An 18-year-old Nanaimo BMX rider has received an outpouring of support after suffering a spinal injury in New Zealand.
Ryley Cofield was staying with a friend and fellow BMX rider, training with goal to compete in his first world cup series in Europe and be selected as a Canadian junior for world championships in Denmark.
On Monday, Jan. 27, Cofield was at the gym doing weight training when he had a mishap, rolling his ankle, causing 225 pounds to hit his back, resulting in compression fractures on his T11 and T12 vertebrae with posterior misalignment. He was rushed to the hospital, where he had a bone graft, hardware and spinal fusion.
Friends of Cofield's mother, Heather Robertson, promptly started a GoFundMe, raising over $21,000 and enough to pay for Robertson's flight to New Zealand to be with her son. The rest of the money is planned to be used for treatment-related expenses, including an accessible Airbnb while he recovers.
"Being a part of the BMX community for the past eight years, I've grown to know Heather and Ryley quite well," said Cameron Stanley, who started the fundraiser. "Ryley has trained my son for the last seven years, not only in BMX but gym training and everything else as well. So they're a close family to us, and with the BMX community, I've grown to know we're just one big family."
As of Thursday, Jan. 30, Stanley said Cofield has been able to walk a few steps with assistance and a walker, but is still struggling with the pain and limited mobility.
"Looking at a lot of the donations over the past few days, I want to comment and say 75 to 85 per cent of these donations came from BMX families whether it be Vancouver Island, families in the United States, families on the mainland – basically from all around the world within the BMX community."
Cofield is expected to stay in hospital about a week, then will need to stay and stabilize in New Zealand for a month before travelling home. The doctors estimate it will be about six months before Cofield can be back on his bike.
In a statement, Robertson said that she and her son are overwhelmed by the support they received.
"He will have everything he needs and be able to fly home comfortably once he is stable because of the support," she wrote. "We will make sure he has the best rehab possible. If everything goes well, Ryley will be back racing and I know he will. "
