Justin Lowery was paralyzed from the shoulders down in a swimming accident on July 6. Courtesy photo.

After a successful raft trip, three men dove into the river for one more swim. Two of them resurfaced.
After a frantic search, friends found 24-year-old University of Idaho graduate Justin Lowery floating limp in the water. Lowery had hit the bottom of the river, resulting in fractured vertebrae in his neck. He was paralyzed from the shoulders down.

Seven weeks after the July 6 accident, Chris Caylor — Lowery’s roommate of two years­ — wants to hold a downhill mountain bike race to raise money for Lowery’s medical expenses.

Caylor said that Lowery is a mountain biker and is dedicated to everything he does.

“The first time I met him,” he said. “I was up on Moscow Mountain and there was this step jump … He was just hitting it over and over again just trying to get it right. He just wouldn’t quit.”

Richard Lowery, Justin’s father, said that as of Tuesday Justin was still in intensive care and was starting to breathe for longer periods of time without a respirator.

“He’s had quite a few setbacks,” Richard Lowery said. “He’s had several bouts of pneumonia and his lungs filled with fluid.”

Justin Lowery’s spinal cord was damaged, but not severed. He is able to contract his biceps some, however there is still no movement in his legs, Richard Lowery said.

“I’m hoping for a full recovery,” he said. “And [Justin] being able to walk again.”

Richard Lowery said that he is still unsure whether his son’s medical care is covered by insurance.

“It’s been about $1,000 a day since he’s been in there. One bill was almost $25,000 … hopefully Medicaid will cover it.”

The cheapest price he could get to fly his son from the Boise hospital to Coeur d’Alene was $11,000.

The benefit race takes place at noon on Aug. 30 at the “four corners” area of Moscow Mountain.

Caylor said he is accepting donation checks at the race and online through his PayPal account, which is listed as his e-mail — This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

“If I could even make $200 … that would be great,” he said.

Peg Hamlett is Fitness Manager at the UI Student Recreation Center where Lowery worked as a personal trainer.

She said that she recently visited him in the hospital, and he was talking and smiling.

“I was really surprised at how upbeat he was,” Hamlett said. “He was so excited about the race. He couldn’t believe that people would do that for him.”

Prizes for the race include gift certificates that were donated by Paradise Creek Bicycles, Folletts Mountain Sports and Hodgens Drug.

Lowery will be in intensive care for eight more days, then moved to rehabilitation.

Hamlett was confident that Lowery will recover.

“He’ll just keep working hard until he’s back here training for us,” he said. “He’ll be back here one of these days.”
Hamlett said that Lowery was good humored, fun to work with and he always did everything “to the max.” She said that he taught a fitness class called “Hardcore.”

“He’s got a lot of energy,” she said. “He’s always trying to get me to go out and have fun.”

“People think that he’s some crazy hippie punk,” Hamlett said. “But he’s just a unique personality who tries to help people out. He really cared for people … sometimes more than himself.”

Registration for riders begins at 10 a.m. the day of the race and is open to all ages. Helmets are required. Racers under 18 must sign parental consent forms. A map of the racecourse is available at www.stinkmouth.com.

Volunteers for the race are welcome.

“I’m so happy about this race,” Hamlett said. “The whole Rec Center is behind it. There’s a ton of people pulling for him.”

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