Girdlestone on a new mission
Keagan Girdlestone almost bled out on an Italian road after his throat was slashed in a nasty accident in 2016. Now, the Christchurch cyclist is tackling the resulting post-traumatic stress disorder by raising awareness and funds for mental health. Robert
It was during a cruisy training ride in the French countryside last June when it hit Keagan Girdlestone. More than two years had passed since he ploughed through the back of a team vehicle in Sant’Ermete and severed his carotid artery and jugular vein.
He also suffered bruising to the brain and had several strokes and a cardiac arrest on the operating table. After spending 22 days in intensive care, doctors told him he should have bled out in two minutes.
But Girdlestone, whose last memory of the accident is the sensation of warm blood running down his throat, defied them, and the person who called the hospital he was rushed to and asked for a time of death to be provided to media.
The 21-year-old, having undergone an intense rehabilitation, felt last year’s northern hemisphere summer was the right time to test himself against the Europeans.
‘‘I was at a really good level, probably the best since my accident. So I was feeling confident,’’ Girdlestone told Stuff.
However, his optimism didn’t last more than a few weeks before post-traumatic stress derailed his plans to thrive as a professional cyclist, the same ones he’d had since shooting to prominence in 2014 by becoming the youngest winner of the 100km Le Race from Christchurch to Akaroa.
‘‘I was training well, and then just one day I went out for a training ride and I was doing some sprints. I felt a massive kink in my neck. When I felt that kink, I was really freaked out,’’ he said.
‘‘This uncontrollable process of thinking happened. The whole time I was thinking, ‘has my carotid artery ruptured, has that graft in my neck ruptured?’.’’
A few days off seemed to do the trick. Girdlestone continued to train well, until the panic attacks started.
‘‘I had no idea what brought it on. I didn’t feel anything in my neck. I just felt my heart start to race. I looked down and my heart rate had gone from about 130 [beats per minute] to 160. I thought, ‘oh my gosh, what’s happening to me?’.’’
Girdlestone returned home to Christchurch, where life became ‘‘very difficult’’ for the next four months. Panic attacks left him too scared to even touch his bike.
‘‘It prevented me from doing anything. It was taking over my life and put a strain on my relationships with my friends, and that’s probably the worst thing that’s come from this.
‘‘I never had any mental issues until then, and I’d never understood it and I couldn’t process how people could just be down all the time, until it happened to me.’’
The South African-born cyclist turned to school councillor and fellow cyclist Mike Greenslade for help.
Girdlestone started branching out. No longer did he only think about the sport which had dominated his life for so long. He started studying to become a personal trainer, and began exploring his creative side through his passion for photography.
Having struggled to put back on weight after he plummeted from 67kg to 50kg after his accident, he also started going to the gym in an attempt to bulk up.
‘‘I’ve definitely started to overcome it. My anxiety is a lot less. I barely feel anxious anymore,’’ he said.
‘‘I’m doing many different things as opposed to just cycling. I think I’ve been focusing my entire life on just cycling, and I need to broaden out and keep my brain from just being fixated on this one thing.’’
A fortnight ago, Girdlestone turned another corner by getting back on his bike, after doctors tested his heart and artery under maximum physical stress to show he had nothing to fear.
With the sole focus of raising money for mental health charity Changing Minds, Girdlestone has again entered Le Race, the same event he won in 2014, and did each of the past two years after recovering from his accident.
Any competitor who uses the code word ‘‘Keagan’’ when they sign up for the March 23 event will have $20 of their entry fee donated to Changing Minds.
Girdlestone, whose voice is now clear and loud – a stark contrast to a couple of years ago due to damage to his right vocal cord – will simply ride without a care for his time.
However, the competitive flame still burns for the Christchurch Boys’ High School old boy who rode for South Africa’s Dimension Date team at the time of the accident.
‘‘Of course, I still want to do the Tour de France. It’s still my dream, and to do the Olympics. That would be amazing. Those are my all-time goals.’’