By Sue Tiffin
Published June 8 2017
Larry Reynolds wanted to mark the sale of his friend’s hunting camp by enjoying one more dirt bike ride with his friends on the property.
But on May 27 the ride became memorable for an altogether different reason when Larry moved to pass a fellow rider hit a bump missed a corner and crashed.
Larry suffered a broken shoulder wrist pelvis neck and multiple rib fractures in the accident and was rushed from the Miskwabi Lake area to Haliburton and Lindsay hospitals before being transferred to St. Mike’s in Toronto.
“Everyone’s saying how surprised they are he’s able to move because of where he broke his neck” said Brooke Reid-Reynolds his wife. “It was a pretty intense accident.”
Larry wasn’t an experienced rider and was on a bike he had purchased just a few weeks prior to the crash but he had been on dirt bikes and four wheelers multiple times – his brother-in-law is national snowcross champion and motocross rider Izac Reid. Larry was wearing a helmet and proper equipment that included dirt bike boots. Brooke said he might have added broken legs to his injuries if not for them.
“He’s being super positive” said Reid-Reynolds. “We just have to take it day by day.”
Reynolds is currently able to walk a few steps at a time but experiences pain with even minor movement. At press time he had been transferred back to Lindsay hospital for ongoing rehabilitation.
Besides rehab a major concern for the couple is figuring out how to move forward with Larry’s lack of mobility. Their house is not accessible for a wheelchair and they depend on two incomes. Larry had just started his second summer with D&K Contracting and Brooke had just started a full-time position at Curry Chevrolet Buick GMC Ltd. The couple who were married last August have been together nine years and have a two-year-old daughter.
“I’ve never had to go without him. He’s never not worked. This is all new” said Brooke. “And being so young and not having work is a big thing in Haliburton.”
Brooke credited the couple’s employers for their patience and support following Larry’s accident.
“They’re being really good they understand what’s going on” said Brooke. “We both have really easygoing bosses and really supportive family and friends which is what we need right now.”
The Reynolds are grateful for the help and support from their family and friends and are particularly thankful to the bikers who stopped to help at the scene of the accident. One was a paramedic that noted it was essential Reynolds not be moved – advice that might have helped prevent further injury.
A GoFundMe has been set up by family relative Heather Allen to help support the Reynolds family during Larry’s rehabilitation. Almost $2000 has been raised in a week. Donations can be made at www.gofundme.com/larry-reynolds-medical-bills.
