Wyoming man who suffered litany of broken bones and left partially paralyzed in ATV crash vows to have first dance at his wedding: 'It keeps me going'
- Cody Skylar Peterson made the lofty declaration in an interview Sunday
- Unable to move his arms and left shattered by the rollover, he's in high spirits
A man who was left bedridden and seriously injured by an ATV crash this month has vowed to still have his first dance at his wedding.
Cody Skylar Peterson, 33, made the lofty declaration in an interview from his hospital bed Thursday, just 12 days removed from the bone-breaking crash in Wyoming's Park County, which also left him partially paralyzed.
Unable to move his arms and left shattered by the rollover that sent him tumbling some 80 feet, he's still in high spirits - and is still set to wed the love of his life, 22-year-old Sydnie Stambaugh, in August.
He offered the comments to Cowboy State Daily, ahead of what's set to be a long road to recovery.
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Cody Skylar Peterson, 33, made the lofty declaration in an interview from his hospital bed Thursday, just 12 days removed from the bone-breaking crash in Wyoming 's Park County. His fiancee, 22-year-old Sydnie Stambaugh, also survived the crash - albeit unscathed
He also described being airlifted from the base of Sheep Mountain, after taking a side trip in the ATV to check on some trail cameras. Then, the crash happened, leaving him with a laceration to his face, broken bones, and seven fractures in his neck
Peterson described being airlifted from the base of Sheep Mountain, after taking a side trip in the ATV to check on some trail cameras.
Then, the crash happened - leaving him with a laceration to his face, broken bones, and seven fractures in his neck.
His spinal cord was also bruised, sternum was dislocated, his right arm was broken in three places, and his left elbow was fractured.
On his right leg, his calf muscle was torn off, and his ankle crushed by the off-road vehicle.
He also suffered bruises to his lungs and damage to his kidneys and liver, he said - less than a week removed from a video interview with Q2 News, the CBS affiliate in Billings, Montana.
'I thought, "I just killed my fiancée,"' Peterson told Cowboy State during a telephone interview from his hospital bed in the Montana city Thursday, revealing his wife-to-be had been on board at the time of the crash.
'I just started screaming her name over and over again,' he recollected further, at the time unaware his fiancée had already ran off for help - sprinting toward her grandparents’ home at the base of the mountain.
'When I got to him [right after the crash] he wasn’t responsive,' she recalled, also taking the phone during the tell-all interview.
'His eyes were open, and he was just moaning,” she went on, adding that when she couldn’t get cellphone service at the crash site, she started running.
'I ran, I don’t know if it was quite a mile, but I ran to my grandparents’ house to use the landline to dial 911,' she said.
His spinal cord was also bruised, and his sternum dislocated. his right arm was broken in three places, and his left elbow was fractured
On his right leg, his calf muscle was torn off, and his ankle crushed by the off-road vehicle after it flipped on top of him
He also suffered bruises to his lungs and damage to his kidneys and liver, he said - while his bride-to-be managed to jump out the flipping vehicle unscathed
Sensing something was amiss, Stambaugh's father Scott, home at the base of the mountain, looked out the window and up at the mountain, barely making out the wheels of the side-by-side 'up in the air,' the woman said.
'He sensed something just wasn’t right.'
He went on to get a better look through his binoculars, she added - quickly discerning the couple's ATV had actually crashed,
The 51-year-old proceeded to enter his pickup and 'mobbed it up the mountain,' Stambaugh said, revealing how in his haste, her father 'actually... broke the [truck's] front axle.'
Meanwhile, her beloved was laid out alone on the lower south fork outside of the city of Cody in desperate need of assistance, horribly injured as his one-ton ATV sat on top of him.
Help, however, would arrive soon, with a sheriff’s deputy and a Wyoming Game and Fish warden the first to arrive.
'We knew those guys personally, so it was good to have some friendly faces at the scene,' Stambaugh, who miraculously escaped unscathed, said.
A helicopter was then called in to transport Peterson to the Billings Clinic, with his condition classified as critical.
'I thought, "I just killed my fiancée,"' Peterson told Cowboy State during a telephone interview from his hospital bed in Montana Thursday, revealing his wife-to-be had been on board at the time of the crash
Once at the hospital, Peterson was told that he would survive but will now face multiple surgeries as well as the likelihood of many weeks in the hospital and an out-of-state rehab facility
The pilot went on to navigate and successfully land on the mountain, which is comprised of a bevy of bare, rugged, and scenic badlands that caused the side-by-side to flip over.
'The helicopter pilot was very skilled to be able to land where he did,' a grateful Stambaugh said.
Once at the hospital, Peterson was told that he would survive but will now face multiple surgeries as well as the likelihood of many weeks in the hospital and an out-of-state rehab facility.
As for the cause of the crash, the vehicle, he said, had ended up at a dangerously steep sidehill angle, with one of its rear tires seated just over a hole.
Then, Peterson told the publication, 'that hole collapsed' - enough to start the rig rolling.
Stambaugh managed to jump out in time, after about only one rotation.
Her future husband, however, hadn't been so fortunate - left stuck inside as it tumbled down the ridge.
'I covered my head with my arms,' he recalled.
As for the cause of the crash, the vehicle, he said, had ended up at a dangerously steep sidehill angle, with one of its rear tires seated just over a hole. Then, Peterson told the publication, 'that hole collapsed' - enough to start the rig rolling. Stambaugh managed to jump out in time, after about only one rotation
Her future husband, however, hadn't been so fortunate - left stuck inside as it tumbled down the ridge
While hopeful, his fiancée admitted 'We’ve got a long road to recovery', but Peterson went on to make a more ambitious prediction. 'He told me, "I still want that first dance at our wedding,"' Stambaugh said - calling the August 10 date his biggest motivation toward recovery
At some point, his ankle got caught, he said - remembering how it was shattered.
He was then ejected from the vehicle, which went on to roll over the top him before coming to rest.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help the pair as Peterson remains on the mend, already raising $14,220
While hopeful, his fiancée on Thursday admitted 'We’ve got a long road to recovery', but Peterson went on to make a much more ambitious prediction.
'He told me, "I still want that first dance at our wedding,"' Stambaugh said - calling the yet-to-be called-off August 10 date his biggest motivation toward recovery.
'Yeah, that is definitely my goal, to be able to dance with her at the wedding,' Peterson said, revealing that his chances at a full recovery are good, even though the bruising on his spine has left his arms temporarily paralyzed.
'It really does keep me going. She’s an amazing woman and somebody I can’t imagine being without.'
