“The Accident”
Retired Chief Warrant Officer 4 Phillip Sherwood, a program integrator for the System Simulation and Development Directorate, was seriously injured while competing in a Motocross event Oct. 20 at the Pleasant Hill Motocross track in Decatur, Alabama. On Nov. 1, he was released from Huntsville Hospital NICU, after recuperating from two surgeries, and was moved to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, where he is participating in a specialized rehabilitation program.
October 20th was a day I waited for with much anticipation like a little boy waiting for Christmas. The Fall N.E.A.T. schedule was posted in the summer and low and behold, Pleasant Hill MX was the 12th of 14 races in the series. Since this is my favorite local track and next favorite after Cycle Ranch in Texas, I counted down the days until this date. I like this track because of its proximity to my house, its upkeep by the owner, and mostly for how well it flows. I always have ridden well on this track and even the former national AMA pro, Clark Stiles, had positive comments on my riding there. {mosimage}The Monday night October 15th, I began getting my bike and gear prepped. Usually I do this on Friday night so my dog Kari was confused the next morning when I left for work in my Honda S2000 and not the Ford Pickup. It was funny.
Saturday morning the weather was brisk and all the SNAGs (Slow North Alabama Geezers) were showing up in force. Oh the day was turning out great. The track was prepped to the point of emulating grandma’s flower bed. Practice was smooth and I felt really fast and smooth easily entering the “zone” before completing the first lap. I signed up for the Vet 30 and Vet 40 classes that I was running the entire season and continually battling my arch nemesis #4 Brian Robertson for the top spot. {mosimage}Although he normally beats me on other tracks, I felt today was my day. The first moto Vet 30 went well. I finished 2nd but had him in my sights when we crossed the finish line. The second moto was the vet 40 and the gate was nearly full with SNAGs. Again I placed at the top in this race and my confidence was high and my level of exertion low. After intermission, we head out for the 3rd moto Vet 30 and again I locked in 2nd but right on the coattail of the lead. I made several pass attempts on him throughout the moto but couldn’t make them stick long enough. {mosimage}At least he worked hard for it. After a brief rest, it was time to suit up and head to the starting gate for the final race of the day. Like always, I pet Kari, told him to stay, and said papi will be back soon. Little did I know I would not see him again for a long time.
It was my Vet 40 brethren on the line. Scooter was first setup on the right side of the dog house and I way on the left. Something compelled him to back out of his gate and position himself in the open spot beside me. All was great and we knuckle knocked wishing each other luck. With Brian on my left and Scooter on my right, I was in the comfort zone however my holeshot device had broken the previous race leaving me to start in a conventional manner. The 30-second cardholder gave us the thumbs up to start our engines as the previous race was coming off the track. As he held the card over his head and pointed to each of us on the line to ensure our readiness for the gate drop, the card went sideways. The gate drops anytime between 0-5 seconds. My bike was revved at ¾ throttle and my focus was on the gate hinge anticipating the trigger mechanism. The gate dropped and I released the clutch however when my front tire hit the gate as I crossed over it, my front end popped up and I wheelied losing valuable time and traction. I slipped the clutch to bring the front end back down then clicked up to 3rd and just pulled the throttle back to the stop and held on. The first turn was a tight left hander but I held on as long as I could before shifting down and grabbing some front brake. I was able to make it back up to about 4th coming out of the first turn into the dragon back. I saw #4 pulling on me as he already landed on the backside so I hit it as hard as I could and sailed. This is a blind simple jump I had done hundreds of times before but this time as I crested the top, the guy in second or third had shifted over to the left and I came down on top of him not having anywhere else to go. My bike was immediately taken out from beneath me as I went flying to the right upside done. I knew it was going to hurt so I braced for the fall to my head. I hit hard but as my body was doubling over from the impact, I felt a sudden thump then another in my back. I immediately heard and felt my spine break as I settled to the ground on my back. My hands worked but everything was numb from mu stomach down. I’m not sure who came to me first but I immediately told them I couldn’t feel my legs and I think I am paralyzed. The race was red flagged and more and more people came over to me. The medic came to me and did a quick assessment then put me on a backboard then loaded me onto the back of a four wheeler and removed me from the track. The bumpy ride was super painful. I heard them call for an airlift as I continued receiving questions by the EMT medic. I never lost consciousness but my mind was racing a million miles per hour now with fear of the severity of the situation. It seemed like the helo was there in record time. I was put inside and we lifted off immediately to embark on the most difficult 18-minute flight of my aviation career. {mosimage}As a former MEDEVAC pilot myself, Cliff the pilot did a great job getting me to the ER and landing like the chopper was on a big pillow. The rest of the ER experience was fast and furious. I lost track of how many times I was stuck with needles but I kept trying to remember everyone’s name to help keep presence of the situation. The next week would prove to be my most difficult challenge ever. These notes can be found in the UPDATES!!! Section of the website. This is the story as I best can remember it.
Although I ended up with a T-5 incomplete injury, the reality is highly unlikely that I will ever walk again. This was a risk I felt to be acceptable and have come to peace with long ago. I will not try to talk other motocrossers into leaving the sport. We all have our dreams to fulfill and although I hurt now, it would have hurt more and for longer to be denied the sport I have so much passion for. I do not believe in living like the boy in the bubble or a turtle afraid to come out of its shell. Life is a crapshoot and “snake eyes” can come up at anytime for any of us. I have so much to be thankful for seeing the folks here at Shepherd with much more serious injuries than my own. I was lucky in the fact that I was hurt doing what I love most. Over 90% of the folks here were not so fortunate. Had I slipped in the bath tub, fallen down a flight of stairs, or been mugged and shot, I am sure my attitude would be different. I gained so much by losing a little. Although I am in a wheelchair now, I am still the same person inside and always will be.
