Over £70k raised to help Bucks teenager walk again
16-year-old Noah was paralysed from the chest down after a biking accident
Last updated 26th May 2021
A Buckinghamshire family are trying to raise £100,000, determined it will help their son walk again.
On Sunday March 8th 16-year-old Noah Cosby was practising FMX with his friends when he overshot a landing.
He broke his back and was paralysed from the chest down.
After some time at John Radcliffe Hospital, he is now at Stoke Mandeville Hospital's spinal unit.
To help his rehabilitation a fundraising page has been launched by his family, and its had attention from celebrities like Jeremy Clarkson and Clare Balding as well as people from around the world.
His dad Ben told Greatest Hits Radio what happened:
"My wife and I had gone for a walk and about half an hour in my phone rang. It was his best mate and I instantly thought the worst because he doesn't call me unless its an emergency.
"The reception where we were was terrible and the only words I heard were accident-crash-ambulance.
"When we got to him we saw Noah lying on his back in the field surrounding my emergency ambulance staff and he was completely conscious.
"He held my hand and just said 'I'm going to be alright Dad I'm hurt I just need time to fix myself."
Noah is an experienced rider, and wants to go into FMX as a sporting career.
Ben explained that dirt bike riders like his son have a moment to decide, while in the air, how they are going to land when they overshoot like this.
Either the bail and jump off the bike, which often results in broken legs. Or, they follow through and try to land with the bike.
Noah decided to land on the bike, but the height was so high that force and pressure was too much and resulted in his back breaking in two places.
What this did was create an incomplete spinal injury. His spinal cord is intact but as the back folded it stretched the spinal cord over the breaks. Only time will tell what damage is from that.
But, Noah is determined to walk again and Ben explains that's what the fundraiser is for:
"At first friends and family were sending cards and presents and he couldn't get his head round it. He didn't know why they were sending them which was very humbling.
"Noah has never lost faith in himself. He says being in a wheelchair is temporary and he is going to get out of it.
"Stoke Mandeville's Spinal Injury Unit is world famous and the staff are brilliant we all know that but there is huge underfunding.
"Noah needs 5-6 hours physio everyday, but they can only offer 3 hours a week. When we realised that we knew we had to do something for when he gets out of hospital and the price of courses and treatments are enormously high.
"So we started the gofundme page and we are just... I cannot put it into words.
"Peoples generosity is extraordinary. Looking at the names I don't know 90% of the name and my wife and I have spent the last few days in tears, of joy.
"Seeing children saying they have donated their pocket money... In my 45 years I have never experienced a feeling like this."