Jimmy LaMastus Injured

[MxMom94]

Jimmy LaMastus is 27 and has been racing for the past 23 years. He turned pro at the age of 16. He has 2 young sons, his oldest, Carson, is now 4 I believe and is racing too. His father Mike coaches a race team and still races himself, although not as much after being injured last year and having a collasped lung.

On Saturday February 25th Jimmy sustained a serious injury to his right ankle. Although I do not know all the details of his injuries, I know he had his first surgery today (he has 2-3 rods in his leg and was placed in a "halo" type thing). He'll be in the hospital for 1-2 days before being sent home, and he has his second surgery schedule for next Wednesday or Thursday. His mom said it would be about a 4-5 hour procedure.

Jimmy is in the process of a divorce, works at a bike shop, has no insurance, and has now had the worst injury of his life. When I went up to see him tonight, his biggest concern was being able to get back on his feet to play with his boys. With everything healing perfectly, it will be 4-5 months before he will be weight bearing.

Please keep Jimmy and his family in your prayers. If you would like to send him a card or anything to help out, you can send it in care of his mom:
Jimmy LaMastus
c/o Missy LaMastus
1356 Hwy 41 #27
Post Falls, ID 83854

On a personal note...for those of you that know me, MXMom94, know how close we are to the McCormick family who lost their son Willie, and then in January Bob, Willie's stepdad, was injured racing and has lost his leg below his knee. Jimmy is very close to Bob, and is very very scared that he could end up in a similar situation. Both injuries are very similar, neither involved a crash, it was how they landed a tripple. Bob came up short and flat landed, Jimmy overshot his.

I can only pray that Jimmy's leg heals. His spirits are great, it's the down time that's going to be so tough. Missy, his mom, heard of RiderDown through their support and involvement with the loss of Willie. Since they don't have a computer, I volunteered to post for her.

Thanks for your care and concern.

Dawn Bristlin

[Gatlin5]

Hi Dawn,

Thanks for posting. Man, this has been a rough year for serious injuries. I'm sure part of it is due to what we do and see so much of but look at what you have been exposed to over the past 6 months, that's a lot. How are you holding up?

He needs to stay positve on his recovery and not dwell on the what ifs, I know that is easy for me to say but I have seen it work both ways many times. Our minds can create almost anything we want, good and bad.

Please keep us updated. One very beneficial way we can help is getting the American Medical Bill Review (AMBR) involved. They could possibly save him thousands of dollars in overpayments an catch any mistake the medical organizations may make. From there we will know more of his circumstances and can help where we can.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Jimmy and his Family. We wish him a fast and speedy recovery.

Joe

[MxMom94]

Joe, Thanks for your concern. My family is holding up well--we are headed for a two day race tonight, so hopefully we can have one race that someone is seriously injured. It does seem that every race since Willie there has been something serious happen, yet, so far, we still go on. I know my husband has his concerns with letting our son continue--but I think he's doing a little better now. I share the concerns,but I also appreciate my son's love of the sport.

I will pass on the well wishes to the Lamatus family and I will keep you updated.

This organization is amazing.
Dawn

[Tatonka]

Dawn - you have been one busy individual up there! Joe hit it on the head on several counts, a positive mental attitude will help everyone involved. The AMBR program is really a huge benefit, please let them know we have that available.

Keep us posted.

BV

[Leanh4419]

Our family will keep Jimmy and his family in our prayers.

Lee Ann

[50ccMoM]

We are praying for Jimmy and his family.


Angie

[Linda]

Hello Mike & Linda here you are in our prayers also Jimmie sounds just like Mike can't sit still always gotta be doing something! Including getting back on that bike!! Hope he heals Godspeed!