Erik Hotchkiss

Welcome to Erik's Caring Bridge Site. 

On September 21, Saturday, Erik was riding a motorbike on a dirt trail near our home in Kittitas County with a friend. He hit something on the trail causing him to get thrown down the hill and off his bike. When he landed, he was unable to move his arms or legs. Two hikers found him after hearing him call for help. He helped talk the two hikers through rolling him over and taking off his helmet that was making it hard to breathe. The hikers were able to alert other riders in the area including his friend of his location. One of the hikers ran 1.5 miles down the trail, drove down the dirt road 7-8 miles to get cell service and alerted 911. Erik was transported to the road by the local fire departments, sheriff’s office and search and rescue on a stretcher. The awaiting ambulance then took him to the Cle Elum airport where he was airlifted to Harborview in Seattle.

After a full evaluation, it was determined that Erik has suffered a cervical spine injury called Central Cord syndrome. The MRI found that there was spinal cord compression and he underwent surgery to fuse C2-C6 to stabilize the spinal injury and is now recovering. It is expected that he will be in the ICU another day or two then transferred to the inpatient rehab unit. This new journey will bring significant challenges for Erik and our family. The full extent of his injuries and their ramifications are not yet completely known, but we do know that we see little victories every day.  

With rehabilitation and support Erik can return to independence and mobility. Returning normalcy to Erik’s life will be a long process and one that he cannot accomplish without a great deal of care and assistance.  For now, we ask that you keep Erik in your thoughts and prayers. At this time, we are asking for no visitors. In the future as he progresses through his healing and rehabilitation, he will need visitors - both to raise his spirits and to play an active role in his recovery.

We feel incredibly overwhelmed to have such a rich and caring network of family and friends who have offered their thoughts, prayers, and services. 
As we learn more about his diagnosis and follow his progress, we will post information here. Erik is on a long journey now and we will use this site to keep you all updated on his progress.


Thank you for taking the time to check in on him. We truly appreciate your concern and support.

Please leave Erik a message in the Guestbook and please invite others to visit the site to do the same.