Photo courtesy of Mike Vest.
Shelby County Commissioner Mike Vest was injured in a bike riding accident at Oak Mountain State Park in August, and he has been slowly recovering from a broken neck, concussion and Central Cord Syndrome.
Mike Vest has been an avid mountain biker for six years. Although he’s had wrecks in the past, nothing came close to the one he had the evening of Aug. 6.
After leaving work that Monday evening, he headed to Oak Mountain State Park to ride on the North Lakes Connector Trail. Mike Vest, who is also the Shelby County District 6 commissioner, remembers crossing two bridges before being face down, unable to move and his vision going black. He landed on the right side of his head and had a softball-sized injury on his knee.
He doesn’t know how much time passed before an “angel” — Graham Alexander, a 16-year-old Mountain Brook resident who was fishing nearby — found him.
“Who would be fishing at 6 o’clock at night and hear my cries for help that far away?” Mike Vest said.
Alexander called 911 and Mike Vest’s wife, Diana. She had been working in her shop all day and had just gotten home when her phone rang. She said she did worry about her husband riding alone but thought this was a minor accident and that they’d be home in a few hours.
“Never could I have imagined that it was as serious as it was,” she said.
When she arrived at OMSP, after calling their son Griffin and the pastor at Double Oak Community Church, Diana Vest saw her husband strapped to a back board with his neck stabilized. He was alert and talking to her.
“I never had a single moment of fear,” she said. “I knew that God had his hand in this and that Mike would be all right.”
Mike Vest’s neck was broken and he was later diagnosed with a concussion and Central Cord Syndrome. His spinal cord was swelling and compressed due to bone spurs that existed before the accident. Surgery was performed the next day to clean the area up and reduce swelling in his spinal column. A metal rod was also placed in his neck to help stabilize it.
Since Mike Vest was unable to eat solid foods and didn’t want to drink the blended meals that were provided, he lost 20 pounds during his stay. He also was unable to move his fingers for over a week due to CCS.
Through daily physical and occupational therapy, he relearned to walk and regained fine motor skills in his hands.
Diana Vest said through it all, he “always had a smile or joke for the nurses and they all loved him.” She knew if he said he would walk out in four weeks, he would without a doubt.
“I just want people to know what they were doing worked, and the thousands of people that were praying for me, that their prayers worked 1,000 percent,” Mike Vest said. “I was out of there because God heard their prayers.”
Though he was initially told his stay would be five to eight weeks, he was out in just three and a half weeks. Mike Vest was released on Aug. 30 and immediately went to Chick-Fil-A in Greystone to surprise his son Griffin at work. A few days later, he would surprise his team at the Addiction Prevention Coalition, where he serves as executive director.
Mike Vest is continuing his rehab at home and at Encore Rehab. He is still experiencing tingling from his forearms to fingertips and from his shins to his toes, which might not ever go away. His upper body and lungs are still weak and as a former professional country music singer of nine years, he is looking forward to getting his singing voice back.
Things like shaving, brushing his teeth and eating take longer than he’s used to.
“My strength and energy level in my mind says I’m not tired, but my body is telling me nerves are still damaged,” Mike Vest said.
During his time in the hospital, he only missed two Shelby County Commission meetings and was glad to get back to serving his district.
Mike Vest said the outpouring of love, prayer and support he and his family received “blew me away.”
After the accident, his friend Chad Scroggins went to OMSP to retrieve and clean up his bike. Mike Vest took it for one last ride but said his days of trail riding are over.
As Mike Vest continues his healing process, he is optimistic and grateful.
“I’m glad God chose me to go through this,” he said. “I haven’t asked or thought one time, ‘Why me, Lord?’ I’m so glad I had this opportunity because God’s got something bigger out there for me and my family. I don’t know what it is, but I count it all joy.”
