For some young people who become traumatically injured, it's quickly evident - to them and to others - what led to their injuries, whether that be lack of seatbelts, alcohol or trying a highly risky stunt. That's not the case for one of our newest SMARTRISK No Regrets Live presenters, however, the bilingual Joey Desjardins of Vankleek Hill, Ont. No alcohol was involved, nor a lack of gear or experience. Instead, Joey's story suggests that you can do a lot of things right but that one or two critical errors can still lead to a catastrophic injury. Maybe Joey was overconfident that day, perhaps showing off a bit and maybe he placed too much faith in his gear saving him from a crash, no matter how severe. After all, it had done so many times before.
 

Joey was 22, a "hands-on guy" happily employed for five years in construction and months away from marrying his fiancée, Vanessa. He had played many sports and activities while growing up but by June 2009, Joey was most interested in riding motocross with a couple of buddies who had bought bikes at the same time. After 18 months with his bike, Joey had gotten pretty good. On June 14, he and his friends were riding on familiar trails just over the Quebec border, joined by a couple of guys Joey didn't know. Joey regularly wore full gear and was typically the most kitted out of his friends - wearing a helmet, kneepads, chest protector, kidney belt, riding boots and gloves. Until that day, wearing the gear had helped him walk away from any spills. "I was thinking I was invincible with my gear on," he realizes now.
 

Joey had gotten into the lead. He was heading up a hill at high speed when he hit a rock protruding from the ground, went flying and slammed into a rock wall. He remembers none of the incident itself, nor anything till he woke up in hospital later.  While his protective gear couldn't save him from breaking his back that day, leaving him paralyzed, Joey believes it did protect him from even more serious harm. He says it took him a while to realize his injury was not an unfortunate accident but, rather, preventable. "I was going too fast. I was trying to prove that I was better. I was showing off a little bit." He also realizes now that heeding SMARTRISK's Look First message might have alerted him to the rocks in his path.
 

It's been a long road to recovery, beginning with an eight-hour operation, followed by three months in a rehabilitation centre where he had to relearn how to do even the most basic things in life. But motivated and determined and with the help of family and friends, including his wife,  Joey has rebuilt much of his life. He has learned to drive again with hand controls and has taken up cycling, alpine skiing and even water skiing. Unable to continue with the construction job he held before his injury, Joey is now consulting with career counsellors to figure out a new direction.
 

Joey is now much more conscious of managing risk and insisted his wife buy a helmet to ski with him. Fluent in both English and French, he began presenting for SMARTRISK in 2010, eager to pass along what he has learned. He tells young people during the Live shows that they have nothing to prove to their friends. He reminds them, "You're not invincible." Joey learned his lesson the hard way: "There's a limit to everything. I pushed mine too far." 
 

For information on how to bring a SMARTRISK No Regrets Live show to a school near you, featuring Joey or another presenter, contact noregretslive@smartrisk.ca or 416-596-2703 or visit www.smartrisknoregrets.ca.