extremely hard for all of us, there are a few things I would like to point out.

His care at the hospital was good. The things missed on his scan were nothing that, if known, would have made a difference in Johnıs condition right now. Brain injuries, as many people including Doctor Cassini have pointed out, are basically an open book. The brain is so complex and unknown, that everyoneıs recovery rate is different. All prognoses are based off of previous case information, and cannot take into account a person's will, spirit, and their own individual case and particular details.

As we speak John and his mother are flying back to Australia where John will begin his road to recovery. Support and the power of positive thinking, and energy, can make a huge difference. What I saw of Johnny and his mother during my time in Quebec show me that there is not a person on the planet that has more will, or a better chance at recovering to the fullest extent than John does. Whatever energy all of you put into Johnıs situation, I hope that it is positive, and directed at supporting him in his recovery.

I would like to personally thank all of you for the support and concern you have shown after Johnıs crash, and to everyone that has helped make a difference. There are so many people to thank, including race organizations, friends, and family. I would especially like to thank Kelli at the UCI, Michael Phillips for facilitating Dr Cassiniıs involvement in Johnı situation, and Dr. Cassini himself for taking the time to rearrange his schedule and travel on a few days notice.

And I can't say enough about Rob at Santa Cruz who has spared no effort or expense at making sure John has had the very best of everything since his crash.

I will continue to talk to Johnıs mom, and keep everyone updated as best I can. John's mom will be getting some internet contact information set up when she returns home, so I will keep everyone updated on that so that she can forward well wishes to John and keep everyone informed.

Anyone wishing to send anything to John in Australia can do so at the address below.

Thank you,

Derin Stockton
Team Director
ITS/Santa Cruz

John Waddell
86 Gerald Street
Spearwood
Western Australia
6163

Source - www.pinkbike.com
www.transcendmagazine.com

- DOM -





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