Owensboro’s Cullen Sumner, a rising star in the freestyle BMX scene, is recovering in the pediatric ICU at Norton Children’s Hospital following a serious training injury sustained while practicing at home.
According to Cullen’s father, Eric Sumner, the 15-year-old was working on a 720 — a high-level spinning trick — when he landed incorrectly and was thrown over his handlebars. The impact from the handlebars caused a level 4 (out of 5) laceration to Cullen’s spleen, resulting in internal bleeding, severe abdominal pain, and nausea.
“He is stable, but in a lot of pain,” Eric said. “Blood did leak out of his spleen, so that is causing him nausea and pain in the stomach.”
Cullen was initially taken to Owensboro Health Regional Hospital before being airlifted to Norton Children’s in Louisville. His hemoglobin count has dropped since the accident, and doctors are closely monitoring his heart rate and blood pressure. If those numbers fall, or if Cullen requires more than three blood transfusions, surgery may become necessary.
“He will be in the ICU until we are out of the surgery danger zone,” Eric said. “Right now, he is resting. Moving at all hurts for him. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.”
Doctors estimate that recovery will take 6 to 8 weeks. The family remains hopeful that Cullen will return to action in time for the USA BMX Freestyle National Championships on March 27-28 in South Jordan, Utah.
Just months ago, Cullen was flying high in his young career. He placed fourth in his first expert-level event in Tucson and fifth in his pro debut in Nebraska. The teen is currently being scouted through Monster Energy’s Recon Tour — a pipeline for top amateur talent — and is chasing dreams of someday competing in the X Games or Olympics.
“There are probably only 10 people his age in the U.S. who can do what he does,” Eric said in a previous interview.
Cullen’s training takes place on ramps he and his family have built in their backyard, including a custom quarter-pipe and foam-padded “resi” ramp used for learning tricks safely. While this setback may temporarily pause his progression, Cullen and his family are determined to return stronger than ever.
