On July 3, 2024, Ellingham was riding in the cycle lane on Napier\u2019s Marine Parade, preparing for a race, when the car beside him turned left into Ellingham\u2019s bike, sending him flying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was riding along, basically, I could see \u2018there\u2019s the Sound Shell, TNG building, Six Sisters, and bang\u2019,\u201d Ellingham said.<\/p>\n
Strat Ellingham crosses the finish line at the 2019 TDU Challenge Ride in Adelaide.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I\u2019m looking up at two paramedics in an ambulance with a whole lot of police and I thought, this is not good.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the second thought was, I\u2019m alive, that is good.\u201d<\/p>\n
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.<\/a><\/p>\n Unable to move, Ellingham was sent via helicopter from Napier to Wellington, then on to Christchurch Hospital for around 36 hours\u2019 worth of investigations, X-rays, MRIs and CT scans. Then the doctors operated on him.<\/p>\n \u201cThe big damage was to my C3 and C4 [vertebrae], that was badly fractured,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The person who drove into Ellingham was charged with careless or inconsiderate vehicle operation causing injury, ordered to pay $10,000 reparation and disqualified from driving for six months.<\/p>\n Doctors removed Ellingham\u2019s disc fragments and replaced it with hip bone fragments and inserted bolts and plates and put him in a neck brace.<\/p>\n Ellingham then spent five days in ICU and a further seven days in the trauma ward before being transferred to the Burwood Hospital Spinal Unit, a unit Ellingham described as \u201cbrilliant\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe nurses, doctors, physios, everyone at Burwood is very supportive and encouraging,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n When he arrived at Burwood, Ellingham had no movement available to him, but after spending five months at the hospital, he relearned how to walk in the hospital\u2019s pool, and how to sit and to stand, thanks to physio work and getting in the gym on specialised equipment.<\/p>\n After five months at Burwood, Ellingham returned to his home in Napier in December 2024 with much better movement available to him, but he still had a way to go.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know how badly damaged I\u2019d be, because I think I naively said in August, \u2018I think I\u2019ll need some assistance when I get home\u2019,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it was good to be home.\u201d<\/p>\n Ellingham said his wife and three children had been immensely helpful and supportive of his recovery journey, as well as his team of carers and his cycling friends Ben and Nat, who created \u201cStrat-man\u201d socks to raise funds for him while he was in Burwood.<\/p>\n