MX DIARY: Great to see you Stewart
By TMX Archives on 23rd Sep 15
Almost 16 months after a life-changing accident that could have confined him to a wheelchair it was great to catch up with Stewart Penny at the VMXdN.
The West Country racer and Evo enthusiast had a huge crash at Upton Court in May 2014, sustaining a long list of injuries.
"I've no memory of the accident whatsoever,” he said. "I broke C3 in my neck, T5, T6, T7 and T8 in my back – two of those had actually shattered – along with my sternum, ribs and hand.
"I broke the end off my femur off which they bolted back together and I had a bad head trauma as well.”
The former MR Thumpercross national four-stroke champion spent five weeks in hospital in Birmingham.
"I can only remember the last week of being there really and then they transferred me closer to home to Bath Royal United Hospital and I was in there for another four weeks.
"After being laid completely flat for eight weeks they started to sit me up a bit and then I was fitted with a complete brace that braced my neck and the whole top of my body.”
Amazingly, eight months after the crash Stewart was back at work at his garden maintenance business.
"Sometimes I think I haven't done very much.
"But when I look at pictures of how I was and think about how I started walking again with a Zimmer frame and a physio on each side, then progressing onto sticks to where I am now I realise I've come an awfully long way.
"I want to say to everyone thanks for all the support I've had. I don't think people realise how much all the phone calls I received while I was in hospital meant to me and how much they helped when all I could do was stare at the ceiling.”
The 49-year-old's not planning on resuming his racing career but he's considering getting back in the saddle for a dads' and granddads' parade lap at the Corsham club's national at Farleigh Castle on October 3-4.
