03:08 PM PDT on Tuesday, August 17, 2004

By JOHN STOFFLET / Evening Magazine

These days, they’re cheering on a cheerleader at the University of Montana. Rick Wiesemann was paralyzed practicing a cheerleading stunt last November. Now he’s struggling to learn to walk again.

Cheerleaders use acrobatic moves to inspire a crowd, but at the University of Montana, just seeing Rick walk again onto the court would be the biggest inspiration of all.

Many of his teammates were with Rick when his life changed on November 5.

Rick Wiesemann

At a routine cheerleading practice, Rick did a backflip maneuver when things went terribly wrong. While in midair, he hit his spotter and smashed into the floor.

“I just kind of came down straight on my head. I head a pop and I couldn’t feel anything and just had a really bad burn in the back of my neck,” said Rick. “I knew it was really serious because I couldn’t move. No one really gave me a straight answer at first because nobody really knew what was going on.”

Doctors confirmed Rick suffered a serious injury.

The impact of the fall dislocated Rick’s neck. He was paralyzed and couldn’t move a single muscle below the neck. No one knows if Rick will ever walk again.

“He (the neurosurgeon) said only time’s going to tell. We have to wait and see what happens with the swelling once we get the surgery done,” said Rick.

“He was dealing with it better than anyone else… We were just blown away. It was so hard to see him in that bed,” said Dan Cain, one of his fellow cheerleaders.

This once strong, ex-Marine now needs help with everything, but Rick is determined to fight back.

At first, Rick got some feeling back in his body. During a surprise visit to a cheerleading practice, he was able to stand with help.

Rick was determined to walk again.

He continues to improve through endless hours of physical therapy, but with an injury this serious, there are no guarantees.

Rick, however, never doubts that his wheelchair and his walker will soon be unnecessary.

Amazingly, just a little more than a month after his paralyzing accident Rick walked.

“I only walked like 100 feet the first time I walked without the braces and that took a lot of energy. It was really hard,” said Rick.

At a University of Montana basketball game, Rick took another step on the road to recovery and fellow cheerleaders and Montana fans who followed his story honored him at halftime.

Rick still has a lot of therapy and a lot of hard work ahead of him, but his next goal is to get strong enough to be the strength and conditioning coach for the cheerleading team.

Supporters have created an account for University of Montana cheerleader Rick Wiesemann at Missoula Federal Credit Union. Donations can be mailed to: The Richard Wiesemann Benefit Account c/o Missoula Federal Credit Union, 3600 Brooks St., Missoula, MT 59801, Tel. 406-523-3300, Fax 406-523-3530.