Aylesbury family launch fundraiser to get teenage son walking again after life-changing dirt bike fall

Noah Cosby s life changed forever on March 8, when he fell from his dirt bike breaking his back in two places.

The 16-year-old who lives in Bierton, faces a fight to ever walk again, and his parents want to give him every chance of achieving that feat.

Now, two-and-a-half months later, a widespread appeal for financial assistance has been set up by the Cosby family.

Noah became paralysed from the waist down and saw two titanium rods and nine screws placed in his body as part of the arduous recalibration process following his fall. He spent time in an Intensive Care Unit at John Radcliffe Hospital and was dependent on machines to control many of his bodily functions.

The 16-year-old is currently rehabbing at the spinal unit in Stoke Mandeville, but due to a lack of funding the Cosby family are unconvinced he'll get the intensive support needed to best recover from this body-altering ordeal.

On their fundraising page which can be found here, the Cosby's outlined their son's early battle to recover, saying: "Noah was at the JR [John Radcliffe Hospital] for six weeks, where they made him medically fit to move to the spinal rehab unit at Stoke Mandeville, which is where we are as I write this…where Noah is trapped in his own body.

"As talented as the NHS are at fixing broken bones, a monumental lack of funding prevents Stoke from offering any meaningful rehabilitation. Instead patients are taught to live life in a wheelchair with little to no hope of a brighter future without the need of a chair with wheels. A financially limited recovery programme enables you to learn wheelchair skills instead of intense physio."

Given how athletic and active a teenager Noah was, his parents are reluctant to accept that he could be wheelchair bound for the rest of his existence. They went on to detail how and why they believe he could walk again, and just what he's achieved that makes them believe he could regain use of his legs. The Cosbys added: "We have had amazing support and guidance from the most unexpected places and we absolutely believe that Noah’s story is actually just beginning. It’s therefore now more than ever that we desperately need the internet to please do its thing.

"Noah's mindset tells him that he will walk again, but to give him a real shot at that, we need more of everything. He needs full time physio, not just the 3 hours a week that is available at Stoke Mandeville. He needs hydrotherapy. He needs robotic stimulation. He needs options and therapies that are only available through the private sector, all of which come with a hefty price tag.

"Noah is possibly the most driven, level headed 16 year old I know. He’s hugely passionate about the things he loves. Skateboarding, riding his dirt bike and playing guitar. Noah learnt to walk at nine months old and since then he has always been at one with his body whilst pushing the boundaries of what he’s capable of achieving.

"We bought him his first skateboard at the age of four, and since then there’s barely been a day he hasn’t skated. Dirt bikes followed shortly afterwards at five and just last year he announced that he wanted to pursue a career in freestyle motocross (FMX). In a nutshell, Noah is always active. His biggest loathing is to be stuck indoors. His life now has become that of a caged bird with clipped wings. Please, if you can, help us free our beautiful boy."

The Cosbys also detailed the harrowing scene they faced and Noah endured on Monday March 8. Explaining how their son never lost consciousness and had to brave his agonising injuries.

The appeal on the fundraising page opened with the following statement: "On Sunday March 8th our world came crashing down around us. Time ceased to exist. In it’s place was an uncontrollable storm of uninvited fear, horror and sadness. In the blink of an eye, something unimaginable had happened. Our beautiful 16 year old son, Noah, had fallen from his beloved dirt bike and had broken his back in two places.

"Noah never lost consciousness throughout the entire agonising ordeal. “I’ll be alright Dad, I’ll be alright, I just need time to fix myself..” I will never forget those words, as he lay there, holding our hands. There was no blame, no anger, no excuses from Noah, just hope and positivity. Whether he knew it or not, Noah had given us our first flicker of belief, it was a rock to cling onto as we stared into the darkness."

Last year, Noah spoke to the Buckingham Advertiser about his desire to make it in the world of extreme sports and his desire to represent his country at the Olympics. He said: "I want to push the boundaries as far as they will go.

"I love the feeling of floating through the air 40ft up, however it's also the feeling of the adrenaline running through you before you have even hit the ramp."

Further information can be found on the fundraising page here, at the time of writing £22,207 has been raised.