Team Suzuki Yoshimura’s Jeremiah Jones
Fast in Recovery, Too

BREA, Calif., (Sept. 8, 2006) – American Suzuki Motor Corp. (ASMC) is happy to announce that Team Suzuki Yoshimura ATV racer Jeremiah Jones is back at his home near Bowling Green, Ky., and is taking his recovery and rehabilitation to the next level, and is doing so in his familiar, fast manner.

“I learned a lot at Frazier rehab,” said Jones of his time at the Frazier Rehab Institute in Louisville, Ky., where he worked with renowned Ph.D physiologist Dr. Susan Harkema. “I was the first one to get out of there so early. I was only in there about two weeks, and they first said it would take about four to five weeks.”

Jones will begin outpatient therapy in the next week, with twice-a-week sessions back at Frazier Rehab. This new program will have Jones in a harness over a treadmill, gradually re-building his legs, and the brain function that is needed to get them working. The primary goal of these two-hour therapy sessions is, according to Jones, “to get me back up on my legs again.”

“We at Suzuki are not at all surprised by how quickly Jeremiah is recovering,” said ASMC’s ATV Operations Manager Rod Lopusnak. “He’s always been a talented racer and a driven athlete. Now, he’s turning all of his skills and drive toward getting better as quickly as possible. Everyone at Suzuki is behind Jeremiah and his family 100 percent and we will support him in whatever he chooses to do in the future.”

In an ATV racing accident on July 30 at Unadilla Valley Sports Center in New Berlin, N.Y., Jones suffered damage to his spinal cord that has caused paralysis from the waist down. “When I left New York and first went to Frazier,” said Jones, “they taught me how to get mobile in the wheel chair and so I wouldn’t have to depend on other people all the time. Now I will begin the Locomotor Program at Frazier that will work on my legs, which have deteriorated from lack of use.”

Not all rehabilitation is physical, of course, and Jones was able to rebuild a lot of personal connections recently when he visited Ballance MX Park for the final ATV race of the season during Labor Day weekend. “I kind of got swamped, signing lots of autographs on Sunday,” said Jones. “I had a lot of fun and got to see a lot of friends again. It was very cool being at the track.”

He also has new hand controls for his truck that give him an even greater sense of freedom. “Hand controls are pretty easy; I’ve got all that eye-hand coordination from racing. I’m glad I’m getting a little more self-sufficient.”

Jones hopes to attend the American Suzuki Motor Corp. Dealer Meeting on Sept. 24 in Las Vegas. “I’m doing well, progressing more and more each day and I hope things will continue to come along as good as they have. I’m still Jeremiah Jones; I just don’t have any walking legs right now. I want to keep doing all the stuff I do.”

In addition to Jones' AMA ATVA Pro Motocross titles in 2000, 2001 and 2003, he won the overall AATVA Grand National Championship in 2001. Jones also won the Pro-Am championship in 2001 and finished second in AATVA Pro Motocross 2002.

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