Do you know how he was injured? It says freak accident, but what? Or was it a climbing accident?

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http://trainingoferic.blogspot.com/

I heard second-hand that he was at a wedding party (somewhere in the mountains, I presume) and a bunch of the guests jumped into a lake. Matt hit his head on something - a rock or the bottom of the lake - and broke his neck. They weren't being crazy, they weren't cliff diving or anything - just a bunch of guys hanging out enjoying a special occasion and celebrating. The type of thing we all look forward to after a week of work.

As far as I know, he hasn't climbed seriously for a few years because of school and family.

That's just about as sad as it gets.. I hope this gets bumped at least a dozen times so as many people as possible can have the opportunity to contribute.

sorry to hear about your good friend. same thing happened to a buddy of mine from a motorcycle accident. it's tough and alot of the person to adjust to. when something like this happens to someone close, makes you think differently about things, it makes you appreciate more.

So sad.

The smile on his daughter is amazing. Does SHE have insurance?

Best wishes to the family,

B

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"the only normal people are the ones you don't know"

"Does SHE have insurance?"

I'm sure that she does.

It's easy to be critical of him not having insurance - I shook my head when I heard. We all do the best we can with what we've got, but at the end of the day we're human and we make mistakes or bad decisions in any number of ways. While insurance might help pay the bills, it won't help Matt return to a normal life. Personally, the idea of giving money is the least I can think of doing. When something like this happens to a friend, it happens to you, too.

Very sorry for your friend and I hope he makes a recovery. That is one of the cutest baby's I have seen in a long time.

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infinIT Nutrition
Custom Blended Nutrition Solutions
http://www.infinITNutrition.com

OH no - not trying to be critical - REALLY. I was more thinking along the lines of perhaps contributions to fund insurance for the child in addition to Matt.

It's hard to imagine now, but back in the day during very lean times, we went for months without insurance and I have 3 kids. Now I'm horrified but understand that it happens now especially with the high cost of health care. It was a risk that as a parent I should never have taken.

B

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"the only normal people are the ones you don't know"

Man. i find is seriously messed up that in the richest county in the world, when something like this happens to a person you need to start a fund raising campaign. Health care is a right, not a privilege.

My sincere best wishes to you and your friend. He has a new situation now and will need to get accustom to a totally new lifestyle. But it doesn't mean he can't be happy and live a valuable, positive, and great life.

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Team Medique Powered by Silber Investments

So sorry about your friend. Seeing Mark Herreman win in Kona brought that home for me. You can be totally healthy one second and a split second later your life has changed.

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My business-eBodyboarding.com

I met Matt a couple of years ago at the Outdoor Retailer show. Have always been a fan of his climbing career.

I am sorry to hear of his accident. However it looks like he is blessed to still have the opportunity to spend time with the most important people in his life and raise his child.

Corbinb

Don't worry, I didn't take it that way.

I feel for your friend and his family this is a terrible situation. I just donated a to his fund.

I hope everyone on this board takes this incident to heart and makes sure that thier insurance situation is in order. Do you have enough insurance to cover medical expenses? Do you have short/long term disability insurance? I would be willing to bet that some people on this board are under insured. There have been a lot of threads lately about car on biker violence, so I decided that I should up my long term disability insurance to compensate for the added miles that I am on the road running and biking. Everyone on this board takes risks when they go out for a training ride/run/swim and we should all plan accordingly if something bad would happen. Again this is terrible situation but lets learn from it and make sure our house is in order.

bzzzzump

I agree with you. Was thinking the same thing on my way to work this morning.

My cousin's son graduated the top of his undergraduate class and was on the collegiate swim team. He was starting Tulane Law Scholl when Katrina hit. He evacuated okay. He went back for his truck, parked on a parking deck, but could not retrieve it because of flood waters not receding enough. He went and spent the night with some friends, and in the heat of the night, he went for a swim off their dock. He dove in.

"Life changes fast.
Life changes in the instant.
You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends."
--Joan Didion

He was paralyzed from the neck down. This kid who was the best of the best, who had only done good in his life, made one mistake. With his parents in Houston, him in New Orleans and another hurricane coming, everything became a huge mess. They were trying to get him stabilized and located in a safe hospital. Everything was a nightmare.

Many weeks later he was safe in a hospital, watching basketball on TV with his father, when he suddenly died from complications. It was quite sad.

This kid was the best of the best and did almost everything right his whole life. I, on the other hand, have done everything wrong. I have done stupid acts repeatedly, and have walked away unharmed when I should have died on countless occasions. I can never understand why people like him die and people like me live.

Yes, it keeps stuff in perspective.

Also, I was drilled early in school, in swim classes and ant home: "Never, ever dive into a lake or murky water where you cannot see the bottom. Never dive into a shallow pool or off a diving board into the 'quad' slope of a small pool. Never, never, never."

Is this no longer taught? There are few rules I follow in life. This is one of the big ones. Why do people keep doing this?

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"Remember: a bicycle is an elegant and efficient tool designed for seeking out and defeating people who aren't as good as you."

--BikeSnobNYC

The only thing I can say is very sorry to hear this and the Lord promises a better body when Jesus comes so do something good until the and you will be blessed.

God bless himm and his family.

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http://richardboscher.blogspot.com/

"Why do people keep doing this?"

I think we all do things all the time that we know we shouldn't do. Every so often, one of us gets nabbed.

I think God blew it on this one.

God doesn't make choices for people he asks and its there decision from there. This maybe another path for this young man. My do people blame God for bad things? I think they look the wrong way on that!

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http://richardboscher.blogspot.com/

That's exactly the type of stuff that keeps me up at night worrying about my two teenagers. One wrong choice, decision, or action can instantly change their lifes in a bad way. I pray that they have the same luck that I did because I shouldn't be here typing this right now.

Jason-
Like you've said, I don't know you from a hole in the wall. I've been around here for quite a few years and respect your posts. One of my close friends recently lost his father from complications resulting from a mountain bike accident that left him a quadrapalegic for 10 years. That is a long time. It is unimaginable how difficult life is with that injury. Your body is unable to perform the most basic of tasks (like temperature control, etc).

That being said, I have a 6 month old daughter that is amazing. It cracks me up thinking of what this family has to go through from here.

I just made a donation for 75 bucks. It pales in comparison to what is needed, but it's a start. Pass on the best wishes - Ernie

Man, that's so nice of you. Thanks.

Health care is a right, not a privilege.


Is this really a thread we should politicise?

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