I can’t remember my first fall, since I have been active all of my life. I started riding when I was 3 years old, was in all-terrain rescue (scuba and mountain rescue) team for 3 years, jumped out of helicopters, taught Tai Chi/Kung Fu and now have started to play around with cutting horses. Along the way, I have been in 3 bad car accidents, two of them 10 months apart. If I am forgetting or leaving something out, it is probably for the best. Injuries have been to the tail bone (5 times), neck (4 times), hip (2 times) and yes, I am still alive.

Two years ago, I took a bad fall off one of our jumpers. The incident resulted in a fracture of my left elbow, concussion, and a very sore backside. I use the Chi machine daily for one week, but more importantly I was back at work on Monday. I continued to use the machine on the hand and the recovery surprised the doctors. I am a designer, a left-handed designer, so the possible loss of mobility to my hand would have been devastating. As with some injuries, the damage can lay low and build up over time.

Almost a year later, my hip went out with a simple twist movement. My friends had to practically carry me to my truck and by the time I got home, I had to crawl to the house. One night with the machine and I was walking. WALKING! I continued with the treatment for one week and was back in the saddle that weekend.

-Su Bacon (Monrovia, CA)