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Gncc rider badly injured
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Posted by: DeCesare Racing

Dirk DeCesare #21 pro rider was badly injured Saturday about 1/4 of a mile into the race. Currentley in the East Texas Hospital pilimanary results show that he has a broken vertabre at the T-4, T-5, and T-6. I will keep everyone posted and please keep him in your thoughts and prays.

Luke DeCesare

Posted by: Pappy

please relay our wishes for a speedy recovery

Posted by: Guy400

Ouch

My prayers for a speedy and full recovery.

Posted by: gizmocor

So sorry to hear about this. Dirk has been an awesome competitor and I was excited to see him running Pro. Hope he makes a full recovery!!!!

EASTHILL

Posted by: GNCCer

I saw that he wrecked but had no idea it was that bad. I am very sorry to here this news. Please relay my best wish to him.

Posted by: 3rdtimescharm

Sorry to hear about it.. hope for the best..

Posted by: ILGNCC400EX

i hope things turn out ok

Posted by:

I hate to hear that. Tell him all of us at exriders.com are thinkin of him and wish him the best.

Posted by: 660bigdaddy

we will be praying for dirk and his family. please keep us informed.

Posted by: Braff1

Sorry to hear about his injury. Please convey our wishes for a full and speedy recovery.

Dan

Posted by: Ryan

quote:
Originally posted by Rico

I hate to hear that. Tell him all of us at exriders.com are thinkin of him and wish him the best.

Posted by: mtdewracing

sorry to here about the injury and hope you have a speedy recovery- rick

Posted by: Matt756

hope for speedy recovery and best of wishes

Posted by: BUCK442

We are all praying for you! Get Well Soon.

Note to all other Riders:
When You see 10 to 15 people flagging you to slow down DO IT! The crash was in front of our motor home and since I raced in the a.m. was on the scene flagging people to slow down. Some course officials were very angry at some of the riders who disregarded the helpers. This is uncalled for and put a seriously injured rider and paramedics at risk.

Hang in there Dirk!

Posted by: justdirt

quote:
Originally posted by BUCK442
We are all praying for you! Get Well Soon.

Note to all other Riders:
When You see 10 to 15 people flagging you to slow down DO IT! The crash was in front of our motor home and since I raced in the a.m. was on the scene flagging people to slow down. Some course officials were very angry at some of the riders who disregarded the helpers. This is uncalled for and put a seriously injured rider and paramedics at risk.

Hang in there Dirk!

i agree, i run 4 stroke A so i went through there right after it happened and i saw everybody flagging us down so i slowed down and moved up (away from Dirk) and i bet 10 or 15 guys passed me, they didn't slow down at all.

get well soon Dirk!

Posted by: big bad beny

thats a bad deal i am sorry to here that, what hapend can enyone tell us what hapend. I hop to see Dirk at sparta or the Ironman.

P.S. Ride Red and Ride Hard

Posted by: 400ex#18

quote:
Originally posted by Rico

I hate to hear that. Tell him all of us at exriders.com are thinkin of him and wish him the best.

good luck with the recovery

Posted by: TLC

Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Traci and Rick

Posted by: gncc571

quote:
Originally posted by BUCK442
We are all praying for you! Get Well Soon.

Note to all other Riders:
When You see 10 to 15 people flagging you to slow down DO IT! The crash was in front of our motor home and since I raced in the a.m. was on the scene flagging people to slow down. Some course officials were very angry at some of the riders who disregarded the helpers. This is uncalled for and put a seriously injured rider and paramedics at risk.

Hang in there Dirk!

I saw the same thing,I slowed down for it and 3 or 4 guys passed me.
Get well soon Dirk

Posted by: Scott Kawi700

Very sorry to hear this. We will keep him and his family in our thoughts. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Posted by: turnandburn

Get well sone!

Posted by: DeCesare Racing

Well here is somewhat of an update. He can move his legs and arms but he broke 4 vertebrae in his back. The doctor said his spine is supposed to be at 0-1 degrees, right now his is at 30 degrees. They are going to try to put a brace on it on tuesday so he can at least fly back to ohio and go to the cleveland clinic. So it is kinda wait and see how that goes. If he can't get a brace on, then he will probably need some extensive surgery

He is in good spirits although I dont think he wants to ride a yamaha again. He said he is going to race his 250R from now on. If anyone wants, I will give you our address if you want to send a card. He would really appreciate it. He is in alot of pain right now so we are just trying to keep him motivated.

560 Carson Salt Springs Road
Mineral Ridge, OH 44440
330-652-7806

I dont know when he will be back. He is still in the ICU in Texas but I will keep updating the boards. Thank you for your support. He said he wants to make another Pro debut since this one didnt last very long...

Posted by: QuadJunkies

quote:
Originally posted by Guy400
Ouch

My prayers for a speedy and full recovery.

Thanks for the update, sounds like he is in good spirits if Hes considering switching rides....

Posted by: MooseRacing

Wishing him the best of luck on a quick and successful recovery.

Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help out.

Posted by: crayfz

Luke thanks for the updates, we were wondering how to find out. I'll see you in Clev. Dirk stay strong.

Posted by: Admin

I am so sorry to hear the awful news about Dirk. I saw that he didn't finish a lap on the score sheet, but I had no clue that he was injured. My thoughts and prayers go out to him, and I really pray that he can wear the brace without surgery.

Please keep us posted on his progress, and I wish him the very best.

Posted by: Jeff@TireBalls

That was the worst wreck I've ever seen! I was directly behind him when it happened. It was in a slight left hand sweeper with some rain ruts crossing the track. When he hit the first one the rear end kicked up in the air, when it came back down it hit another rut causing the rear to start swapping side to side sending him flying off the bike. All I could see was his bike tumbling like I've never seen one tumble before and I was heading straight into it. Just as I was braced for the impact, his bike bounced up and I went underneath it.
Someone was watching over my shoulder and I know that he's watching over Dirks. Get well soon Dirk!

Posted by: greghall

glad to hear he can move that sends chills thruogh me when I hear a racer gets hurt like that hope hes up and around soon.

Posted by: pairanutz

sorry to hear this -best wishes on recovery and prayers for him

Posted by: RUNMYTA

Broken backs are the worst! I feel and know his pain. In 1996 I was hit from behind while stopped in traffic by a drunk driver. The kicker is that I was on my ZX-6 Street Bike. 1 Crushed vertabrae and 2 fractured.

Dirk, hang in there buddy!! Let us know if there is anything we can do!
Mike

Posted by: stamperbob

our prayers are with ya Dirk, Keep us posted on his status

Posted by: LaegerTRX250R

Dirk is one of the nicest young gentleman you will ever meet. Good luck and please have a safe speedy recovery.

Blaine Shick

Posted by: EASTHILL

Best of luck on a speedy recovery-

Posted by: QuadRacer041

best of luck for a speedy recovery

Posted by: gncc400exxx

sorry to hear this -best wishes on recovery

Posted by: EX4me

Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Getting ready to have back surgery myself.

Posted by: xcracer999

I am very sorry to here about your injury Dirk. I hate when other racers/riders get hurt. You will definately be in my prayers and I hope to see you back out on the track as soon as possible. Remember think posotive and don't give up.
Best wishes
-Justin-

Posted by: AtvMxRider

Posted by: K_Fulk

I hope he makes a quick recovery.

Posted by: xcyfz450

i am very sorry to here about your injurl hope you get well soon dirk youll be in my thoughts and prayers. mike pellegrini 2004 xc141

i have also just got off the phone with kish family who where the first ones on the seen. it happened right in front of there trailer and joe kish started to slow people down and get others to slow the on coming quads, while his wife peggy kish who is a rn attended to dirk. he asked me to post this for them because they have been worried about him since it happened and hopes for a recovery and they will be thinking and praying for dirk

Posted by: missatvandb

My Prayers are with him and his family. Get well soon.

**ASHLEY HENSHAW**
#7

Posted by: Smokey

We all wish him a very speedy recovery

Posted by: YLW400

I really hate to hear things like that

My prayers go out to him and his family.....

Posted by: angwell

good luck on quick recovery, hope to see back at it soon!!!

Angel

Posted by: 400exmom

my prayers are with you

Posted by: Tommy 17

get well soon man!!!!

jeff u were lucky...

Posted by: Silverfox@C&DRacing

Get well soon, we pray for a quick and full recovery.

Colby and Dusty

I would have to agree Jeff was lucky

Posted by: Jeff@TireBalls

quote:
Originally posted by Silverfox@C&DRacing
Get well soon, we pray for a quick and full recovery.

Colby and Dusty

I would have to agree Jeff was lucky

Ya, that kinda shook me up a little.
Johnny C wasn't as lucky, he hit Dirks bike and someone hit him from behind but at least he wasn't hurt.

Posted by: DeCesare Racing

Hey Guys,
Dirk got taken out of the ICU today. He is going to be down there for a couple weeks. They put a brace on him today and took X Rays to see if the brace will work. He is still in a ton of pain but his spirits are up. If you want to send him something, here is his address

East Texas Medical Center
Attn: Dirk DeCesare
Room 3337
1000 South Beckham Ave.
Tyler, TX 75701

Posted by: Pappy

can you get a laptop to him?

and im glad to see his spirits are up!!!!!!

Posted by: DeCesare Racing

No laptop, but I am mailing him all the posts that you guys write to keep him in good spirits. I do this on a daily basis.

Posted by: Pappy

ok...

ill send him something out tomarrow

Posted by: YLW400

Thats great that he is out of ICU..Hope he continues to get better!!!!!

Posted by: crayfz

No chance they can fly him back this way? Dave S

Posted by: DeCesare Racing

If the brace stabilizes his back enough, then the plan is to fly him back to ohio. Hopefully the xrays tomorrow will tell us if the brace is going to work. I will post the info as soon as I find out tomorrow night.

Posted by: QuadJunkies

quote:
Originally posted by YLW400
Thats great that he is out of ICU..Hope he continues to get better!!!!!

Ditto!!!!!Thats WONDERFUL news!!!!!

Posted by: Admin

Thanks for keeping us posted on Dirk's Condition, and I pray the brace works for him.

Posted by: JustRace

I hope he gets well soon. One thing I know from experiences like this is that you realize just how unimportant atv's are in the entire grand scheme of life.

Posted by: greghall

I hope he recovers completly & can ride again soon,It must be terrible to be stuck in a hospital so far from home I hope they take good care of him hopfully this wont cause him finacial hard ship & has good insurence.

Posted by:

I just printed this entire thread out and mailed it to Dirk at the hospital.. Hope it gets his spirits up..

GNCCracing.com has mailing addy's for both the hospital and home.

Posted by: Jeff@TireBalls

quote:
Originally posted by Rico
I just printed this entire thread out and mailed it to Dirk at the hospital.. Hope it gets his spirits up..

GNCCracing.com has mailing addy's for both the hospital and home.

Luke already beat you to it boy

Posted by: lol

quote:
Originally posted by Matt756
hope for speedy recovery and best of wishes

Posted by: Johnny_G

quote:
Originally posted by DeCesare Racing
If the brace stabilizes his back enough, then the plan is to fly him back to ohio. Hopefully the xrays tomorrow will tell us if the brace is going to work. I will post the info as soon as I find out tomorrow night.

Luke how is he doing?

Is the brace going to be enough to get him home?

Dirk if you get this....keep your spirits up bro.

Ya know this is a pretty elaborate way to get out of going riding with me! As soon as you are better i am gonna hold you to your word, and we are going practicing!

Luke:
if you need anything gimme a call i am only 1/2 hour away, if they aren't gonna let him get on a plane maybey we can rent a motor home, and go pick him up?

Whata ya say Dirk you up for a roadie?

Posted by: Admin

Yes, Luke, Please keep us Posted on Dirk

Posted by: YLW400

Johnny G??? I don't know any of you guys, but I did hear the term "roadie"

Can I come, can I ,can I?

On a more serious note, I hope all is going well......

Posted by: BSTURDIVANT

Best of luck on your recovery!! I crashed in the first ditch out of the 4 stroke A start. Dust kept me from seeing it until I was right on it. The handlebars landed just inches from me on the last tumble- Tag 2s and about 300.00 worth of parts destroyed.

I can replace quad parts, but just shows how lucky we can be to salvage our body parts.

Posted by: Meek

BSTURDIVANT
You were in front of me, and to the right. I think you hit a bigass rock also. All I saw was your quad go end over end.

Glad to see every one is doing ok

Them there rocks is big in TEXAS

Posted by: Jeff@TireBalls

quote:
Originally posted by Meek

Them there rocks is big in TEXAS

LMAO.....just wait till you go to Rausch and The Wisp!

Posted by: QuadRacer041

quote:
Originally posted by Jeff@QuadShop
LMAO.....just wait till you go to Rausch and The Wisp!

jeff, how would u rate the rausch gncc coarse copared to the others in the series difficulty wise?

Posted by: Jeff@TireBalls

Its pretty tuff with all the rocks but well worth racing it! Not quite as rocky as The Wisp in 2002.

Posted by: QuadRacer041

yea it was fun, i raced there last year and it was my first gncc race.....man i thought it was a real tuff coarse.all the othe harescramble races i did after that seemed like a walk in the park.

Posted by: DeCesare Racing

Great News everyone. I just got back from Texas. What a weekend. Sat @ 6am I Fly to Texas, pick up my dad and the truck and trailer and drive back to ohio. Now it is Sunday @ 6pm and I am ready for bed.

What you have all been waiting for. Dirk is flying home on Tuesday, Wed. at the latest. The brace is all he is going to need right now. He will have to go to the doctors about once a week for three months to make sure everything heals straight but surgery is not required.

Johnny G, you missed the roadtrip... but I am sure Dirk would love to hear from you. Give him a call later in the week and he should be up to talking. In about a year, he will be back to hopefully practicing with you.

He is doing really good from last week. Everyday he has to try to walk a little farther down the hallway but he keeps going. The doctor told him it will probably take about a year for rehab but he should be able to race again if he wants to.

Our whole family thanks everyone for their support. His room is full of stuff and it really helps keep him motivated. I will give you guys another update once I figure out when he is coming home.

He told me he wants to ride Ironman because he doesnt think he will have enough points to stay in Pro class for next year. Can you tell what is on his mind??

Posted by: AtvMxRider

quote:
Originally posted by DeCesare Racing
Great News everyone. I just got back from Texas. What a weekend. Sat @ 6am I Fly to Texas, pick up my dad and the truck and trailer and drive back to ohio. Now it is Sunday @ 6pm and I am ready for bed.

What you have all been waiting for. Dirk is flying home on Tuesday, Wed. at the latest. The brace is all he is going to need right now. He will have to go to the doctors about once a week for three months to make sure everything heals straight but surgery is not required.

Johnny G, you missed the roadtrip... but I am sure Dirk would love to hear from you. Give him a call later in the week and he should be up to talking. In about a year, he will be back to hopefully practicing with you.

He is doing really good from last week. Everyday he has to try to walk a little farther down the hallway but he keeps going. The doctor told him it will probably take about a year for rehab but he should be able to race again if he wants to.

Our whole family thanks everyone for their support. His room is full of stuff and it really helps keep him motivated. I will give you guys another update once I figure out when he is coming home.

He told me he wants to ride Ironman because he doesnt think he will have enough points to stay in Pro class for next year. Can you tell what is on his mind??

That is good to hear. Keep us updated on his progress.

Posted by: QuadJunkies

WONDERFUL NEWS!!!! Thanks for the report I guess all the get wells are payin off!!!

Posted by: Admin

Great to hear the Good News!!!

Also, tell him not to worry about not being able to race the following year because I will do everything in my power to insure that he doesn't lose his Pro Status! I think Racer Productions will be very understanding and allow Dirk to compete in Pro again next year even if he isn't able to compete in any races this year. Dirk is a true talent, and I look forward to seeing him back on the track 100%.

Concentrate on healing, and I hope to see you soon as a spectator

for now!

Posted by: markk

Hope you get well soon, It sucks to hear about a fellow race injured, Just be caruful when u get out , and il pray for u!

Posted by: mobyplane

I just found out about the injury today. While reading all the replies, my prayers for Dirk DeCesare began. By the time I had finished reading all the threads, my prayers were being answered. Life isn't fair, but God is good. As a racer myself, (Mid-East Hare Scramble Assoc.) I don't like to think that this could happen to me. Of course, none of us are immune. From the Bill Ballances all the way down to the guy who creeps in at last place, we all face the same dangers inherent to this sport that we love. My prayers at this time are not only for Dirk's full recovery, but also for his family, his friends, and all of the racers who face this danger every time we go out and line up at the green flag.
Best Wishes Dirk!

Jeff Mayse

Posted by: jdwxv3

I wish you the Best! Just found out about this today browsing the site. My family went through a simalar situation two summers ago. It is very tough but stay strong and concentrate on getting recovered. My bro made it through and you can to! Stay Strong and I hope to see you back! You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Josh

Posted by: gncc571

anybody heard anything lately on hows he's doing?

Posted by: intruder

yes please update us

Posted by: EXriderKID00

tell him i hopes for a speedy and good recovery

Posted by: DeCesare Racing

Mom here - I found this site by accident and really don't know how to navigate in it but will try.

The news is ......that Dirk is home and recovering. He did have a fracture of the T3, T4, T5, and T6 with transverse fractures. The doctors say it will take time and healing. Hopefully, surgery will be avoided - time will tell.

Dirk is fully aware of what happened and is talking about the race. He'd like to visit FLorida (as a spectator of course) but the doctor isn't permitting (and neither am I!). However, he's hoping to return asap!

For now, we are trying to keep his spirits up and encouraging him along. His is bored - a good sign, I'd say.

To all those who have included us in your prayers and thoughts, THANKS. I wrote to GNCC last week but they did not post my letter. You never know how encouraging a card or just a few words can be until you've been in these shoes.

Some have asked to send a card to his home. That would be great! Our address is:

Dirk DeCesare
560 Carson Salt Springs Road
Mineral Ridge, OH 44440
Phone - 330-652-7806

Again, many thanks to the Kish family who may have very well saved his life by getting him out of the way of oncoming riders.

Posted by: intruder

Thanks for the update. Being a parent of a racer that has had to have plates in his arm twice I know how tuff things could be. All my son ever thinks about is racing and I bet it's the same with Dirk. Most important thing is to heal and then come back stronger than ever. Keep your spirits up.

Posted by: gncc571

Thanks for the update "Mom"glad to hear he's home and doing good.Tell him to hang in there and we are all thinking of him.

Posted by: sprtrx300ex

Hope you get better soon!

Posted by: Pappy

as long as his spirits are good then recovery will be much better for him!!! im very glad to hear the updated info...many thanks!!!

Posted by: SGA

Thats good news! We are all thinking of Dirk and hope he gets better soon.

Posted by: Ryan

Glad to hear he is recovering well!

Posted by: 4fiddyR

Get well soon!

Posted by: SGA

Been 2 weeks since the last reply, Hows Dirk doing??

Posted by: DeCesare Racing

Hey Everyone,

Sorry for not posting recently but want to hear some crazy news? Well Dirk went to the doctors this week and the doctors told him that he is fine now. No more brace and no more worries for the time being. Basically being in such great shape his body healed super fast and strong. He is going to start his training again and in 3 weeks should be back on a quad. I think we are going to come to the Wisp and watch and I believe his return to GNCC will be at the Ironman. He wants to make sure he can come back and compete at the same level he was at. I think we will be hitting up some local races in the summer break but believe me I don't think this has slowed him down at all.

I would like to thank everyone for the support. He would not have made this recovery without all of his friends and sponsors.

See ya soon at the Races,

Luke

Posted by: Jumbo747

excellent news to hear

Posted by: SGA

quote:
Originally posted by Jumbo747
excellent news to hear

Yes sir, thats real good news to hear.

Posted by: QuadJunkies

thats good news!!!

Posted by: AtvMxRider

quote:
Originally posted by QuadJunkies
thats good news!!!

Posted by: jdwxv3

Man that is so awesome! I was worried about how he was doing. This is great news it has made my day!

GO DIRK!!!

U da man