Last month The Star ran a profile of Eldon Roush, the KCOI Boulevard Racing team member paralyzed in a race crash earlier this year…

Posted on Wed, Jun. 13, 2007

Challenges ahead for bike racer Bicycle racer holds out hope to ride again after paralyzing accident

Overland Park resident Eldon Roush strives to come back strong from a racing accident that paralyzed him.

By SARAH BENSON
The Kansas City Star

“This is my worst nightmare come true, but all I can do is move forward.”

Eldon Roush

In April, Eldon Roush was rounding out the final lap of a high-speed bicycle race near Lawrence when — in his words — a “freak accident” occurred.As Roush leaned into a curve at about 35 mph, his pedal clipped the ground, forcing his rear tire into the air. Roush skidded off the track, over his bike and into a ravine.

“I remember flying through the air and thinking, ‘Oh, crud, this is going to hurt,’ ” Roush says.

In competitive bike races like this one, crashes are fairly common. But this one was different. Roush tried to get up, but couldn’t move his lower half. Minutes later, he was airlifted to the University of Kansas Medical Center, and later that afternoon, he was in surgery. His doctors say they aren’t sure if he’ll ever walk or ride a bike again.

Today, Roush sits in a purple and black wheelchair. He hasn’t ridden a bike in at least a month but he still looks like a cyclist. He wears black athletic shorts and a yellow Livestrong bracelet on his right wrist. His T-shirt advertises Boulevard Brewing Co., which sponsors his team, KCOI-Boulevard Racing. Even though he uses the wheelchair, Roush is active. He’s constantly moving his arms or adjusting something on the chair. He doesn’t like to sit still.

Roush has cycled competitively for 10 years. He says he’s been to hundreds of races and describes himself as “competitive” and — sometimes — “arrogant.”

“My goal was to get on a bike and beat everyone I could,” he says.

That competitive streak goes way back to Roush’s playground days. He grew up in Morrill, Kan., a tiny town on the state’s northern edge, and says all the other boys were four or five years older. That meant he had to work extra hard to stay competitive. Roush ran track and played football throughout college at Ottawa University.

Since the accident, Roush has undergone intensive physical therapy and has spent more nights in the hospital than at his home in Overland Park. His wife, Janet, and his daughter, Emma, 11, have helped him through the ups and downs of treatment. And recently there has been an outpouring of support from the tightly knit local cycling community.

KCOI-Boulevard Racing recently held a benefit at ReVerse at the plaza. The team’s president, Walter Bleser, says the event raised $3,000. Also, the Kansas Cycling Association has a donation button on its Web site that allows anyone to donate money to the Eldon Roush Fund. That fund has generated an additional $3,200, Bleser says.

And that’s just the monetary support.

Friends of the Roush family — many of them cyclists — have pitched in to mow the lawn and spread mulch. Others widened the bathroom door, installed hardwood floors in the living room and built a wheelchair ramp in the garage.

Bleser says that people from the cycling community have been contacting him since the accident to find out how Roush is doing and how they can help. He says that the cycling community is closer than many sports communities because it’s small.

“Bike racing demands a lot of your time. Only so many people can give that much time,” Bleser says. Also, he adds, “you just get to meet everyone that does it. Next thing you know, you’re all friends.”

Roush admits he’s not used to having so much done for him.

“That’s the kind of family we are,” he explains. “We don’t like to be in debt with anybody.”

Already, Roush is planning ways to pay back his friends. He wants to give back the community in some way, perhaps by starting a fund for spinal cord research. He also wants to invite some of his cycling friends to visit the children at The Rehabilitation Institute in Kansas City to pass out jerseys. Many of the other patients, he’s quick to point out, have worse injuries.

“With spinal cord injuries, the number one thing you’ll hear from doctors is that ‘we don’t know,’ ” Roush says. He adds that his doctors tell him he should be a quadriplegic, that he shouldn’t be able to use his arms. But aside from tingling and weakness in his hands, Roush can move his arms just fine, which Janet Roush sees as a good sign.

“We believe in miracles. We keep hoping he may walk,” she says.

Roush is now facing one of the biggest challenges of his life. Luckily, his competitive nature is intact.

“This is my worst nightmare come true, but all I can do is move forward,” Roush says. “I’m not beaten yet.”

To contribute
To make a donation to the Eldon Roush Fund, visit www.kscycling.org for details.
| To reach Sarah Benson, call 913-234-7727 or send e-mail to sbenson@kcstar.com.
© 2007 Kansas City Star and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.kansascity.com