By NICK SCHWIEN

nschwien@dailynews.net

In an instant, his life changed.

But his faith never wavered.

Right now, that -- and the support of his friends and family -- is what's keeping Greg Thyfault looking toward the future and his recovery from a spinal injury.

"I've been praying to God since it happened, because I know he can move mountains," Thyfault said.

Thyfault was injured during hot laps of the United Rebel Sprint Series 305 sprint car class May 25 at WaKeeney Speedway. The accident left him paralyzed below his chest and with a broken shoulder.

"I'm going to plan on walking again,"  he said Tuesday afternoon from his hospital bed in Wichita. "But if not, it's God's will for me."

Thyfault, who recently moved back to Damar in western Rooks County, was to be flown to Craig Hospital in Denver this morning to begin therapy for his injuries. He said the doctors have told him he has good circulation in his feet, but he still has no feeling in them yet.

"They said it could be six months or a year with therapy,"  Thyfault said. "I'm just going to go in there with the attitude of whatever I can do, I'm going to do and plan on walking again."

Thyfault's accident came just at the time when he felt his sprint car was starting to come around. He had struggled with motor and bar issues two nights earlier in Jetmore, then switched bars before the May 24 races in WaKeeney -- the first of two days for Memorial Day races in Trego County.

He said those Sunday adjustments didn't help, only because one of the bars he switched was bad. Longtime sprint car driver Jon Johnson helped him with his car before that Monday's races, and Thyfault said it felt good when the green flag dropped for hot laps.

"I went into (turn) one and felt the best the car has felt in a long time," he said. "I remember going into (turn) three and thought I'd take the high side because I didn't want to blow down in the corner in case it wasn't set-up right."

But ahead of Thyfault, C.J. Johnson and Jake Martens had tangled, sending Johnson spinning and Martens flipping. Thyfault remembers running into Jeff Radcliffe -- the son of one of his good friends, Larry Radcliffe -- seconds later, then taking his rough ride.

Last week, URSS promoter Rick Salem said he thought Thyfault flipped "five, six or seven times" before coming to rest on the guardrail north of the track near the pits. It was the portion of the retaining wall that didn't have a safety fence.

"I remember a couple that really hurt a lot, especially that last one," Thyfault said about the flips. "It was probably because I landed on the guardrail.

"When I hit that guard rail, it didn't move a bit. The doctor said it was probably lucky I was alive."

Thyfault's sprint car, after flipping numerous times, stopped abruptly. He knew something was wrong instantly.

"When I landed, I remember my head was bent over more than it should have been," he said. "Somebody asked if I was OK, and I told them I wasn't. I felt my feet tingling. I knew that wasn't good, and my shoulder was hurting. There was a little bit of doubt, and I was a little scared."

Thyfault was taken to Trego County-Lemke Memorial Hospital before being flown to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, where he underwent a five-hour surgery on his back.

"Once I got on the plane, the lady was so nice and she asked me if there was anything she could do for me,"  Thyfault said. "I told her to pray for me. At that moment, I felt at peace."

His fourth, fifth and sixth vertebrae were shattered, and doctors had to fuse vertebrae together. His left shoulder was broken, and he said it still was "pretty sore" Tuesday afternoon.

He said he believed most of his injuries resulted when bolts pulled through his seat on one of the flips, loosening his safety harness. He said that might have happened early in the sequence, when he "nose-dived" into the ground after going airborne.

Thyfault said he has had plenty of support from his family, friends and drivers in the URSS since the accident. And he's heard talk of drivers feeling bad about the accident -- something he doesn't want to happen.

"I've heard C.J. is feeling bad, and I don't want anyone to feel bad about it," he said. "I'm at peace with it. If this is the way I'm going to be the rest of my life, I'm fine with it. It's one of the chances you take when you go out on the track."

Thyfault, who owns a trucking business, recently started exercising consistently to get in better shape. He had dropped nearly 40 pounds in the last several months. He had started running nearly 3 miles a day for the last three months.

"The last three weeks in the truck with my trucking company, it felt like God was trying to get my attention and get me prepared for something," he said.

Now, Thyfault is prepared for his rehab in Denver.

"I'm anxious to get to Denver and get started on this," he said.

His supporters know he'll give everything he has into his rehabilitation.

"He's going to put forth every effort to get better," Larry Radcliffe said.

"He's looking forward to getting to rehab and getting on with the deal. And we're going to rally around him and give him all the support we can."

Thyfault said the doctors haven't given him any idea about what the percentages are of him walking again. But he expects that will happen in Denver.

"I've talked to a lot of people with the same problem," he said. "I'm 100-percent positive I'll be walking again. If not, then it's God's will."

Thyfault said whatever the long-range picture looks like, he's going to work hard to get back on his feet.

"I said I'll do my part, whatever it takes," he said. "Anything can happen."

A fund has been established to help Thyfault defray medical expenses. Donations can be sent to the Greg Thyfault Medical Fund in care of Farmers and Merchants State Bank, 120 E. Main, P.O. Box 338, Hill City, KS 67642.