Conor McCann broke his back after being involved in a car accident back in June but he has made an incredible recovery since then. The 17 year-old Derry man said the pain of the injury left him unable to sleep and every step he'd take would be utter torture.
By Brian Canty
Four months after breaking his back in a car accident on the way to a race in the UK, 17 year-old Conor McCann is back on the bike and making major progress in his bid to regain full mobility.
The Bellaghy, Co Derry, man was a backseat passenger in his NRPT-Magnet.ie team car when it skidded off the road after getting a blowout in the early hours of Friday June 26th.
McCann, who was asleep at the time, was awoken by the impact and suffered fractures to his L1 (lumbar 1) and T12 (thoracic) vertebrae.
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He spent five nights in hospital in Dover, wondering would he ever walk again, let alone ride a bike.
He was gearing up for a big summer on the road with the team and had been training hard for the Junior Tour of Ireland but that all changed in an instant.
“I’m stiff and sore at the moment but it’s healing well,” he told stickybottle.
“The physios are happy with how I’m progressing so in two weeks I go back to the consultant for the next check-up.”
McCann required a spinal fusion following the crash, a surgery designed to stop the motion at the segment of the spine that is the cause of pain.
And that pain, McCann said, was severe in the extreme.
“It was the most pain I ever experienced in my life, I couldn’t sleep,” he detailed.
“I was full up on painkillers but when they had to get me up to walk every step was brutal.
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“The doctors basically put plates into my spine to join the three vertebrae together.”
McCann said he was grateful to the support of his family (parents and one sister, 15) and friends in the aftermath of the accident as they’ve made a telling contribution to his outlook – and his road to recovery.
“I’ve got good motivation to come back next year,” he said optimistically.
“I can walk fine but I need to do a lot of stretching and core work to strengthen myself back up again.
“Racing is a bit down the line because they don’t want me to go back too early and and risk hurting it.
“Right now, it’s very stiff if I bend over for a while and I can’t lift anything heavy.”
Besides his recovery, his day-to-day life revolves around school at the moment – he’s in his final year at St Mary’s Grammar School in Magherafelt.
“I do an hour stretching and core every day to free it up a bit and that helps.
“I know I will be able to cycle again but the long-term goal from the doctor’s point of view is that there’s no back pain.
“I’ve been able to get back on the bike a bit but it’s just turning the legs and I’ve only done maybe 30-40 kilometres but it’s been good to get back.”
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