MDK Motorsports' Nick Wey's Fast On The Mend Following Surgery

From the hospital directly to the Stanton's house - up early the next morning and on a bike. Sara Stanton's just as tough as Jeff, according to Wey!

ANAHEIM, Calif., (March 8, 2005) - Nick Wey knew it was done. An anterior cruciate ligament, stretched to its limits over years of abuse that could only be doled out by a professional motocross racer, finally gave way in less-than-spectacular fashion during a practice session at the Indy supercross.

Limping back to the pits, Wey's mind was racing. The knee injury had just cost him more than six figures in bonus money. A season in which he was - by far - the dominant privateer racer, running the Pro Circuit-tuned CRF250R for the MDK Motorsports team, was now over. In an instant he went from shining on his dirt bike in front of sold out stadiums to laying the couch watching SportCenter.

But he wouldn't be on the couch for too long, if at all.

"After my surgery I went directly to the Stanton's house," said Wey. "The next morning I woke up and Sara had me riding a (stationary) bicycle."

Wey, who had worked with Sara Stanton in the past with an injury, has continued what he calls Sara's "aggressive approach" to his rehab. Just a couple weeks removed from the surgery, Wey's already showing great signs of improvement and has set his sites on possibly returning to for the Outdoor National opener at Hangtown (May 22).

"Sara's definitely helping me bust my butt to get ready for the Nationals," said Wey. "And along with Jeff, I owe a lot to the Stantons. They've welcomed me and Nicole (Cappelletti, Nick's fiancee) into their home through out the rehab process. And even though it happened so quick, Sara stepped right in and helped out right away.

"I can't express enough how much I appreciate it."

For Sara Stanton, who's been working professionally as a physical therapist for 11 years, there's a couple reasons for the aggressive approach she prefers to refer to as "functional exercise."

"First off, Nick listens to me. He may not agree with what I'm saying, but he listens. Jeff (Stanton) never listened," said Sara with a laugh. "You can lose so much of your training by sitting on the couch for the first couple weeks. So, after consulting with the physician, I like to get people up and moving right away."

Sara's approach to Nick's rehab has him standing, in a swimming pool, working the upper and lower parts of his body, as well as his core strength, while adhering to the doctor's strict "no weight bearing" rules for the first four weeks following his surgery.

"Nick's making great strides and once we get past the weight bearing limitations, things will be much easier," said Sara. She also explained that she and Nick are also working on what she calls "propioception," which is the re-training of Nick's neuro muscular system to understand more of what his leg/knee is going through.

"Jeff had a similar injury ACL injury, but Nick's is different in that he a good meniscus tear to go with it," said Sara. "Knowing Jeff, and the shape he was in, he was back in three months. Nick will no doubt be ready to ride in three months, but we'll have to wait and see what his doctor says (Dr. Schaeffer) because of his meniscus."

"Nick's so special to us, we want this to work out perfectly. There's no need for him to rush his comeback and risk further injury."

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