FMX Insider No.23: Andy’s Recovery

Welcome to our brand new weekly web-exclusive column, Transmoto‘s FMX Insider. Penned each week by South Australian rider, Ben Heidrich, the FMX Insider will present the story-behind-the-stories of the Aussie and international freestyle motocross scenes. 

It’s hard to believe that it has been over two years since Andy Hensel’s life changing motorcycle accident. For the past 27 months, Andy has lived without the use of his lower body; but not once has he shown any sign of defeat. In just two years he has already managed to inspire so many people with his positive outlook on life. Andy is now back riding and is one of the first paraplegics in the world to rotate Backflips to dirt on a full size 350cc motorcycle. Aside from riding and being a positive role model, Andy’s main goal is to regain movement of his legs. He trains hard nearly everyday and is headstrong to get back up on his feet. I caught up with Andy for a chat about his recent plans and how the rehab his going.

Ben: So first off, how long have you been on the road to recovery and since the accident, how long have you been training and doing physio?

Andy: Well my crash was June 29, 2012, followed by seven months in hospital. I originally moved home to Moonta Bay, South Australia and worked out what my body was doing. I was training on a gym ball and lifting weights to bulk up my upper body. I wasn’t doing rehab work below my injury and I had to wear myself out to sleep better and improve my mental health. This year I started my journey to the Gold Coast, Queensland to start rehab at Making Strides.

Now I have started at rehab, and I have been training there three to four times a week. These sessions are two to three hours a day, plus the upper body work I do at the gym. This includes free weights to build up core strength, shoulders, back and chest to help me be as active as I can be without getting fatigued. In my new house where I live with American spinal cord rehabber, Genny, and Making Strides legend, Kristee, I’ve got a really good routine happening. I am up at 6:30 AM and get the day started with protein shakes and fruit. Then I go to the gym to do shoulder work which I’ve found helps a lot with turning my core on. This is a good start to the day at physio and I am getting strong results just from changing the start of the day routine. I am looking forward to the future and the training with Genny and the Making Strides crew.

You had plans to go to America, so when and why did you change your plans and stay in Australia? Why was this more beneficial?

Yes, once I had my accident I had the idea that Project Walk was the best facility for me to attend and reach my goal of standing and walking again. But as time went on, we all learnt more and more about the injury and come across Making Strides where a Project Walk trainer was working there full-time. This was exciting news for me as I knew $50,000 would last three months in America attending Project Walk, which isn’t very long in the scale and length of my recovery to get better. So after meeting and chatting with the Making Strides crew and Genny, we came to the conclusion that consistency and dedication over a longer time would be more beneficial than packing up and moving to the states for rehab. Genny is a major part of Making Strides – she loves spinal cord rehab and is extremely passionate about it. She had moved here to start Making Strides after working at Project Walk in America. I always give everything – I do my best and that most importantly applies to my rehab and training schedule and there isn’t much else we can do to help my body recover without playing with stem cell treatment ideas. It is costing approxamintly $2500 a month to train here, which means I can get so much more out of the funds raised for me to get better. The more I continue with rehab the more I learn about my body and how it’s reacting.

Where are you living now and how is that going for you?

I live on the Gold Coast, Queensland with the two people who started Making Strides, where they have taken me in like family. Making the massive move interstate away from family and friends was stressful being restricted to the chair. My first living arrangement involved staying on a friend’s couch for three months. I couldn’t find a house up here to rent but I kept at it. I struggled and went through depression when I first came up here and after being asked to leave the couch and lounge room, I had no where to go. Kristee and Genny immediately offered their spare room for me to stay in and since that has happened I have created a tight family bond with the Making Strides crew which makes living away from South Australia a lot better to deal with. This, while busting my nuts with training hard, facing rehab and feeling home sick is quite manageable. I can’t thank Kristee and Genny enough for their help through a massive part of my journey, because I am not sure if they realise they helped me out of sight.

What sort of progress have you made since being at Making Strides?

My core has increased in strength massively, where I can lean to a side and start to see my six pack coming back through rock solid. My hip flexers are turning on which is allowing me to drag my hips through and legs, which are becoming stronger and stronger. I’m able to start locking my knees out while on the total gym, which is exciting because at the start I had no strength at all and now I can. It’s amazing to feel and watch my body change from being paralysed to having so much more strength which I can notice in everyday life now. I can dry my back sitting upright with the towel instead of holding onto something. My retransfers are easier and less stressful on my shoulders and my back and balance are improving out of sight.

That’s amazing dude, it sounds like your definitely moving forward. So have you ridden much since your Backflips earlier in the year? What are your riding plans for the future?

I have ridden a few times since moving to the Gold Coast, but I did come up short on a 50ft ramp which would have been all good if I wasn’t strapped to the bike and had feeling in my legs. However, being strapped to the bike and the bike bouncing off the safety deck of the downy to the bottom, face first, wasn’t a good feeling. I dislocated my already flexible right shoulder and knocked myself out good and proper. I wasn’t trying anything crazy, just harder riding, judging everything on the bike while riding with no leg support. While my friend Sammy B was taking me to Genny’s house to have them check on me, I thought I was heading back to SA, so that freaked me out. But that put me back in perspective where I’m already injured, and if I injured myself again and ruin my physio progression I would be spewing, so riding has taken a back seat for a while. I ride my quad around doing burnouts and shit which gives me a little taste of being a rev-head (laughs).

What is on your agenda for the rest of the year? 

The end of the year is coming up quickly. I have a few interviews and potential opportunities that may be coming my way, hoping all goes ahead. It is a secret until I know I have the position but it’s big news! I’ve got a good routine happening and getting very good results from sticking to it so I will keep at it. I would like to do more riding but around tracks, because I miss the throttle and power. I’m starting to think of other avenues to help speed up the recovery process and help my spinal cord heal and allow new passage ways to get back down to my feet. I have heard a lot about Germany being a great place for stem cells which costs approximently $20,000. The people I have talked to have nothing but good things to say about doing it. It’s good keeping busy, which is very good for my mental well being, so I will keep the ball rolling the way it is! Thank you to everyone for your continued support. It’s a pretty hectic time of achieving the goal but with happy amazing people around me it’s making it feel awesome instead of difficult.