AURORA, Ohio — A little over a year after colliding with a steel pole during a night of sledding, 18-year-old Philip Case isn't intimidated by his next challenge: biking alone across the continental United States.
It's a trip years in the making, pushed back by just one year by one single event.
What happened
It was February 2023 when Case and a friend went sledding at a ski resort in upstate New York, and Case collided with a steel pole.
"It was warmer that day, so the assumption is the hill was pretty icy because the hill had cooled down that night," his mother, Sarah Case, explained. "He had a head lamp on and the forethought to grab his helmet."
"He doesn't exactly remember what happened after he embarked at the top of the mountain but apparently not long after he encountered a steel pole at a high rate of speed," his father, Clark Case, added.
Philip Case would soon be airlifted to Erie County Medical Center after breaking 23 bones, including his leg, back and skull.
Why he's doing it
The trip, slated to begin in June and take more than two months, will help raise money for the LoveYourBrain Foundation, a nonprofit that helps around 8,000 people a year dealing with traumatic brain injuries and the long-term effects they carry.
"I’m definitely grateful for my life," Philip reflected. "It’s pretty scary: thinking I can go through a whole segment of my life and it’s like it never happened."
Although he doesn't remember much, he's a little surprised when he stares at the helmet he wore that night.
"The dent is a little disappointing," he smiled. "You’d think it would be bigger, but it saved my life."
During the weeks and months of rehab, Case's family is quick to point out that there was one driving factor keeping Philip going.
"It’s been a dream of Philip’s for years to do a cross country bike ride," Sarah Case said. "When the accident happened, all he could talk about was the bike ride. 'I’m still going riding, right?'"
An idea that seemed like a distant memory but never impossible.
"You kind of take a pause: can he still do this," Sarah Case asked. "Is this something he can do? It’s given him the courage to move forward one step at a time for this ride."
"I’m super grateful he’s around to do this," Clark Case said. "It could have gone a whole other way."
This upcoming trip is slated to span 4,300 miles, 11 states, and take more than two months.
It's a reminder the Case family hopes to share with others.
"After all the visible injuries heal, [TBI is] a lifelong injury," Philip explained. "It impacts the rest of your life and nobody sees it because it’s internal."
"I hope [others] have a deeper appreciation for their lives, for their childrens' lives, and how easily it can all slip away," Clark Case said.
"He’s done so much already," Sarah Case said. "He’s come back from a really major injury and he’s going to do it. He’s going to do it."
Clay LePard is a special projects reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on Twitter @ClayLePard or on Facebook Clay LePard News 5.
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