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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 2011
MEDIA ADVISORY:
Incredible cyclist, a Paralympic hopeful, to do Olympic training session in PA before life-changing surgery
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Photo courtesy of Marco Quezada.
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This coming Tuesday, March 29th at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center in Trexlertown, PA, cycling Olympic gold medalist Marty Nothstein, along with U.S. Olympian Bobby Lea and U.S. Paralympian Ronne Irvine, will be on the track coaching a man, a Paralympic hopeful, who has touched and inspired the entire cycling community.
At age 13, while trying to retrieve a kite caught on an electrical wire in his native Cuba, Damian was electrocuted with 13,000 volts of electricity – the voltage equivalence of what it takes to move a New York City subway car.
He spent 52 days on life support following the accident and has had dozens of surgeries – some life-saving – since his teens.
Damian, now 34, hasn’t allowed these seeming setbacks to slow him down – literally.
Although he lost both of his hands and uses no adaptive devices, Damian is an accomplished cyclist, who learned to ride his bike by carefully resting the remains of his arms on upturned handlebars.
On Tuesday, Damian will not only have the opportunity to ride with and learn from his idols, he’ll get the chance to show what he can do. And Philadelphia-based Fuji Bikes will be on hand to present him with a brand new Fuji Track bike that will bring him one step closer to London’s Olympic Games.
Team Fuji Ambassador Tracy Lea first met Damian at the 2002 Pan American Championships in Cuba. Mesmerized by how he could compete without prosthetics and not in the Paralympics realm but against some of the best able-bodied cyclists in the world, she immediately decided she would help him in any way she could.
After meeting with Damian and his parents in September of last year, Lea secured a visa for Damian, and he arrived in the U.S. on December 6th for an appointment at the NYU Langone Center. After undergoing a week of extensive physical exams to evaluate whether he was eligible for prosthetics, as well as facial reconstructive surgery, the outcome was just what they were hoping for: racing arms and a surgery date!
Damian returned to the U.S. two weeks ago in preparation for his first surgery, scheduled for April 5th, which will focus on restructuring his mouth and nose. His second, schedule for May 3rd, will aim to create a lower left eye lid, which Damian currently does not have. And on April 1st, Damian will be fitted for prosthetics.
Thanks to Lea’s tremendous efforts and the remarkable outpouring of support from the cycling community, nearly all of Damian’s expenses have been/are being covered.
NYU Langone Medical Center’s Institute for Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, along with assistance from the National Foundation for Facial Reconstruction, are covering the cost of the surgeries; Hanger Prosthetics and the Achilles International have partnered to cover the cost of Damian’s prosthetics. Fuji Bikes has also donated a Fuji Roubaix ACR; Shimano has donated their Di2 electronic shifting system – perfect for riders with prosthetics; TOGA! Bike Shop and Retul Bike Fit have offered their bike fit services; LeMond Fitness has given Damian a trainer to use while recovering from surgery; Louis Garneau and Hincapie clothing have made sure that Damian will ride in style; the Challenged Athletes Foundation has issued Damian a grant for Paralympic qualifying travel this summer; Marazul Travel comped Damian’s plane ticket to New York. And lastly, U Can Play 2 Foundation, along with world renown exercise physiologist, Dr. Inigo San Millan, will help Damian with his conditioning.
"It’s a testament to the strength of the cycling community that all these pieces have come together," explained Lea. "The industry, riders, shops – they’ve all partnered together."
"Damian’s been a gift to all the people he’s met," she added.
It’s a tale of ultimate survival and human kindness. And Damian’s story is really just beginning.
With aspirations of qualifying for the 2012 Cycling Paralympics, Damian hopes to begin training as soon as he recovers from his surgeries. And Tuesday’s day on the track is the first step toward qualifying this summer.
For more information on Damian, please visit:
http://www.fujibike.com/general/stories
https://nyvelocity.com/content/gallery/race-photos/2011/damian-riding-park
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