'You just push forward': Jesse Savage ready to move on after losing leg in motocross crash

NEWTON TOWNSHIP — It was a day Jesse Savage wants to forget.

It was early afternoon on Father's Day when the 15-year-old from West Muskingum was participating in his first motocross race of the summer at Grear's Motorsports Park.

It was a track that he and his beloved Kawasaki 250 knew well, having maneuvered it numerous times with his house located across the holler on Kopchak Road. He had been riding dirt bikes since he was 3.

It was also the place where his life changed forever.

Savage isn't sure how crash happened

It was during that race when another driver clipped his rear of his bike, sending him into an entanglement on the track that dislocated his left knee, fractured his leg and severed an artery.

The loss of blood to his feet eventually led to emergency amputation surgery at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus.

Ten days and three surgeries later, Savage is finally back home. A long line of staples on his right leg, where an artery was removed, will remain for at least another week. By October, he hopes to be in his fitted prosthetic.

He's itching for some normalcy.

"I've got a lot of things I want to do," Savage said from his home on Thursday.

He can still vividly recall most of the events of the day, including the massive level of pain he endured, until he was given anesthesia for the surgery. He is still unsure exactly what caused the crash, which he said occurred in a usually docile area of the course.

He was in fourth place at the time.

"We think they came in and nicked me a little bit (from behind)," Savage said. "There is bump that drops off a little bit and I got sideways in the air. I don't know if my foot got caught in their forks and twisted them, all I remember is (my leg) just snapping and going completely out of place. It was a place I've never wrecked in my life."

It was soon realized this was far more than a typical broken leg.

"It was the feeling of 'did this really happen?'" Savage recalled. "But right when they got me on the stretcher I was giving them the thumbs up."

Teen questions why he wasn't taken to Columbus hospital sooner

When the severity of the injury was determined by paramedics, he was rushed to Genesis HealthCare System, where there were no operating tables available, he said. By the time he was in surgery at Children's, it was too late to save his lower leg, which had lost its pulse.

It is the time in between that still angers him.

"The ambulance that took me there, I'm pretty sure they knew they were no operating tables available at Genesis," Savage said. "And I don't know why they didn't go straight up to Children's, because the muscle dies at three hours. I didn't get into surgery up there until 4 ½ hours. We're going to look into that and find out why that was.

"They wouldn't let me drink any water coming straight off the track," he added. "I was dying of thirst. They had the tube down my throat. I had the IV, but I didn't drink water for a while."

He endured three surgeries in six days and had a ventilator tube in his throat for four, in addition to wearing a neck brace and unable to shower for the first eight days in the hospital. He finally returned home on June 28.

The stay at Genesis remains one that sticks in his craw.

Once there, Savage said medical personnel attempted to put his knee back in place without medication, insisting there wasn't ample time to do otherwise. When the knee wouldn't hold in place, it was then that air transportation was called.

Sarah Savage, Jesse's mom, admitted the timeline was frustrating.

"There was a four-hour gap between all of this," Sarah said. "Could his leg have been saved had we gone straight to Columbus? Maybe. Blood flow was there. It's just frustration. It was literally midnight by the time they got the blood flow, got the scan and that kind of thing.

"It's just a lot of unanswered 'what ifs?'" she added. "You're trying to move on, but you're always wondering in the back of your mind, 'what if?'"

Jesse wondered aloud why air transport wasn't already in place. He endured a 10-hour vascular surgery at Children's that restored blood flow, but they ultimately were forced to amputate.

"When they were taking me to Genesis, I remember talking to the dude in the back (of the ambulance)," Savage recalled. "I was like, 'am I going to lose my leg?' He was like, 'it's a possibility.' That's what gets me. He's knowing its a possibility, but why aren't we going somewhere? We should have just flown right up the highway. We'd have gotten (to Children's) in 40 minutes.

"It is what it is," Savage added. "Honestly, I'm good. I'm just looking forward to everything. I don't get caught up in a lot of stuff. I'm the type of person that says 'what's next?' You just push forward."

"We are unable to provide any patient or care related information in compliance with both state and federal law," Genesis HealthCare System said in a written statement regarding Savage's care. "At Genesis HealthCare System, our mission is to serve the community by providing the highest quality health care services and to help each person achieve optimal health and well-being."

'It's still an emotional roller coaster'

Savage said he still doesn't recall the first four days at Children's following surgery, the result of the pain medication.

He was showered with visitors offering support, including from West Muskingum head football coach Nathan Brownrigg, who brought his No. 32 game jersey to the room on June 19 with a football prior to amputation surgery. He was also at Genesis with him following the accident.

Savage called him "a big supporter."

"He was acting more like a dad than a coach," Savage said. "I wasn't expecting that."

Savage's closest friend in racing, Braxten Pisula, and his mother Stephanie, rarely left his side during that time in the hospital. It was Stephanie who explained to Sarah, what was occurring while she was in Georgia at time of the accident.

Sarah called the situation "a nightmare" for she and husband Ralph, who was at Children's with Jesse when emergency surgery was performed.

"It's still an emotional roller coaster," Sarah said.

"It was overwhelming at times," Jesse said. "There were just too many people in the hospital, but I got through it. I'm thankful for what everyone did."

Zanesville community rallies to support Savage family

When news broke of the accident, the Zanesville community responded in droves.

More than 20 area families and local businesses made monetary donations, provided items and offered labor to prepare the family's home for Savage's return.

Coconis Furniture donated an adjustable queen bed, Phillips Meats donated food and Jim Ethell and David Stoneburner, who own a home repair business, built a shower for him on their Fourth of July weekend.

Lavy's Flooring provided new carpet in Savage's bedroom, while Zach Ferguson, of T&Z Concrete and Construction, built a walk ramp to the house. Weiser Plumbing fixed their hot water tank.

The Zanesville Moose Lodge, at which the Savages are members, held 50/50 drawings and a fundraiser to help purchase his prosthetic, while Macy Bowman, a bartender there, sold 433 "Team Jesse" T-shirts that she created with her business, A-Mace-Ing Creations.

It was merely the tip of the iceberg.

Lisa Nader started a GoFundMe page to help assist with medical bills and travel expenses. La-Z-Acres Campground and its campers collected donations and created a tribute video.

Local veterans group Kombat for Kayaks, headed by James Clark, held a multi-day riding event at Pine Creek Valley Farm with 3i Holsters. The event raised $6,000 with Savage in attendance.

This was in addition to the Down Bikers Fund, World of Life Ministries and Salesville Church of Faith, all of whom made chairtable donations, along with other individuals and organizations.

Events on the horizon include a benefit on Oct. 14 at the Moose Lodge and a Muskingum Family Y 5K on Oct. 21. Sarah is the director of exercise and wellness there.

Sarah also thanked David and Robin Grear, who own Grear's Motorsports, for their continued support of Jesse since his accident. He still spends considerable time there, she said.

The prosthetic alone comes with a price tag between $60,000 and $80,000, with a portion of that left for the family to cover.

"We don't know exactly how much insurance is going to cover," Sarah said. "It's usually 80-20. We need more than one leg. We're very thankful for everyone that has donated, because I don't know what we would do. We don't have money saved in the bank to fork out $20,000 to $30,000. If it wasn't for all of the support it would be even more stress than it is."

Jesse's positivity has helped ease the anxiety.

"We are far more emotional than he is," Sarah said. "I'm a mom. The big thing was seeing him in pain and not being able to do anything."

Teen remains focused on new opportunities

Jesse said the leg "hurts all the time," but he is steadily learning to negotiate the pain.

With a promising football career in serious doubt — he was a running back and linebacker — Savage is already pondering his options as he enters the next chapter of his life.

"I just want this healing process to be over with so I can go back to doing the things I want to do," Jesse said. "I want to snowboard this winter."

He still plans to hunt, fish and ride dirt bikes, even if it's in a limited capacity. He would also like to learn to play golf, while he remains interested in a potential mowing and landscaping venture, something that was on his mind before the accident.

The family is trying to take a positive approach, even as the injury is still fresh in everyone's mind.

"This is going to open up a lot more opportunities for him," Sarah said.

Jesse still plans on being in school as scheduled and around the Tornadoes' football team this fall, even while he waits on his prosthetics. He was noncommittal on his playing future, even as many in his circle would like him to try.

"I'll just have to see where I'm at next year," Jesse said. "I don't know. We'll see."

Savage said he's been "putting around" on a 90cc automatic four-wheeler near the house to pass the time. He's already thinking about the possibility of riding again once his prosthetic arrives, using a manual hand shifter and brake system.

He is currently working on his motorcycles in the basement of the house. He vowed to return to his 250cc.

"I'd be on the bike right now if I could," he said.

Sarah agreed.

"You can't keep him inside," she said.

sblackbu@gannett.com; Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Zanesville rallies around teen, 15, who lost leg in motocross crash