Race 4 Chase

I was four years old when I started racing.  Believe it or not, my first race was at the Mini-O's!  I spent more time looking backwards than I did looking forward.  I was so scared when the leaders came up on me to lap me, I pulled over and let them by.

My first ride was on a factory Pro Circuit KX250.  No not really.  My first bike was a Yamaha PW50.  It had so many stickers on it, it almost couldn't pull the extra weight!  I even stickered the tires!

Yes.  In 2003 I made to Loretta's in the 85cc 14-15 and the Supermini class.  What a year to make in those classes, Ryan Vilipoto and Mike Alessi rode both those classes that year.  I think I finished 9th in the 85cc 14-15 and about 20th in the Supermini.   I made it in 250 B stock the following year but spent more time goofing off with my friends than I needed to and didn't do so well - 23rd I think.  I did get the holeshot in my last moto after Dad chewed my butt for goofing off.

I was sponsored by Adams Motorsports out of Montgomery, Alabama and was riding a Suzuki RMZ450 in the 450A and 450 Prosport classes.  I was practicing with Jase Lewis for the Southeast Amateur Regional when I got hurt.

Jase Lewis was staying at my house which is right next to Monster Mountain MX in Tallassee, Alabama.  We were over at the Monster practicing and had been through about four 20 minute motos.  We went out at the end of the day to "play around".  Our playing around quickly turned in to a battle.  As I jumped the fastest and longest jump on the track down a really quick downhill (appropriately called "The Monster") my engine locked up.  Since I had already nosed the bike down for the landing, I was pretty much helpless when the engine stopped - I was thrown over the bars and landed on my face at over 50mph.

I might have been out, but just for a few seconds.  I'm pretty sure that by the time everyone was getting to me I was awake.  I do remember hearing my bike lock up - and thinking "this ain't gonna be pretty..."  Then while I was laying on the ground, I remember there was probably a group of 30 folks crowded around me.  Someone even brought an EZ-Up and put over me and they had wet rags to cool me down.  Once the medics got there, it seemed to take for ever to get me ready to transport.  It felt like I was laying on the track for hours!

My C-5 vertebrae was basically exploded.  They ended up having to take a piece of bone from my hip and graft it on to my neck to stabilize it.  The spinal cord was pinched but was not severed.  My right femur was also badly broken.  I also ended up having a some minor bleeding on the brain.

When they put me on the backboard I was tingling all over.  Then when they lifted me on the backboard to the strecher my Dad told me "Son your arms are falling off the backboard, pick 'em up."  When I couldn't lift them up and I saw the scared look in my Dad's eyes, I knew I was in trouble.   My first thought, and the first words out of my mouth were "Am I going to be paralyzed?"  Then, I told my Dad, "It wasn't my fault, it wasn't my fault."  I was really scared and had no idea how things were going to turn out.

They didn't have a helicopter available so I was taken by ambulance to East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, Alabama about an hour from Monster Mountain.  Once I got to East Opelika they said I was injured so badly I would never move anything again.  After an MRI, they arranged for a helicopter to take me to the University of Alabama (UAB) Medical Center in Birmingham.  When I got out of the UAB Emergency Room and was being transferred to the TBICU (Trauma and Burn Intensive Care Unit) on the 9th floor, my Dad and several friends were there to meet me.  Little did we all know, the TBICU was going to be my home for the next seven months.

I spent 7 1/2 months in Room 9501 in the TBICU at UAB. Seven of those months I was in a coma.  Everyone had to mask and gown to come in to my room because I was so susceptible to infections and I had to have a nurse outside my door 24-7 because my heart rate kept dropping and I was on a ventilator.

I had my own crash cart in my room with a "Chase 910" sticker on it.  You know how motocrossers are - they have to put stickers on everything.

I was only allowed to have two visitors at a time for 30 minutes - three times a day.  It killed my parents that they could only see me for an hour and half each day for over 7 months.

For my last two weeks at UAB I was transferred to the MICU (Medical Intensive Care Unit) where I finally came to.  A few days later, I was on my way to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta.

I spent a total of 3 1/2 months at the Shepherd Center before going home to Tallassee.  The night I got back, they had a big homecoming dinner with all my motocross friends at the Talisi Hotel.

Not really.  I remember having dreams about certain things.  When this website was published and I saw some of the pictures of me for the first time, I seemed to remember something about people taking pictures.  But really, I don't have any specific memories from when I was in a coma.  They said I would respond by mouthing words when people asked me questions and that I would sing along with the radio - but only when Elton John was singing?  I didn't even like Elton John.  Once the nurses figured out I liked to sing with Elton John, they would come running when an Elton John song came on the radio so they could sing with me.

They said I would smile when my Dad talked to me and that I would say "I Love You" when my girlfriend would say "I Love You" to me.

Some people think it was the motocross accident that caused the coma.  That's not how it happened.  After my surgery on my neck (which went fine) I developed pneumonia so they put me in a medically-induced coma so I could rest.  Then things went down-hill fast.  I soon developed ARDS (Acute Repiratory Distress Syndrome) which kills 6 out of 10 victims.  The doctors told Dad I was not going to make it and that he should consider letting me go if I went in to cardiac arrest - which I did 10 times.  They told Dad my lungs were shot and would never work again.  Dad never gave up on me - and the doctors respected his wishes and kept finding ways to keep me alive.  Bet you didn't know Viagra has other uses......

ARDS is a disease that attacks the lungs and inhibits them from exchanging blood gases causing the patient's organs to fail because of a lack of oxygen and high C02 levels in the blood stream. More ARD victims die than survive it.  For a more accurate description and more information, go to The ARDS Foundation at www.ardsusa.org.  They are great folks and were a huge help to my Mom and Dad during this ordeal.

Listen carefully to your doctors - but make your own decisions.  Had my Dad took the medical advice that was offered, I would not be here, and there would be no Chase Borders story and no need for a Chase Borders Recovery Fund.  The doctors at the TBICU said I had the worst case of ARDS they had ever seen and on top that I had extremely high CO2 levels in my blood that had probably killed my brain.  I know the doctors meant well and that they gave my Dad their best medical advice based on years of experience and years of professional training.  They truly were the best trauma doctors around - but the bottom line is - they were wrong and I would have been dead in June of 2006 had my Dad given up on me.  If he had signed a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) Order as they suggested you would not be reading this.

If you don't have a quality neck brace, get one.  The Leatt Brace was not available when I crashed.  Although there is no way to know for sure, I help but believe the outcome would have been much different for me if I had not hyper-extended my neck when I hit face-first off a 120' jump down a hill tapped out in third gear on my 450.  A brace may not have helped, but I would give anything to have had one.  I would also encourage yound riders to stay active in other sports in addition to motocross.  It helps build both hand-eye coordination and overall physical fitness as well as social skills.

To be alive.  To have a Father and friends who have stood behind me through it all.  To have the Lord Jesus Christ looking over me.  For all the thousands of people who prayed for God to help me.  For all the medical professionals who have cared for me.  And for everyone that has supported us with love and encouragement - as well as the many folks who attended benefit MX schools and bought t-shirts and wrist bands, and donated to help me continue to recover.  I thank God that Dad had the courage and the heart to know I was still there, when others said I was gone and never coming back.

I want to go to college and I want another girlfriend!  Seriously, everyone in this situation hopes that they will walk again - but I have to set my sights on more achievable short-term goals.   I am having several surgeries this year and with hard work I hope to regain the mojority of my arm strength and range of motion.  This will enable me to be more self-sufficient.  I also hope to get my trach out so I can breath easier and continue to improve my cardiovascular health.  It would also be nice to be able to go swimming again!