PALA, Calif. (KGTV) - A San Diego native and veteran dirt bike racer is showing remarkable signs of progress three months after a devastating crash left him a partial quadriplegic.
Steve Webb, 62, was training for an upcoming competition at Fox Raceway in Pala when the accident occurred in May. Despite wearing his helmet, a routine jump went wrong.
"I mis-shifted. In other words, the bike went into neutral. Immediately went forward, real far forward and so far forward that I just pretty much fell off the bike. The back of my head hit and I compressed," Webb said.
Webb remained conscious throughout the ordeal but immediately knew something was seriously wrong.
"No pain, couldn't move, very scared," Webb said. "And my feet were tingling. And like within, within seconds it went from my feet all the way up to my neck.”
At the hospital, Webb underwent surgery for four fractures in his neck. His spinal cord was damaged but not severed. Doctors diagnosed him with incomplete quadriplegia, meaning he was paralyzed from the neck down but might regain some movement.
About three weeks later, Webb experienced a breakthrough while asleep.
"It's kind of weird to say, but my arms were glued together, and all of a sudden I broke that little bit of glue, and then all of a sudden my arm just went up," Webb said. “Just an amazing feeling.”
Within a few weeks, Webb was able to stand on his own and gradually progressed to taking steps with assistance.
"I'm being able to move both of my legs and I can walk and walker with somebody right behind me," Webb said. “I still can’t really control where I’m going.”
Webb is now at his second rehabilitation facility, approaching therapy with the same determination he brought to motocross training for more than five decades.
“God is behind me on this, and he's working with me on it. And I believe in my heart I'm gonna walk again," said an emotional Webb.
A Gofundme campaign has been set up to help Webb with medical and other expenses.
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