Blake’s story: Giving back to those who weren’t so lucky
After breaking his back in a motorbike crash, Blake Jones was lucky to walk again. He’s now giving back to those who haven’t been as fortunate, tackling a gruelling cycle event for charity.
Motorbike rider Blake Jones is lying in bed in Palmerston North Hospital in a world of pain – but knows he’s lucky.
Last April, the 37-year-old was adventure riding on his motorbike across a Waipukurau farm, helping a couple of mates plot a route for an upcoming event.
He was riding in a creek, taking on climbs up the banks, and then down the other side as he wound through the paddock.
The father of two went up a climb and didn’t realise there was a 2.5m drop off that had been washed out on the other side. He rode off a small cliff to a sheer drop.
“I thought, this is going to hurt,” Blake says of that fateful moment.
As he was going over the crest of the bank, Blake separated himself from his bike and braced for the impact.
He rolled off, flipped in the air and landed on top of his helmet. His body folded into his sternum with the impact.
“I remember grabbing both brakes at the top and then realising, this is futile,” he says.
“I don’t remember too much else, just the pain afterwards and knowing it was serious. I lay there thinking, my wife’s going to kill me. That ran through my head a lot.”
‘It was the best outcome for breaking a back’
Blake was knocked unconscious from the fall. His mates found him at the bottom of the drop a few minutes later.
They helped him back on his bike and, with adrenalin coursing through his veins, he rode 40 minutes back to his ute to head home. He was in agony and collapsed to the ground when he got off his bike.
Blake made the decision to drive back home to Palmerston North and, on the journey, he realised he needed urgent medical attention. He was struggling to breathe and had acute pain in his kidneys.
His wife took him to hospital, where X-rays revealed he’d suffered compression fractures in his vertebrae.
He was told the compression fractures were at about 30 per cent – if it was over 50 per cent then he would have needed stabilisation surgery.
From the accident, Blake lost five centimetres of height, going from 188cm to 183cm.
“I was pretty shocked to learn I’d broken my back,” he says.
“But it was clear I was really fortunate to not have damaged the spinal cord. It was the best possible outcome for breaking a back I guess.”
The long journey to recovery
Blake spent five nights in hospital and then went home to spend four weeks in bed. Following that, he was in a back brace for 12 weeks.
Blake says the first four weeks of his recovery were the hardest.
“You just wanted to lie down on your back and rot in bed, because it was the only thing that didn’t hurt. But I knew it wasn’t going to get any better if I lay there.”
He set an alarm on his watch for every hour and would force himself out of bed to walk to the end of the hallway and back. He got to the point where he could walk to the letterbox and then, in time, down the street.
“It was slow progress but it was good to make those small gains and get out of bed,” he says.
Blake is a senior manager of a forest management business and was able to continue in his work. He says the biggest impact of the accident was on his family.
“I have two young kids and my wife had to do it all. It was pretty challenging at times.”
‘We’re fortunate to have ACC’
Blake says the support of ACC and connecting with local physiotherapist Michael Cumming at Rehab Physio Centre were a huge boost in his rehabilitation.
“It’s at times like these you realise you’re fortunate to live in New Zealand and have the support of a scheme like ACC,” he says.
“They took care of everything so I could just focus on getting better.”
Blake was into cycling around 20 years ago and, after the accident, physio Michael advised getting back into it would help with his strength and mobility. So he bought a cheap bike and started riding again.
He saw an ad for the Tour of New Zealand cycle event on social media, and found out the NZ Spinal Trust had a team. He wanted to help raise funds and awareness for their work.
Around 220 people sustain a permanent spinal cord impairment in New Zealand every year.
The NZ Spinal Trust supports people with spinal cord impairments and their whānau to embrace positive futures.
“I know I was lucky to get away without any spinal damage, many others are not so lucky,” Blake says.
“I felt the opportunity to support the trust, who do incredible work for people with a spinal injury, and supporting these people was too good to turn down.”
Giving back and supporting others
Blake knows it will be a huge challenge to complete the 450km bike ride over five days. It begins in Greymouth and finishes on the Crown Range in Central Otago.
“There’s a few nerves there,” he says.
“I’ve done a bit of training but the test will be how my body copes with those sorts of distances back-to-back. I’m looking forward to the challenge and the banter with the other riders.”
Blake has good advice for people who’ve experienced a life-changing injury.
“Firstly, every person’s injury and journey are different,” he says.
“You have to take it one day at a time and chip away at those small gains. For me, it’s helped to have something to aim towards and be positive about.
“My injury has given me the perspective that a serious injury can happen to anyone so it’s about giving back and supporting others.”
Tour of New Zealand
7-11 April
Greymouth to Crown Range (Central Otago), 450km bike ride over five days.
Individual and teams cycling and fundraising event.
Over seven tours, $2.2 million has been raised for various charities.
For more information please visit the Tour of New Zealand website.
