New Guy here : Anthony Mastrocola from PA

[Mastrocola17]

hey everybody. my name is Anthony Mastrocola. i'm 17 years old and have been riding quads since i was 6 and racing since i was 12. you may have heard of me before from my accident. i was injured on June 18th at Steel City @ Delmont, PA at a AMA/ATVA National Motocross event. the day earlier i entered and won both classes i entered (Production C/265C) on a full gate of 20 in each class. that was my dream to win a national MX race. the day after i was unfortunate and nose-dived a 70' single to tabletop. i decided not to bail and was landed on traveling about 40mph and about 15 feet high. i broke my T-3,4,5 and shattered my T6, and T-7 vertebrae in my back. i am considered a "complete" injury but i have gained 2 levels of sensation and movement in my chest and 6 in my back. with god on my side, i survived the 8 hour long surgery that fused my back from T-2 to T-8 which runs from the upper abs to just a little below my neck. i lost 3 1/2 pints of blood from an internal injury. i also broke my shoulder and bruised my lung. i now i have 3 titanium rods and 8 screws in my back.

however, i have accepted the injury somewhat easily which suprised me. although i've been through a lot of lifestyle changes and whatnot, i'm not very bothered by it. i've moved on with my life. i still love racing and watch it whenever i can. i'll be driving again in 3 weeks with adaptive hand controls. through the help of family and friends, i've gotten through everything fairly well. it's only been 6 months since my injury and i'm doing everything i can in hopes to walk again which i strongly believe will one day happen. i'd like to thank Rider Down for all of their support and help for my family and i! if you'd like to get a hold of me to ask any questions feel free to post or shoot me an e-mail at QuadMXracer17@yahoo.com. i'm usually online AIM also @ QuadMXracer.

[Tatonka]

Anthony - Thank you and welcome to the RD forum. It's great to hear about your progress - keep it going! I look forward to hearing from you often, the spirit & drive you possess is inspiring.

Have a Happy New Year! Be careful driving on those highways - it's dangerous out there! :wink:

BV

[50ccMoM]

Hey Anthony,

Im so glad you decided to join the forum. Now wheres our pics ??? :lol: I hope you had a nice Christmas. Have a safe and happy New Year.

Talk to you soon ! !=!


Angie

[jeremy68]

Welcome, Anthony, Glad to hear how great you're doing. Have a great New Year and we'll be keeping up with all of your progress.

[Gatlin5]

Welcome Anthony, keep up the fantastic attitude!

We wish you and your family all the best of this New Year!

[KTMissouri]

Anthony:

It is great to see you on the forum. I hope that you and Jeremy can hook up and help each other out. You guys are both so tough, but it always helps to have someone to talk to that understands.

I do have one question for you. Do you follow GNCC racing or do you just keep up with MX? Just wondering..I was talking to Duane Johnson the other day, (#3 GNCC Quad rider) and I told him I had been talking to your Dad. He told me that he had heard of you and wished you well. You have a lot of people pulling for you.

I hope you had a great Christmas.

Shawn

[Riding the Metro]

Anthony,
Welcome and glad you found us. You sound like a young man with a good attitude, keep us posted on your progess.

[Mastrocola17]

hey everyone. thanks. things have been kinda crazy the past week between school finals and everything. but i took a driving lesson yesterday for about 4 hours of 15 i need. the instructor gave me the go to skipp the other 11 and go for the test next week. so i'm extremely excited to drive. how's everyone else?

[Tatonka]

Anthony - good to hear from ya. That's awesome about the driving! :awesome: Doesn't surprise me though - it's obvious you've got skills when burning gas!

Finals eh..one more semester? Good luck with that. Anything we can do to help just ask - some of us even graduated.

I'm looking forward to a good '07....so far it's starting out like a 125 Novice heat race, everybody's WFO and and scrambling for a line! Lot's of stuff going on with RiderDown, friggin' Arctic like weather lately out here in CO and life in general has been more than enough.

Stay in touch, hopefully I can get back East sometime and get a chance to meet you personally. Hang tough, we're all pulling for you.

BV

[xr650rocketman]

I can see I need to spend a little more time on this forum.....Thanks for the inspiration Anthony you must be quite a guy to be going forward with such gusto.
I don't know many quad riders, we just never seem to cross paths, but if there are others out there with the fortitude you have I need to start meeting them.
Let us know how your driving goes, I taught most of our kids to drive and I know the thrill of the independence that you'll get from that.
I've also spent many years installing adaptive devices and modifying homes to compensate for most situations so if you need any suggestions let me know.
Keep updating us as things move ahead.....Stay strong.

Steve Smith

[50ccMoM]

I can see I need to spend a little more time on this forum.....Thanks for the inspiration Anthony you must be quite a guy to be going forward with such gusto.
I don't know many quad riders, we just never seem to cross paths, but if there are others out there with the fortitude you have I need to start meeting them.
Let us know how your driving goes, I taught most of our kids to drive and I know the thrill of the independence that you'll get from that.
I've also spent many years installing adaptive devices and modifying homes to compensate for most situations so if you need any suggestions let me know.
Keep updating us as things move ahead.....Stay strong.

Steve Smith



Anthony is certainly an inspiration. (unfortunately,
for his mother he attracts the ladies too) Sorry Anthony ! :lol:

[TwinTurbos]

Anthony,

As others have said, we're so glad to see you here. You have such a great attitude and positive outlook. It's good to hear about the progress you have made so far. Please keep us posted and good luck with the driving test and finals.

Amy

[Wysong]

Hi Anthony,

Welcome to RiderDown and I wish you the very best that life has to offer in your ongoing recovery. It sure appears that you have the right stuff to go as far as anyone has every gone before. Keep up the good fight.

David