Topic: News: Jay Bumgardner Struggles in WL after Skiing Accident

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Jay Bumgardner struggle to Suceed in Weightlifting after Skiing Accident: Competes in FHSAA 2A State Weightlifting Championships

The call came two days after Christmas and Diane Kalata's ex-husband spoke few words.

Their 12-year-old son, Jay Bumgardner, had been airlifted to a Denver hospital. What was supposed to be a father-son holiday ski vacation in 1999 ended tragically when the Deltona boy fainted while snowboarding in Vail, Colo.

Emergency workers estimated he was moving at 40 mph when he slammed head-first into a tree. At the hospital, he appeared to be dead, with only a ventilator pumping oxygen into his lungs.

"When you get a call like that, it's devastating," Diane Kalata said. "My prayer was, 'Please, God, don't take him yet. Let him live.' "

Diane Kalata said another prayer two weeks ago. It came moments before her son hoisted 215 pounds above his head to claim first place for Pine Ridge High School in the 139-pound class during the Class 2A weightlifting sectional in DeLand.

Today, more than six years after the accident, the 18-year-old senior will try to go one step further and win a state title at the Class 2A state weightlifting championships in Gainesville.

"I think I have a good shot," Jay said.

Family doctor John Terwilliger calls Jay's recovery remarkable.

"When you have a bad brain injury like that, most . . . people have a permanent impairment," Terwilliger said. "We're extremely pleased he's had such an excellent recovery."

But it hasn't been easy. The first blessing came when Jay's father, who watched a helicopter carry his son away, arrived at the hospital.

Jack Bumgardner suspected the worst. But doctors spoke of hope, telling him there was a chance Jay would survive.

"The good Lord brought me back to life," Jay later quipped.

Jack Bumgardner relayed the information to his ex-wife in Deltona, who was attempting to book a flight to Denver.

"They said, 'We feel like he's going to live, but we don't know how he's going to be when he wakes up,' " his mother said.

Jay's emergence from a coma was slow. Life support was required the first four days. He was semi-conscious after a week, but didn't fully wake up for two more weeks.

"His brain needed time to recover. He didn't remember anything. Sometimes, he didn't know who we were," his mother said.

When Jay awoke, his recovery was similar to what many stroke victims endure. Said Jay: "We went through complete hell.

"I had to learn everything from walking to talking to ABCs," he said.

The victories were small, but Jay made daily strides and was released from the hospital a month after the accident.

"He wasn't able to ride a bike," his mother said. "He couldn't even walk across the street or climb stairs without somebody with him."

Jay returned to Deltona able to walk -- albeit not briskly -- under his own weight. The next step was an eight-month cognitive therapy program at Orlando Regional's Sand Lake Hospital.

Jay's recovery was an inspiration to those who knew him, but he wasn't stopping there.

"Weightlifting was something he could do to gain a sense of accomplishment," his mother said. "He couldn't play anything. Before the accident, he was an extreme biker. He did motocross. All that was gone. It was like God gave him weightlifting."

Jay began a steady weightlifting program at the Deltona Family Youth Men's Christian Association. That's where he met David Duperon, then a Pine Ridge weightlifter.

"(Duperon) came to me and said there was a really strong eighth-grader I should see," Pine Ridge coach Travis Peeples said.

Duperon and Peeples took him "under their wings," his mother said, and Jay joined Pine Ridge's team a year later.

Difficulty with his balance, though, has limited Jay's success in the clean-and-jerk, one of two events that make up a lifter's total score. Other top competitors in his class lift as much as 250 pounds in the event. Jay has relied upon his superiority in the bench press to provide a 25- to 50-pound cushion.

Jay said he has lifted 240 pounds in the clean-and-jerk in practice, but his mother worries each time he raises the bar. "If I hit my head, I could die. That's why I don't mess with other sports," he said.

Beyond this weekend, Jay aspires to become a personal trainer. But education hasn't been easy because of his short-term memory loss.

"He's had to work harder than most people," his mother said. "For a long time, when he studied, he couldn't even remember what it was that he had studied the next morning. For him to make passing grades, he had to study for weeks. He would get up at 5 a.m. It took a lot for him to get to where he is."

Where is he? Jay holds a 3.8 grade-point average, according to his mother. He plans to take a six-month certification course at the National Personal Training Institute in Orlando and begin a career as personal trainer after graduation.

His philosophy is simple: "You have to enjoy life," Jay said.