Enrico Quilico to run Ironman for charity

Enrico Quilico 2000 will be competing in his first Ironman July 24 in Lake Placid, New York and has organized a fundraiser for the Brain Injury Association of Canada around his competition.

 

In 2006, Enrico was in a highway accident that nearly cost him his life. His chances for recovery from brain injuries were almost nil, but he came back from the brink to run in his first half triathlon only two and a half years after his accident, and to complete a full triathlon a year after that.

 

A ful triathlon consists of a 750-m swim, a 20-km bike race and 5-km run. Enrico finished the course in just over 1 hour and 16 minutes.

 

Now, on the tenth anniversary of his accident he has his sights set on the Ironman, a grueling 3.8-km swim, 180-km bike and 42-km run, with a plan to raise money for Brain Injury Canada.

 

He has set up a website that explains his crusade here and a YouTube video here.

 

The original article from Veritas appears below.

 

Enrico Quilico 2000 nearly came back from the dead to make an impressive showing in his first-ever triathlon last September. Two and a half years ago, he was in a serious motorcycle accident that left him with injuries that his doctors thought he would never recover from. At one point, he was lying in a coma and his family was told to be prepared to pull the plug.

But, on September 13, 2008, those same family members were ecstatic when Enrico sprinted across the finish line after swimming, cycling and running his way to an impressive showing in this grueling competition. “I knew he could do it,” said his mother, Kathryn Stevenson. “I didn’t know he could do it in two and a half years, but I knew he could do it.”

On May 21, 2006, returning from a motorcycle ride on Ile Perrôt, Enrico was cut off by an oncoming car. Slamming on the brakes, he fell hard, smashing his pelvis and breaking his elbow and several ribs. He slid 60 feet and hit the car head-first at 70 kilometres per hour, experiencing massive brain trauma.

Fortunately, the car behind Enrico contained two doctors, who sprang to his aid and called an ambulance. In intensive care, doctors put Enrico into an artificially induced coma and applied a shunt to reduce the swelling in his head. But the pressure was too great, so they had to remove a large section of his skull to prevent irreparable brain damage. If they had not been successful, “I would certainly have been a vegetable,” Enrico says.

Eight days after the accident, doctors tried to arouse Enrico from his induced coma. To his family’s horror, he did not wake up, and the doctors told them they should be prepared to pull the plug if he did not revive soon. Five days later, his aunt was amazed to see his fingers and eyelids twitch slightly, and the long road to recovery began. “I was, essentially, reborn,” says Enrico.

But it was a rough road. Enrico had to rebuild his mental world piece by piece. He experienced hallucinations and was, for a while, lost in paranoid fantasies about what was going on around him and had to be tied to his bed every night.

Soon after, his rehabilitation therapy began in earnest, and Enrico responded enthusiastically. He not only had to rebuild his body, but also re-learn most of the physical, mental and even social skills he had possessed before. Just walking up stairs was a major challenge, and mental concentration was extremely difficult. But, before long he was back home, back in school and back in the gym recovering his former physical strength.

The bouts of fatigue that still plague him were not in evidence on September 13 when he competed in the Montreal triathlon on Ile Sainte-Hélène. He turned in an impressive performance for any first-time triathlete—astonishing for someone who’s been through what he has.

He completed the 750-m swim, 20-km bike and 5-km run in just over 1 hour and 16 minutes, finishing near the top third and recording what one organizer called “an amazing pace” in the final run, crossing the finish line in a burst of speed.

His triathlon performance will, no doubt, provide new material for the talks Enrico gives to students about safety. He has visited Selwyn House and other schools as a speaker for Think First, an organization that informs young people about the importance of wearing helmets and seat-belts.

“When brought to face yourself in this manner...you really find out what you are made of, what you can choose to do with your future,” says Enrico.

“I chose to make this terrible accident a turning point in my life.”

 

 

Enrico Quilico 2000 is returning to Ile Sainte-Hélène on September 12 to compete in the Triathlon Esprit de Montréal for a second time. This year, however, he intends to go the entire Olympic distance, which consists of a 1.5-km swim, a 40-km bike run and a 10-km run.

 

Enrico surprised friends and family last year by completing the half-length sprint-distance competition only two and one-half years after suffering a horrible motorcycle accident that left him clinging to life.

 

His amazing performance last year renewed his competitive spirit, and also taught him a lesson that he shares with young people as a speaker for Think First, an organization that visits schools to help children understand the importance of safety.