This is a great example of how fantastic how both trauma and major surgery are today. People who used to not have a chance in hell of recovery are now surviving horrific injury (and in this case, regain almost complete mobility).

Chris Stewart, 12, suffered an internal decapitation, separating his skull and neck, when he hit a barrier at a track near Alton, Hampshire on 24 September.

His father told BBC News doctors had given Chris a 10% chance of survival.

But only two months later he was moved to a rehabilitation unit and is now planning to spend Christmas at home.

He has since made a miraculous recovery and can now swim, walk and exercise again.

“They told us it would be a year before he could walk but he was already walking after three weeks. The doctor was in tears when he saw him.”

They say he wants to race again.



  1. Improbus says:

    Evidently he didn’t learn anything from his experience.

  2. erik says:

    Could he have been mis-diagnosed in the first place?

  3. Eideard says:

    The article doesn’t mention it; but, I would hope wearing a HANS device would be mandatory for kids in motor sports. It’s done a terrific job at preventing a number of similar injuries.

  4. Mucous says:

    Cool. We’re not far off from seeing an NFL game where someone is carted off the field in the first quarter, gets surgery in the locker room and is back on the field for the second half.

  5. mandarin says:

    Rich kids….

  6. Jim Scarborough says:

    Reminds me of a kid a few miles from my neighborhood who would be about 32 now if he hadn’t raced his buggy under a road barricade atop some bollards.

  7. Jim says:

    can you imagine being the doctors that helped him against almost impossible odds, and seeing him go back out and race again?

    talk about a waste…

  8. Cognito says:

    #8 It would be a waste of a life not doing something he wants to just because it might kill him.
    Better to die donig something you love than live in fear.
    And yes I have kids, and yes I’ll be upset if they got killed or even injured doing something they want to do. I’ll hope to explain the risks but no, I won’t stop them

  9. jtoso says:

    He better learn to avoid walls because his neck won’t take that type of damage again. Common sense is a grand virtue.

  10. Joe says:

    The article finishes with

    But, he said, although Chris is expected to make a near to full recovery he would not be returning to the car racing track anytime soon.

    Racers always want to come back. Witness Alex Zanardi, who lost both legs in a terrible crash he was lucky to survive.

    What happened? Well, first, he came back, and in a specially modified car, finished the thirteen laps that remained when he was injured. His lap times were good enough to qualify fifth had he raced.

    Now, he races in the World Touring Car Championship in a car modified to use hand controls (his left stump isn’t strong enough to brake effectively), and he’s won twice.

    You can call it nuts. I call in inspiring.

  11. rjisinspired says:

    Uhmmm. Isn’t 12 years-old a little young to be racing cars?

  12. tallwookie says:

    That kid needs a helmet on his neck!

    um…

    Scratch that, he needs a full body helmet


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