On my way to work--waking up in a helicopter
I was on my way to work on April 22, 2009 riding my Harley on a beautiful sunny April afternoon, when my life changed. I stopped at a red light, and when the light changed and I proceeded to start to move, that is when something happened. I have no memory of the accident or the impact, I can only tell you what the witnesses told us. Something happened either behind me or next to me that caused me to hit the car in front of me that had made a sudden stop, There was no skid marks, and my Harley was so torn up that you could not tell exactly what had happened to me, but whoever caused the accident left the scene before anyone got any info. As for me, I was unconscious, my right leg was broken in 4 places, my head knocked the tail light out of the trailblazer that stopped in front of me, and I was in bad shape. Thank goodness for helmets and leather jackets, I still was all in one piece, but I was still hurt bad enough to need lifeflight. I was put in an ambulance, taken to where a helicopter could land, and taken to Vanderbilt. I woke up 1 time as the Lifeflight helicopter was landing, then I passed out again. The next memory that I have is waking up in recovery after 3 hours of surgery, with all kinds of new hardware in my leg, staples in my head, bruises all over my arms, and cuts on my hands. My wife and kids were there and I still didn’t know what had happened! My wife explained to me what had happened, and I was thankful,and I am still thankful, to be alive! I still had my leg, even though it was damaged , and I would be ok. I was off work for months, went thru 6 weeks of physical therapy, but I am now back to work and back on a new Harley, so there is hope no matter how bad this seems or feels at first. At first when I could not walk, things seemed like they were hopeless, but I had to keep telling myself that recovery cannot be overnight, and it wasn’t. I had never had an accident like this, and I didn’t know anyone else who had, so I didn’t know what to expect or when to expect it. My friends from church, from work, my neighbors, and my family were a tremendous help to me both physically and emotionally. Learning to walk all over again at 52 years old is a challenge, but it can be done-I am proof of that! My accident was 6 months ago, and except for a lump on the side of my leg from bone growth, I walk just fine (no limps or anything) . I still go back to Vandy for check-ups, but the healing seems to be on track for someone my age. God is still in control of my life, and in control of my recovery, and God will get the glory for what He has done for me!
