Chase Borders

I remember reading his story a few years back, great to see him smiling. Big up my friend chase from MO! I dont think the manufactorers will ever be held liable, sadly this is part of the sport.

Adam--4 stroke controversy aside, I want to thank you for bringing this link back to our attention. I have a personal interest in Johnny and Chase, as I have stayed at their house a few times (pre-injury), and ridden many laps at Monster Mountain with Chase and Johnny. I sent a card when this happened, but I'm ashamed to admit that over the past few years, though I have not forgotten about Chase, I really didn't think about sending any more money to help them. I will immediately put another hundred in a card and send it out tomorrow, thanks to you, and will certainly try to keep helping this family in need, who graciously opened their home to me and my buddy, year after year, and let us be a part of their family. I encourage anyone else who can find a few dollars to help them, as well, even if it is only $5, because every penny counts! Go, Chase!

Thanks guys for posting Chase's link and for the prayers and support. Tommy and I met Chase outside the ER with Johnny at UAB when they took him out of the helicopter and were transferring him to the trauma unit. Chase knew at that point he was paraylzed - they stopped the stretcher and he looked at Johnny with tears in his eyes and told him "it wasn't my fault Dad, I'm sorry." It was one of the saddest things I have ever seen. We stayed with Johnny in the waiting room that night. It was freezing - felt like it was 20 degrees in there. At about 2am Johnny looked over at me and said "Tom how am I going to care for him?" Since that moment Johnny has been singularly focused on caring for his son. When the doctors said "His lungs are shot - they are never coming back...." and suggested that Johnny sign a DNR (Do not resuscitate order) he said no way. He told them "It's your job to save my son and I expect you to do your job." To their credit, they did. They saved Chase again and again when his heart failed multiple times, his kidneys stopped working, and his lungs were struggling to transfer oxygen to his blood.

Chase and Johnny's story is filled with tragedy and inspiration. Tommy was 14 when Chase got hurt. He could have easily walked away from the sport he loves more than anything after seeing what Chase has gone through. Instead of scaring Tommy, Chase's determination and heart has just served to inspire Tommy to keep riding and doing what he loves. Tommy's 18 and still rides - at least in part due to Chase's inspiration.

Chase needs our help though. In a few weeks when Chase goes to the Shepherd Center, Johnny, more than likely will be sleeping in their van in the parking lot. I've seen him do it many times. Being a one-man suspension shop and caring 24-7 for his paralzyed son is tougher than anything I've ever seen. It's tough for many in these times to keep heat in the house when you're having a tough time paying the bills. The difference in their house is that a house that's too cold could cause Chase to have a fatal upper respiratory infection.

Everything "Motocoach" says is right on target. Johnny and Chase have welcomed hundreds of motocrossers into their home and made them part of their family over the years. As part of their motocross family, anything we can do to help will make a huge difference. Even $5 is huge and every penny goes straight to Chase's Recovery Fund.

You can also help Chase another way. Cut and paste his link in to every motocross board you can find. Tell his story to potential sponsors. Spread the word on Facebook and MySpace. The more people who know he is still out there fighting the good fight and trying to get better, the more likely he is to get the help he needs to succeed.

When Chase got hurt, the only thing I could think about was "what if that was my son or daugher?" (Both were racing at the time.)

Thanks for keeping Chase and Johnny in your thoughts and prayers and for anything you can do to help Chase rehab his injuries and add joy to his life. He truly is deserving of the help.

Tom B.

P.S. check the "More About Chase" section on www.chaseborders910.com. It's kind of a Frequently Asked Questions section where Chase answers some really tough questions about the crash, his injuries, and his hope for the future.

Adam,

I didn't mean to dodge your issue regarding four-strokes and injuries. That's a tough subject. We started the Motocross Safety council in Alabama after a string of injuries like Chase's and several deaths in the sport.

My personal opinion is that there are a ton of contributing factors, any number of which are implicated in any given injury or death. Would Chase have been injured the way he was had he been on a two-stroke? I can't say.

Maintenance on four-strokes is also a big issue to me. Running one forever in between top-ends, not doing frequent maintenance, constantly killing the reve limiter, or having a less-than-qualified mechanic do your work are all things that could cause a four-stroke to fail prematurely from my perspective. Unfortunately for Chase, his 450 failed in the absolute worst spot on the track. Had it locked up 3 seconds sooner or 3 seconds later he probably wouldn't have had a scratch on him.

The Safety Council was born out of Chase's injury. Our hope is that one person finds something on the safety council website that helps prevent an injury or death.

I don't really feel the two issues should be mixed, Chase's injury has happened many times over on every type of bike. He has always had my prayers and best wishes ever since the injury happened and I've helped donate to rider down like everyone else should to help guys in these terrible situations. No one makes enough money in this sport to deal with an injury like this, and guys like Chase never even got the chance to try. So they need our help and best wishes, and most definitely a spot in the back of our minds at all times.

With that said I don't think 4-strokes have anything to do with this. My 2-strokes seized in mid-flight more than once. More than one 2-stroke has seized on the face of big jumps and caused terrible injuries (obviously he didn't get hurt, but does anyone recall Ping nose diving his KTM 2-stroke into a triple because it locked up on the face?). Motorcycles are machines no matter what type of engine runs them. They WILL break down, they WILL cause injuries. Injuries like Chase's were common in this sport long before and will continue to be a problem because of the nature of this sport, not because of the bikes we ride.

People were paralyzed before four strokes and will paralyzed after four strokes.

It is beyond ignorant to think different.

Everyone should realize you can be parilyzed or killed every time you throw a leg over a bike.

I don't think Chase blames 4 strokes or anything for that matter. He just seems happy to be alive at this point. I check in on his progress from time to time and send prayers on a daily basis(unfortunately I can't afford $$) and I really enjoy seeing the pics of him at the supercrosses and out watching his pops ride.

It is weird how on this site you guys will find anything to argue 4 stroke or 2 stroke, I'm pretty sure Danny Magoo ,Bailey,Mitch payton,and many others from 2 stroke days that are paralized would just say MX is a dangerous sport no matter what you ride,

The tracks are WAY more dangerous now than back in the day.

Outdoor tracks are littered with SX obstacles....the sport is all about jumping now.

it happens way too much anymore.

EVERYONE can throw down at least SOME cash, you can paypal 'em too. Do the right thing!

Ok,, I sent some paypal, not much but better than none.
Times are tuff for most people including me, but $25 is not going to put me out of bussiness.