Tara Llanes Injury Updates
Oct 02 2007 / Los Angeles, CA
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The latest news and updates on Mountain Biker/BMX rider Tara Llanes
Background: Tara Llanes was badly injured after crashing during the semifinals of the Jeep King of the Mountain event on September 1, 2007 in Beaver Creek, Colorado. After the accident, Llanes was airlifted to rushed to Denver Health hospital where she underwent multiple surgeries and was diagnosed with a C-7 cervical fracture. At this time she is paralyzed from the waist down.
Tara has won numerous titles as a mountain biker and was trying to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in BMX.
This page is intended to keep everyone updated on Tara's condition, as well as to provide information on how you can support her through donations or messages of support.
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Read on for more information.
Previous Tara Llanes coverage on Lat34.com
- Girl On: Tara Llanes
- PHOTO GALLERY - Tara Llanes
October 2, 2007
Update - Good News
Here's an update from James Herrera, Tara's friend and trainer. It was sent out yesterday:
Hello Everyone,
Yesterday, we had a pretty exciting afternoon at the hospital. Tara was able to flex her left upper quad muscle for the 1st time since the accident. It was a HUGE breakthrough moment for T. Keep sending the positive vibes her way and hopefully more and more muscles will continue to awaken. She also learned how to wheelie in the wheelchair, a feat which took her about 2 minutes to master. I think bunny hops are coming soon.
Thanks again to everyone who helped at Interbike with product donations for an upcoming auction, t-shirt purchases, and other fundraising efforts. The Giant folks were instrumental in securing booth space at both the dirt demo and convention center. Russ, Patrick, Travis, and Tiffany at Giant were amazing! Also thanks to Marzocchi, Kenda Tires, and Oakley for their contributions. A special thanks to Brian and Paula Lopes for all their help raising funds thanks to Brian’s Lopes 55 line of Oakley apparel.
For more about her latest news, check out Tara's MySpace page where she makes some posts herself. Also, you can check this blog post to find out about some new shirts for sale.
To support Tara through donations of any type, visit the Tara Llanes Road to Recovery website. To get updates on her condition, check out her MySpace page.
Here are a couple of recent photos from her MySpace page.
Stephen Murray and Tara visit with one another at Craig.
New shirts you buy to support Tara.
Tara is still all smiles as she battles back.
September 13, 2007
Physical Therapy Begins
There is an update on Tara Llane's condition on her MySpace Page:
Tara has started her second day of physical therapy at Denver Health. Fitted and wearing her turtle shell with the help of her PT, she was able to get out of bed and sit upright in a chair. Finally able to get out her room, she is very excited to see what the rest of the hospital looks like. We will be posting some photos later today.
Her spirits continue to stay strong and she becomes more anxious to start her rehab at Craig (still the front runner for inpatient rehab).
If you are considering sending flowers and/or gifts to her hospital room, we ask you make a donation instead to her Road To Recovery Fund (tarallanesroadtorecovery.com). If you are interested, Tara still loves to receive hand-written notes/cards. You can send these directly to:
Denver Health Medical Center
777 Bannock Street, Room B336
Denver Colorado, 80204
September 6, 2007
An Update from Tara's Trainer
James Herrera, one of Tara's friends and trainers, has sent through a long update about Tara's condition, her recovery and about "The Road to Recovery" fund.
To read all of it, click here.
However, the key info is to make a donation via mail, you can send checks/etc. to:
Tara Llanes
Road to Recovery Fund
4068 Green Ave.
Los Alamitos, CA 90720
The Latest From Denver
An update from Tara's friends and family is posted on her MySpace Page. A fund to help with her expenses is being set up but is not done as of yet. Here are some more details:
Tara's room is so full of gifts and flowers that there is barely enough room for the nurses and doctors. At this time, we ask you save your money for the "Road To Recovery Fund." We are currently setting up a website that will allow for you to send your contributions directly to Tara to cover all medical expenses. Although she is covered under insurance, there will be additional expenses. As mentioned previously, we are looking into the top rehab facilities to get Tara up and walking again. All donations will go directly toward her rehab such as personal care, various equipment, housing modifications, etc. We are told that our #1 choice of rehab facilities may run up to $2000+ per day.
For all you Southern CA friends, Missy will be organizing an event to raise funds that will cover non-medical expenses such as travel and day to day items for Team Llanes. There will also be opportunities to take photos and write messages to Tara that will be sent over all together. More details to come so stay posted!
And this update from Wednesday night:
It has been another long day, full of doctor visits and flower deliveries. Your support continues to bring a smile to Tara's face.
Sleeping has been tough because she is very uncomfortable but she was finally able to sleep for longer than an hour today. One of these days, she will hopefully sleep through the whole night.
We are still working on getting the "Road To Recovery Fund" website up and running. Continue to check back for the official announcement.
September 3, 2007
Mountain Biker/BMX Racer Tara Llanes Badly Injured in King of the Mountain Event
Tara Llanes, 2006 USA Cycling Downhill National Champion and two-time national four-cross champion, was badly injured in the Jeep King of the Mountain contest in Beaver Creek, Colorado, this weekend.
After crashing in a semi-final race against Jill Kintner, Llanes was airlifted to Denver Health Hospital where she underwent seven hours of surgery for a lower back injury. Additionally she has been diagnosed with a C-7 fracture which has been deemed as stable. She has since undergone an additional surgery.
Although she is breathing on her own and able to communicate, Llanes has no feeling below her waist at this time. Her family and friends have come to Denver to support her.
James Herrera, a coach who has worked with Llanes, wrote the following email to friends and fans:
We ask that you have as much faith as Tara does throughout this difficult period. Please leave a message on this page www.myspace.com/mtbtara and we will make sure she receives each and every one of them. In the meantime, we are hoping Tara will be able to come back home in 1 to 2 weeks. Flowers and/or gifts may be sent to:
Denver Health Medical Center
777 Bannock Street, Room B 316
Denver Colorado, 80204
A relief/rehabilitation fund for charitable gifts is currently being arranged. Information will be available later in the week.
Lat34 will bring you more updates about Tara's condition as it is released. For more about her, check out our recent profile or her website.
Tara is pictured to the right in a photo from her MySpace page showing her after her surgeries -- the thumbs up showing her spirit is definitely strong...
