This CT man suffered horrific injuries in a motorcycle accident; now he’s running obstacle races

WALLINGFORD – The first week after Cam Senna’s motorcycle accident, it was touch and go.A car hit him while he was riding on Route 6 in Andover in October 2021, and despite wearing a helmet and protective gear, he suffered extensive blood loss, internal injuries and nerve damage. His pelvis was broken in three places, he had a broken tibia and wrist as well as a concussion, a brain bleed and a paralyzed left foot.He was airlifted to Hartford Hospital and was in surgery constantly for the first week.“He had many, many transfusions,” his mother Donna Senna said. “They had to take some rest between the surgeries because his body needed to have a break. They’d go to do surgery and found they couldn’t do it the way they were hoping to, so they’d have to take him out and come out with a new plan.”“They weren’t sure I was going to make it,” Cam Senna said.But he did. He spent one month at Hartford Hospital, followed by almost three months at Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford and he’s been in physical therapy since then.He wanted to give back to the hospital that helped him and Saturday he competed in his second Gaylord Gauntlet, a 5K race with 24 obstacles through the woods and on the grounds of the facility. The race benefits the Gaylord Sports Association, an adaptive sports program associated with the hospital.“They’ve gotten me into a bunch of activities,” said Senna, 27, of Glastonbury. “Otherwise, I’d just be sitting at home.“A great part of your recovery is the mental aspect so the sports program keeping me busy has really been a godsend. It’s been a great part of my recovery process.”Cam Senna (middle), his mother Donna Senna (right) and his physical therapist Aysia Starr Comins-Sporbert crawl through the mud while tackling the first obstacle of the Gaylord Gauntlet 5K obstacle race Saturday in Wallingford. (Photo by Lori Riley)Senna walks with the aid of metal crutches and last year, he walked part of the course and did the longer parts in a wheelchair, which was difficult because it poured. This year, he was determined to walk the entire course.He wanted to finish the race faster than he did last year but a logjam of people at one of the ropes obstacles slowed him down about 15 minutes and he finished in 3 hours, 15 minutes. Last year, partially in the wheelchair in the rain, he finished in 3 hours, 3 minutes.“Walking the whole thing was definitely an accomplishment for me,” he said Saturday.He was surrounded by a team of his family – Donna and his younger sister, Emily – as well as four friends who have known him since kindergarten and a physical therapy student at UConn, Aysia Starr Comins-Spobert, who has worked with Senna after his insurance ran out and he found UConn’s graduate student program could help him. Another sister, Evelyn, also ran the race.“It’s awesome to see how far he’s come in two years,” said one of his friends, Sam Giguere. “The fact that he’s walking it this year compared to last year is great.”They all got covered in mud after the first obstacle, a crawl through the mud under wires but Giguere probably had the most mud on him. Midway through the race, he was still removing mud from his pockets.They clambered over walls and rocks, crossed water (with blowup alligators lurking below) on a zip line, climbed a muddy cargo net out of a water pit and tightrope-walked across logs. Some of the obstacles were more difficult for Senna – at one point, he had to put his feet on one rope and hold onto another to cross a ditch and it was hard for him because of the paralysis in his left foot. But he made it.Cam Senna of Glastonbury navigates the monkey bars while his friend Ben Combs watches in amazement while helping spot Senna Saturday at the Gaylord Gauntlet 5K obstacle race in Wallingford. (Photo by Lori Riley)At one point, two of Senna’s friends tried to make it through the monkey bars obstacle and struggled. They were stunned when Senna reached up and grabbed the bars, and with his friends spotting him, breezed through it.Last year, there was an obstacle at the end of the race that the physical therapists on the team suggested he go around.“There was a vertical garage door that we had to climb and a drawbridge in the middle,” Senna said. “It was covered in mud. My mom and sister tried to go up as well and they couldn’t do it. I guess because I had been using my upper body more, somehow I was able to scramble up it. Which was so cool.“(The therapists) couldn’t figure out a way to get me through it and I was like, ‘I think I can do it.’ Them saying that made me want to do it that much more.”Cam Senna of Glastonbury carries a log during the Gaylord Gauntlet 5K obstacle race Saturday while his mother Donna and friend Gage Duart look on. (Photo by Lori Riley)Growing up in Glastonbury, Senna played soccer and did taekwondo. But since he started with the Gaylord Sports program, he’s playing more of a variety of sports than he ever did before: biking, ice hockey, archery, kayaking.“I think I’ve been more active now, especially post high school,” Cam said. “Funny how that works. It’s the people who you surround yourself with make such a difference in your recovery. And just keeping yourself active.”He is planning on going back to Eastern Connecticut State University – where he was a student before the accident – to complete his degree in the fall.“He’s doing great,” Donna said. “He’s such a trooper.”

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