LEADMAN: The Dave Mackey Story

[Music] on the morning of May 23rd 2015 I went out on a routine training run up to my favorite peak bear peak right at my house on trails I've run dozens hundreds of times at the top of the mountain I stepped on the wrong rock which basically sent me off the mountain and I took a 60-foot fall and unfortunately the rock laying on my leg 300 pound Boulder the I stepped on fell with me and crushed my leg after a year and a half I had my leg amputated [Music] all right you never said I commit [Music] to [Music] [Applause] the accident was on May 23rd 2015 it was completely normal morning hit been rainy all month so the soil was saturated tagged the summit and then was gonna come down the west side on a little ledge system about this time I stepped on a rock about 250 pound rock that I'd stepped on I don't know how many times countless times before and it just rolled outward out into space and pushed me out that way there's all reflexes and in all four extremities trying to grab things and land it on my back the first thing I see the same rock I'd stepped on initially the tumbled 250 pound rock is seeing this big thing just fall on top of my way I just started yelling after that the Rocky Mountain Rescue group they started the process of rescue and they just said there had been an accident I wasn't sure what it meant and it just was really blurry the whole thing was sort of blurry because I felt panicked I had to wait to find out what's going on so I didn't really know they were amazed that he wasn't in shock from the pain and after seeing his injury at the hospital I was - I went to surgery that night to fix the open fracture in over the next year and a half I think I had probably a total of 13 surgeries and Dave doesn't talk about that much because he likes to just work through it and he's not a complaint or whatsoever but I could tell he would be up at night it would hurt and he wouldn't say much but he would be getting ibuprofen or something I was just getting to be too painful and it was complicated there are a lot of surgeries because initial surgeries weren't working because there was still an infection in his leg you know I'd be able to work if I do anything there walk with a cane or something like that but I'd never appeal to I wouldn't be able to run it was very very slim chance of that many runnings not my life but for me just being active doing everything with my family being happy in the outdoors is so important to me and I found that the amputation was the the best choice to [Music] [Applause] started out in a really well kind of at a comfortable pace which I want to keep basically for the whole race came in to make queen felt awesome you know pretty much within five minutes of my my split toys right on pace hey you got a pack on your back that water's cold this water as a ball all right any other galleries look good yeah all right [Applause] [Music] well I just woke up our so ago I'm gonna go down to the hospital shortly my procedure yeah it hasn't really hit me till now probably what's going through my mind most of all is the sense of you know the loss or something something pretty important yeah I guess I don't know if I've been oppressing it and I must alert yeah I mean now that it's actually happening yeah it's real you know the actual surgery day it's pretty it's an abstract thing too it's gonna happen you know sometime in the future that that's happening now intense being an athlete was an important part of who I was a responsive athlete I was still winning races finishing tops and races and so that part's gone I think for me I've gained so much more I'm trying to see it as a you know making the best of a you know bad situation like his legs have been all over the planet earth if he were like a computer scientist it's not behind his desk all day you know I probably would think differently about it but that isn't Dave he's a he's a trail animal he's by far I would say the most winningest 50 K 50 mile or 20 you know trail guy in the country you know I mean I'd be hard-pressed to know many other people in the 50 mile and sort of distance that have done as well as he had I've known Dave for a long time you know so to see him to see kind of how he's you know going through this and weathered the storm and the up and down is I mean he's tough as nails you know but we're all human so I can tell that's heavy you know I can tell that it weighs on him and his family and and in all of us I I also know in my heart that it was the right decision it's just doesn't mean it's easy we will make decisions all the time that are really hard it's like the hardest decision he will absolutely be back bigger and better than ever and he's a better person for it I know that he's a more whole for sure and he's gonna do a lot of good for a lot of people [Music] and I think about that all the time like what would have been or what could have been and you know it shows my leg rather than my hat or my chest so again I came out lucky probably he could have easily killed me like an inch this way a little bend that way and he would be not have survived it but he did and there's a reason for it and we're blessed that he did and so determined to go on from here that's the other piece of it there was no giving up at all 1982 1982 and I went to work late one swing shift just like always did and about that turning phone ring the boss from up above up at the mine officers called I'm he said boys we're closing closing her down 5,000 people in this town over 3,000 of them worked at that mine overnight this beautiful 10200 foot community of Leadville the highest unemployment in the nation and we had everything that goes with unemployment it led to it wasn't good we knew we had to do something to save our community so then this that was the birth of the hundred-mile center model race they men starts out with the marathon that's the first race of the season and we do a 50-mile mountain bike race then we do a 50-mile foot race and we do the 100 mile mountain bike race and then just to add insult to injury right after the hundred mile mountain bike race we make them do a 10k and then we top it all off and that'll be this weekend with the number one value anybody's got you me anybody else's character can you can you face life when life wants to slap you around you can just look life right now answer yeah I'm here let's go race hidden about the podium getting about beating anybody but yourself race is about that buckle you go home with that bubble [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] these water in here water specific I'm gonna get touchdowns with the effort you want your meal with a shiny sure how my customized split what is it 11:40 time another bottle water Darcy Drive [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] had you know felt okay a little bit of you know discomfort a little bit of pain in the leg but nothing nothing too bad not phenomenal but I thought you know just decent enough I've got 14 of those silver buckles and finishing I've probably got another 1012 times where I ended up face down in the ditch every man's got a plan till he gets hit in the mouth right after my leg amputated of the year and you're an apathy accident I met with my prosthetist and I have a ton of respect for prosthetist because they've to deal with people like me her impatient and want to get out there it's a long road to that first year I remember the first time actually walked without crutches and had the prosthetic on it was a tremendous feeling of accomplishment and that's to be able to walk independently again it was seriously like learning to walk again and it's a to feeling independence and freedom and all that yeah it was it was awesome it was awesome to take those first steps again I have an accent [Music] I fell out huh I hate selfie fit yes but anyway I don't know I'm a little sad but thought it'd be higher than this you gotta kind of got up here by accident [Music] something changed when I would have been up there before I think when I had the accident and you know look back on it now and like wow that's pretty crazy you know to you know have all that occur and then go back to that moment and be up there it was challenging it was something that you know I never thought I'd lose in life as a body limb but you know it happened and I I knew I have a lot of a lot of steps and processes to get back to being on my feet from then it was you know it's been kind of an upward path it'll never be the same person I was before of course they don't have the leg but it'll never do it before however when races which honestly I could care less about yeah yeah that's kind of it's not like I've been there done that but it's not a huge goal of mine right now but I do want to do the best I can you know given you know everything I can do facing here right after Twin Lakes is hope pass as 12,600 speed of up up and straight up then the descent it's a steep descent after you've reached Hope passed down at three and a half miles down into Wayne field I walked up like a quarter-mile to trail it's kind of waiting for him and I saw him I could just tell just him coming in his shoulders down and I said how you doing is like not good I said what's going on he said oh it's my quads and hip flexors like both side root is shopping and do nothing to really do it static buzz fetus or no no skin breaking anything that sorry this is to figure out what we can do [Music] race changes in from the great physical athletic endurance race to a very emotional draining who AM what am i what am I made how good how tough am I so got him fed at the age station drink took a couple ibuprofen then just kind of turned around I was really thinking of my head let's just get out of here and then let's go ahead on because you'd been coming down off hope for so long down down down down I said let's just start going the right direction I feeling Dave you know I shouldn't have like a lot of energy flowing I was walking which is normal but I'm starting to feel pretty bad [Applause] [Music] within 15-20 minutes you got more chatty I was drinking really well man we just started putting it down and just started cranking you know just probably probably posted 30 people yeah so well man like pretty fit I think but mile five I'm huffing and puffing trying to stick with them there's hope [Music] [Music] [Music] boy day [Music] [Music] just felt really good and then had a great downhill in the twin lakes and overall no paths coming back was a springboard at the finishing the whole race [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] yeah [Music] [Applause] [Music] Yeah right behind you buddy [Music] everything's going real well and keep mentally he's in a great place it's a culmination of three years of hard work three years of getting back on my feet getting moving again walking again coming back to a normal life of being active having goals and a milestone [Music] then my buddy Bob Africa brought the lead man belt buckle over to me last night I didn't know he was gonna do it but blood man's a pretty cool event I did it couple years ago and I'd like to you know I'd like to do it again at some point so if I did this I'd be pretty phenomenal I had in that belt buckle and he's got one but it was more about like you know here we go [Music] and what would I hope is that that he [Music] then he can continue to show people that they can do this to do the best with what they have and I know he'll do that I've no doubt [Music] [Applause] Dave Mackay he'll go home he'll feel let me overcoming challenges nobody else hey proud of the guy left that's kind of guy I want around me [Music] was tremendous accomplishment I'm extremely proud of it I do know that there's a lot more to come though there's more hills to climb why stop might not do more [Music] [Music] Dave Mackay by the way our challenged athlete gave a key stage up there [Applause] [Music] there you go hold on that guy [Music]

Channel: Billy Yang

Views: 201,945

Rating: 4.9720645 out of 5

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Id: D5zti8iBbRI

Length: 24min 15sec (1455 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 20 2019