dreadful, here's hoping for as much recovery as modern medicine and his iron will will make possible:
IndyCar driver Robert Wickens confirms he's paralyzed from waist down
Driver was injured in horrific crash at Pocono Raceway on August 19
October 26, 2018
For the first time since his serious crash at Pocono Raceway on Aug. 19, Robert Wickens has confirmed that he is paralyzed from the waist down.
Wickens made the announcement on his social media accounts Thursday night along with a video of him using his arms to slide off a rehabilitation table into his wheelchair. Looking on in the background of the video was his IndyCar Series team owner, Sam Schmidt, who is paralyzed from the neck down after he was involved in a crash at Walt Disney World Speedway on Jan. 6, 2000.
For the past several weeks, there has been renewed hope coming from Wickens as he posted positive videos of his rehab on social media. He posted a video last week of his legs making slight voluntary movement.
That gave some in the racing community false hope that the driver could return from the injuries to perhaps race again. But on Thursday night, Wickens gave a sobering analysis of the battle that he is facing simply to regain the use of his legs to any degree.
Injured Verizon IndyCar Series driver Robert Wickens issued another encouraging video Friday on his social media. It shows the driver hooked up to electrodes pedaling a machine as part of his physical ...
Initially on Instagram, Wickens posted the following:
“Did my first slide transfer as a paraplegic today. My upper body is getting stronger and stronger and hopefully I’ll be able to do it unassisted soon. I’ve only been posting videos of the small movement in my legs, but the reality is I am far away from walking on my own. Some people are a bit confused with the severity of my injury, so I wanted to let you know the reality of it. I’ve never worked harder for anything in my life, and I am giving it all I’ve got to spark those nerves in my legs."
Wickens was involved in a horrifying crash on lap 7 of the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway. It was the first full lap of green flag racing after the first six laps were run under caution because of a crash at the start of the race.
Wickens was battling Andretti Autosport driver Ryan Hunter-Reay in the “Tunnel Turn” in turn 2. He got the nose of his Honda underneath Hunter-Reay’s Honda, but as the turn closed up, Wickens ran into the side of Hunter-Reay’s car.
Team Penske is changing up its leadership pyramid in both its IndyCar and IMSA programs.Effective immediately, veteran race engineer Ron Ruzewski, who most recently served as technical director, has ...
That sent Wickens riding over the nose of Hunter-Reay’s machine and airborne into the catchfence. Once the car hit the fence, it dug in and immediately started to spin wildly. The car flew back over the top of the roll hoop on Hunter-Reay’s Honda before crashing in a mangled heap on the racing surface.
The 29-year-old driver from Guelph, Ontario, suffered an injury to his spinal cord as well as a thoracic spinal fracture, neck fracture, tibia and fibula fractures to both legs, four broken ribs, a broken right forearm, a broken elbow, fractures in both hands and a pulmonary contusion.
He spent several weeks at the Lehigh Valley-Cedar Crest Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania, before he was later transferred to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. That is where Wickens continues to undergo intensive physical rehabilitation in hopes that he can one day walk again.
The boyhood friend of IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe was a star driver in the European DTM Series before joining Hinchcliffe at Schmidt-Peterson Motorsports as a rookie driver in the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series.
Fernando Alonso is saying no to a full-time IndyCar campaign next year.The news comes a day after McLaren boss Zak Brown confirmed that the team won’t be running full-time in IndyCar in ...
He was an immediate sensation, winning the pole for his first-ever IndyCar start and nearly winning the race the following day in the March 11 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. He was involved in a late-race incident with Alexander Rossi on the final restart of the race with two laps to go and that ended his bid for victory.
Wickens would be a contender throughout the season but did not win a race. He finished second on two occasions at ISM Raceway near Phoenix on April 7 and in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on July 29.
His next race after Mid-Ohio was the ill-fated contest at Pocono Raceway that has left Wickens fighting to regain the slightest muscle movement in his legs.
Even without competing in the final three races of the season because of the serious crash, Wickens easily clinched the Sunoco IndyCar Rookie of the Year Award based on his performance throughout the season.
By Bruce Martin
source: https://autoweek.com/article/indycar/indycar-driver-robert-wickens-confirms-hes-paralyzed-waist-down
IndyCar driver Robert Wickens confirms he's paralyzed from waist down
Driver was injured in horrific crash at Pocono Raceway on August 19
October 26, 2018
For the first time since his serious crash at Pocono Raceway on Aug. 19, Robert Wickens has confirmed that he is paralyzed from the waist down.
Wickens made the announcement on his social media accounts Thursday night along with a video of him using his arms to slide off a rehabilitation table into his wheelchair. Looking on in the background of the video was his IndyCar Series team owner, Sam Schmidt, who is paralyzed from the neck down after he was involved in a crash at Walt Disney World Speedway on Jan. 6, 2000.
For the past several weeks, there has been renewed hope coming from Wickens as he posted positive videos of his rehab on social media. He posted a video last week of his legs making slight voluntary movement.
That gave some in the racing community false hope that the driver could return from the injuries to perhaps race again. But on Thursday night, Wickens gave a sobering analysis of the battle that he is facing simply to regain the use of his legs to any degree.
Injured Verizon IndyCar Series driver Robert Wickens issued another encouraging video Friday on his social media. It shows the driver hooked up to electrodes pedaling a machine as part of his physical ...
Initially on Instagram, Wickens posted the following:
“Did my first slide transfer as a paraplegic today. My upper body is getting stronger and stronger and hopefully I’ll be able to do it unassisted soon. I’ve only been posting videos of the small movement in my legs, but the reality is I am far away from walking on my own. Some people are a bit confused with the severity of my injury, so I wanted to let you know the reality of it. I’ve never worked harder for anything in my life, and I am giving it all I’ve got to spark those nerves in my legs."
Wickens was involved in a horrifying crash on lap 7 of the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway. It was the first full lap of green flag racing after the first six laps were run under caution because of a crash at the start of the race.
Wickens was battling Andretti Autosport driver Ryan Hunter-Reay in the “Tunnel Turn” in turn 2. He got the nose of his Honda underneath Hunter-Reay’s Honda, but as the turn closed up, Wickens ran into the side of Hunter-Reay’s car.
Team Penske is changing up its leadership pyramid in both its IndyCar and IMSA programs.Effective immediately, veteran race engineer Ron Ruzewski, who most recently served as technical director, has ...
That sent Wickens riding over the nose of Hunter-Reay’s machine and airborne into the catchfence. Once the car hit the fence, it dug in and immediately started to spin wildly. The car flew back over the top of the roll hoop on Hunter-Reay’s Honda before crashing in a mangled heap on the racing surface.
The 29-year-old driver from Guelph, Ontario, suffered an injury to his spinal cord as well as a thoracic spinal fracture, neck fracture, tibia and fibula fractures to both legs, four broken ribs, a broken right forearm, a broken elbow, fractures in both hands and a pulmonary contusion.
He spent several weeks at the Lehigh Valley-Cedar Crest Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania, before he was later transferred to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. That is where Wickens continues to undergo intensive physical rehabilitation in hopes that he can one day walk again.
The boyhood friend of IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe was a star driver in the European DTM Series before joining Hinchcliffe at Schmidt-Peterson Motorsports as a rookie driver in the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series.
Fernando Alonso is saying no to a full-time IndyCar campaign next year.The news comes a day after McLaren boss Zak Brown confirmed that the team won’t be running full-time in IndyCar in ...
He was an immediate sensation, winning the pole for his first-ever IndyCar start and nearly winning the race the following day in the March 11 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. He was involved in a late-race incident with Alexander Rossi on the final restart of the race with two laps to go and that ended his bid for victory.
Wickens would be a contender throughout the season but did not win a race. He finished second on two occasions at ISM Raceway near Phoenix on April 7 and in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on July 29.
His next race after Mid-Ohio was the ill-fated contest at Pocono Raceway that has left Wickens fighting to regain the slightest muscle movement in his legs.
Even without competing in the final three races of the season because of the serious crash, Wickens easily clinched the Sunoco IndyCar Rookie of the Year Award based on his performance throughout the season.
By Bruce Martin
source: https://autoweek.com/article/indycar/indycar-driver-robert-wickens-confirms-hes-paralyzed-waist-down
