BMX rider Sam Willoughby has been hospitalized with a severely compressed spinal cord since a training accident on Sept. 10.
He has had no movement from his chest down, according to a statement released by his family on Thursday, but he has regained the use of his arms and is slowly regaining sensation in his legs.
The 25-year-old Australian was injured while training in Chula Vista, Calif. He was airlifted to a hospital, where he underwent an operation after doctors discovered that he sustained fractures in his C6 and C7 vertebrae.
Willoughby, a 2012 Olympic silver medalist, is engaged to U.S. BMX rider Alise Post, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist. They are scheduled to get married next year.
“We are in the midst of planning our wedding for next year and one of Sam’s goals is to do everything in his power to walk me down that aisle side-by-side as husband and wife, surrounded by his beautiful loved ones, and ready to celebrate a beautiful future with each and every one of you on this journey with him,” Post said yesterday to Australian media outlet The Advertiser.
Post and Willoughby’s parents have set up a website, Road2Recovery.com, for financial assistance and medical updates.
MORE: Alise Post, Sam Willoughby take tear-filled road to Rio together
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