We were lucky enough to get in touch with Jessy Nelson Tuesday, who is staying at Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown, NY. Jessy, who is with his parents and friends like Mario Panagiotopoulos from Red Bull, spoke to us on the phone, and is clearly in good spirits. He has a long fight on his hands but he still loves this sport and knows the industry has its arms around him as he begins the long fight to get back to health.

“Definitely have a long road to recovery and we just have to see how this all turns out,” he said. “I’m a huge fan of this sport and I love that I’ve been able to be part of it for so long, and I still want to be involved, if I’m racing again or whatever it may be.

"Right now I just have to concentrate on getting better. I’m so glad to have all of these fans and friends lifting me up like they have. It’s good to know people aren’t thinking I’m just some punk kid on a motorcycle, or someone who is out there just taking people out on the track! All those positive thoughts really help lift you up while this is going on.”

As for the latest, it’s really hard to pinpoint what his current health means, because it could very possibly change over time—spinal injuries and recoveries are hard to predict. Jessy still doesn’t have feeling or movement in his legs, but he’s starting to regain feeling through his chest and ribs, which is said to be a good sign. It’s very early in the process but things are improving.

What is known is that Jessy has fractured T4 and T5 vertebra, but his spinal cord in this area was stretched not cut or broken. From the MRI it appears the spinal cord is not damaged, but he has no feeling from his mid-lower chest down. At this time, when there is an injury like this, the spinal cord goes into shock and the tissue around the area is swollen, too, so there can be no real prognosis for quite some time. This is a point that Jessy and his group would like to make clear: early judgements on how this will turn out are not possible.