As Matt Hadley continues to recover in hospital in Denver, Colorado following the amputation of his leg, his friends back in Canmore have come together to ensure he will be supported upon his return home.
Matt and his wife Catherine had been hiking outside of Moab, Utah when a large rock, roughly the size of a basketball, struck him on his right leg and hand, narrowly missing his head and vital organs.
“It was a big rock and it came from up high and it had a lot of force behind it and he didn’t have any chance to get out of the way and it hit him in the leg,” said Ron Sadesky, Hadley’s boss at McElhanney in Canmore. “His wife was with him and she ended up yelling and somebody called for emergency services and they came and they got them out of there.”
The impact severed Hadley’s femoral artery and doctors made the decision to amputate his leg above the knee.
Hadley, who had been a nationally ranked mountain bike racer, is well known in Canmore for his trail building and design, and his role as a coach for youth riders.
“He’s been a big name in this country because of mountain bike racing that he did and the national team and racing world cup,” said Sadesky. “He definitely had a name and a brand associated with him already. Coming to Canmore, he was working at the (Canmore) Nordic Centre for years designing and building trails there. Also coached the up-and-coming racers, kids, at the Rundle Cycling Club. There’s a number of kids in the community who would say that Matt’s influence is important and has kept them going, including my son.”
Brian Bain, a friend and co-worker of Hadley’s, says Matt and Catherine are two of the nicest, most positive people you could ever hope to meet and he expects Matt will be back on the trails in the near future. “If anybody’s going to recover from this, it will be him. He’s going to be able to be back skiing and biking with us as soon as possible.”
Bain says the couple does have travel insurance that is covering the stateside medical expenses but a fundraising effort has begun to help with any house modifications or unexpected expenses.
In its first nine days, the ‘Matt’s rehabilitation journey’ GoFundMe campaign surpassed its initial goal of $50,000 and neared the $60,000 mark.
In addition to the GoFundMe campaign, the local mountain biking community is collectively raising funds specifically earmarked to getting Matt back on two wheels.
“We want to do something that specifically will help him get back on his bike,” said Paul Kerfoot, manager of Outside Bike & Ski. “Whether that goes towards prosthesis or whether that goes towards a new bike or whatever it is, it would be nice to get him back to doing something that he loves as soon as he feels comfortable and as soon as possible physically and mentally and what not.”
“The other fundraisers will help will the home modifications but this will hopefully get him back doing something he loves.”
Kerfoot says plans are underway to host a fundraising event that will include a silent auction and tricycle races.
Matt is expected to return to Canmore in early to mid-April.
With files from CTV’s Alesia Fieldberg
