KELOWNA — The crash happened a little more than a year ago and what a year it has been for Bruce Cook.
The 26-year-old Kelowna freestyle motocross rider was paralyzed after attempting a world record double front-flip on January 3, 2014.
Since then, Cook has been on the road to recovery, including a long rehab stint in the U.S.
He is now back on his dirtbike with some modifications including a seatbelt and crash bars to protect his legs.
“The first ride went perfectly,” he said. “Just as I imagined. I’ve been thinking about it every day since the accident.”
Cook has also been learning how to walk again with the help of robotics.
“It’s a robotic device called the ReWalk. It basically walks with you. It mimics walking. You use crutches and I got to the point where I was almost walking by myself and that was after three days of using it for about an hour each day.”
But the always smiling Cook reveals something that he’s been keeping inside since the accident. He’s in pain.
“Something a lot of people don’t know is that I definitely struggle with pain. It’s a 24/7 thing that I’m trying to work through and figure out what works for me. I don’t like to take the heavy meds and try to stay away from that. But the pain can definitely be wearing because it’s every day all day. ”
But Cook’s not letting the pain slow him down. He’s even doing back flips again — something he’s been wanting to do since the accident. He did it at Travis Pastrana’s place where the American motorsport icon is producing a film called Nitro Circus, due out next spring.
“I think I did eight or 10 flips into the foam pit which were perfect, so the next day I landed it on dirt.”
Cook admits he’s been taking some heat on Facebook for getting back on the bike and taking risks, but he says it’s the only thing that keeps him grounded.
“The risk is worth the reward.”
Cook says his next project is launching his career as a keynote speaker. Follow Cook on Facebook.
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