Back on his feet after horror fall

Ben Thomasen broke 14 bones in his body when he fell from his motocross bike late last year.
The Papamoa man's pelvis snapped clean in half and his back was broken in three places. One of his vertebrae was shattered, along with his right heel. His left heel was broken, as was his right wrist and elbow and four ribs.
Despite the catalogue of injuries, the 26-year-old is back on his feet walking _ albeit slowly and on crutches _ and considers himself lucky to be alive.
Four months after the accident, Mr Thomasen has just been released from hospital and is recovering at home in Papamoa.
He goes to physiotherapy three times a week and is still learning how to walk again. The pelvis break left one leg longer than the other, so his shoes had to be adjusted to suit.
"They said I could be in hospital for up to a year and there was a good possibility I wouldn't walk again," he said.
"I wasn't too fazed. I was just happy to be alive because I knew I'd come so close to dying."
The accident happened in December during the MX1 category in round three of a national motocross competition in Timaru.
Mr Thomasen was approaching a jump, which he should have hit about 30km/h, instead hitting it at about 90km/h.
"One hand slipped off the handle bars, which made the other hand turn the throttle," he said.
"Instead of slowing down for the jump, I sped up and hit it way too fast."
He flew 50m through the air and dropped from a great height, landing on his feet.
The impact exploded one of his heels and did serious damage to almost every part of his body. Only his head and one arm escaped unscathed.
Mr Thomasen was not knocked unconscious so had to deal with agonising pain as he waited to be treated. The only paramedic equipped to deal with Mr Thomasen's serious injuries was already tending to another injured rider who had a serious fall just minutes earlier.
Mr Thomasen spent an hour on the ground with no pain relief and had only junior medics and his friends there to comfort him.
"I was freaking out because I knew I'd done something to my spinal cord _ I could only slightly feel my leg," he said.
Two hours after the accident, help finally arrived in the form of a rescue helicopter which flew him to Timaru Hospital.
He had numerous operations in the following weeks and spent his first five weeks in Burwood Spinal Unit in Christchurch. He now has plates, pins and metal holding him together.
Despite the horrific injuries, motocross is still a sport Mr Thomasen loves.
Although he's still undecided about returning to motocross, he's leaving it open.
"One day if I got strong enough I think I'd be quite happy to have a bike and just ride for fun."