Ed Newell’s Road to Recovery Fund

Hello Friends,

As you may have heard, fellow rider, trail steward, and all-around exceptional human, Ed Newell, experienced a serious accident while mountain biking with a group of friends in the beginning of February.

Since that time, Ed has been fighting for his life over the last 3 weeks - in the Critical Care Unit at SouthShore Hospital - with his wife, Sara, at his side.

The initial accident resulted in the shattering of 2 vertebrae (C3 & C4) in his neck, torn ligaments in his spine, and the dissection of two vertebral arteries, leaving Ed without the use of his arms or legs. While waiting for his body to stabilize from the trauma, he suffered 3 strokes and was rushed to surgery, where the neurosurgeons removed the shattered vertebrae and inserted a titanium plate to stabilize Ed’s traumatized spinal cord. The damage to his neck made insertion of the airway tube nearly impossible, and Ed had an aspiration event. This caused his first round of pneumonia that he fought off while on a ventilator. Once breathing on his own again, though, he lost consciousness; his medical team determined that his next challenge was in his lungs, which were full of pulmonary embolisms. After group consults among teams of neurologists, neurosurgeons, trauma surgeons, respiratory specialists, and anesthesiologists, a two-pronged approach of blood thinners and a thrombectomy to remove the huge clot between his lungs and heart was needed, while a vena cava filter was implanted to catch additional embolisms. Against the odds, Ed recovered from this procedure. Next came surgery to implant a feeding tube in his abdomen, as improper swallowing was causing silent aspiration. As he was healing, Ed tested positive for COVID and was faced with solitude until he finally tested negative. Ed was next plagued for days with fevers ranging over 104, and he faced a second threat of pneumonia as well as an infection in his abdomen that spread quickly. Thankfully, high-powered antibiotics brought the fever down and reversed the infection.

The physical and emotional rollercoaster continues, while Ed refuses to give up hope of walking and riding the trails again.

Ed has made incredible - many would say miraculous - progress, yet there is still a formidable journey ahead.

Ed’s next big step will be moving to the Spaulding rehab clinic, which is one of the top C-spine rehabilitation centers in the country, where he will stay as an inpatient for months working toward regaining the use of his arms and legs; learning to swallow so he can eat and drink; and building his strength, mobility, and balance with the hope of walking again. The future is uncertain, and Ed will be faced with many more hurdles. But for those who know Ed, all can attest to his strength and resilience as well as his persistence and fight to persevere. The outpouring of support and well wishes from the community of bikers, hikers, and friends has been overwhelmingly kind. Many of you expressed your desire to help on his road to recovery, and we hope that this fund can help Ed and Sara through what will be a difficult and unpredictable journey ahead.