Slaw Dog
R2R press release
ENCINITAS, Calif. – Vann Martin suffered a substantial crash on Saturday, February 19, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis during the first qualifying practicing for round seven of the Monster Energy Supercross Championship. With two minutes left in that practice, Vann came up short on the long rhythm section, crashing hard into the face on the next section. Vann immediately felt an intense amount of pain in his back and could not walk off the track. The Alpinestars Mobile Medical team got him safely off the track and transported him via ambulance to Hennepin Healthcare hospital in Minneapolis.
After arriving at the hospital, surgeons determined that Vann would need surgery to repair the multiple fractures on his T6 and T7 vertebrae. T7 sustained most of the concerning damage with what his surgical team determined as a rare “Chance fracture”. A large hematoma developed on his spine from the trauma of the impact putting pressure on the spinal cord.
On Monday, February 21, Vann underwent his first of two spinal surgeries. The first was an eight-hour T3-T10 spinal fusion surgery to stabilize his vertebrae with rods and screws and remove the hematoma. After running a few X-rays and CT Scans post-surgery, Vann’s surgeons decided the placement of a few screws was incorrect. The second successful surgery was performed today, Tuesday, February 22, to address those concerns.
Currently, on bedrest, Vann has movement and feeling in all his extremities, and with months of extensive physical therapy, he is expected to have a full recovery. The goal is to get him back home to Houston to start his recovery journey once he’s cleared to fly. Doctors said this could be anywhere from three to seven days in the hospital before the approved clearance. The Road 2 Recovery Foundation has established a fundraising campaign to support Vann as his medical bills are expected to be substantial. As always, R2R is a nonprofit 501(c) (3), and your donation toward Vann’s fund is tax-deductible. Click here to donate.
As more information on Vann’s recovery becomes available, we will update his R2R page here. We encourage folks to leave positive messages of support on Vann’s R2R page for him to read.
