The Day That Changed My Life

    I had already worked for the company for 7 years when I got my brand new van, #2, one of a fleet of vans purchased by the growing company and fully-equipped with spare parts and customized by me to include a Stereo System, CB radio, and Police Scanner.

On December 19, 1980 the week before Christmas, the weather was about 32 degrees or so and it was raining lightly that morning. The rain was hitting the windshield and I had the wipers going as I made my way down Interstate 84 to my service call, which was about an hour or so from my home.

As I got off of I-84 , I noticed that, even though the rain was hitting the windshield, it was hitting the cold pavement and freezing in spots, except where the tire tracks kept it from sticking.

It was about 9:15 in the morning and the sun was warming up the pavement slowly. Soon, about 5 miles down the road, I came upon a now-infamous "hairpin turn" in the road. The corner had a sloping hill to my right and the road curved around the hill. The frozen pavement on that particular stretch of road was more pronounced due to the shade created by the hill.

As I made my way carefully around the corner, the van began to slide on the icy pavement. A sinking feeling in my stomach... My fingers clenched the steering wheel as I attempted to stay right. It was no use ... I started to fade into the oncoming lane, although my path looked clear and I assumed I would skid off the other side of the road.

Unfortunately, because the hill had shielded my view from the northbound lane, I could not see the Tractor Trailer Truck on a collision course with my morning coffee!

In a 3 second moment that seemed to move in slow motion, I grabbed the wheel tight - then blacked out upon impact with the truck. I remember saying very loudly out loud or to myself, "Oh Sh#@$t !!!" I actually recall seeing the trademark Bull Dog hood ornament before we hit, head-on.

The Crash Heard 'Round the Company

The hill was on one side and a pole was on the other. He pushed me backwards about 100 feet into the hill. I later learned that when we came to rest, my seat was 2 feet behind where it had been mounted. My head apparently smashed into the dashboard or steering wheel with such a force that I broke my back in 3 places and took a big bite out of my lip.

I don't know alot about what happened at the scene - I was out! All I can say is that it was because of my guardian angels, the Ridgefield Volunteer Ambulance , and the grace of God that I'm still around!

The next thing I knew, I was on my back on the way to the hospital in Danbury. I woke up briefly and heard them phoning ahead from the ambulance. I was surprised to be alive! I had no feeling in my legs, but I didn't panic...I think they had me full of Morphine.

I had a mid-radius fracture to my right arm... I bragged because I am Left-Handed... When the back pain got less,a few days later, I realized I had broken my left arm too... Two Arms - Two Casts! I would not be able to get out of bed for months.

The week before Christmas...

My brother Jeff, who also worked for the company, was notified first, since the police called the telephone number on my van to report the accident.

The van was towed and totalled at a junk yard in Waterbury , CT. Later I learned that the yard owner was told that the driver "didn't make it" ...Or in his words.... "They told me that guy died". It was a bloody mess. They broke out the back windows of the van to get at me.

I was moved to the ICU at Danbury Hospital where it was pretty foggy... I was counting the minutes to pain medication. My family began arriving a little at a time... Jan, my girlfriend at the time and a nursing student, soon arrived in the ICU posing as my sister. My sisters and mother and father soon made their way to the hospital. I can only imagine what they had been told. The outlook wasn't great for a 100% recovery, but I never complained.

A week or so later , I was moved to a regular floor, once it was determined I could leave Intensive Care.

I still remember that the traction bar in my room was covered with Christmas cards and bows from well-wishers... I was still pretty foggy, but I remember that the guy (19 years old) in the next room had been in before for a chainsaw accident to his leg... He was back to have it amputated, and he wasn't taking it well. I recall being relieved that I was "better off" than he was.

I spent the first and only Christmas in the hospital... still enjoying the fact that I was alive!

My boss at the time visited to tell me that no matter what, there would be a position for me in the company. I was so upset about wrecking the new van. I would be out of work for at least 9 months. I wasn't exactly sure what my outlook was yet, since they were waiting for my back to start to heal.

A good friend of the family, Russ Correl, happened to be the President of the Newington Volunteer Ambulance Corps. On a Saturday just after the holiday, Russ brought the ambulance out to pick me up and move me closer to home. I had a horizontal ride on the highway for about an hour and about 10 minutes of fresh air, as they transferred me from one hospital to another. Thanks, Russ!

I remember arriving at my room, 6th Floor South Room 3, across from the nursing station, but away from the window, with a door that opened in. This would be my home for the next 6 to 8 weeks. I was still a little "out of it" from the ride...an exhausting ride for me.

I spent the better part of the next day getting x-rays.... I don't think they had very good aim. I settled in pretty well with my new friends at the nurse's station and I was closer to home. My girlfriend Jan was going to school for nursing in the same place, so she'd stop over all the time. I actually had a great time, considering... The kitchen was willing to serve me Filet Mignon once a week and Lobster once a week... I could get take-out... I even had a bunch of visitors from New Jersey for Super Bowl '81 in my room. I was so glad to see my co-workers rallying for me.

I had a regular flow of visitors and the mail brought all kinds of encouragement every day. By the time I left the room, there wasn't an inch of space on those walls for another card. I saw people I hadn't seen in a long time and I was impressed by the fact that they took the time to visit me in the hospital. My sister Sue and brother-in-law (Batman) visited several times a week. This became a tremendous source of strength for me as the time passed more and more slowly.

I was in a double room and my roommate, Mike, a heavy guy, had jumped off the roof of his house and shattered his knee. He was there almost as long as I was and I later saw him at Physical Therapy... He never walked the same again and experienced several complications while in the hospital. What seemed like a simple fracture turned into a nightmare for him, and what seemed like a hopeless situation for me turned out alright. I kept thinking, "Why am I so lucky?"

I remember that they used to roll me out into the hall on a gurney just to change my surroundings for me. I had a great time with the nurses and they'd get mad at me for pulling myself down the hallway, visiting people.

Every day the doctor would stop by to see me and Mike. For me it was a waiting game to see if my back would heal by itself or if they would operate. For Mike , it was one complication after another. I remember he fell out of bed one night...I giggled. We became pretty good friends while we were there.

We got along well. Neither of us could get out of bed so we would toss fruit and candy back and forth. The floor was a mess! It was covered with fresh fruit and licorice! In the beginning I had to be fed, since both of my arms were in casts. Jan would stop over whenever possible.

After several weeks, I was informed that my vertabra ( "Lumbar 5" for you nurses ) was healing properly and that soon I would be put on the "tilt-table", a device that would prepare my circulatory system to be vertical again. You see, apparently the heart gets so accustomed to pumping blood horizontally that is needs to be conditioned to pump "uphill" again. The inner-ear also loses its ability to balance. My leg muscles were so weak that I could not even support my own weight.

Finally, the day came when I was moved to a gurney and brought to the tilt-table. They strapped my knees to the table to prevent them from buckling and the motorized table was slowly raised to 60 degrees. Immediately I felt nauseous and began "spinning". I needed to be put horizontal right away. That afternoon they tried again - they left me at 60 degrees for a minute. Progress! I could not believe I had been standing on these legs a few weeks earlier. After several days of tilt-table therapy I was measured for a backbrace and some "platform crutches", specially constructed to accommodate my casts. Everytime I started to sit up, the room would spin.

My First Step...Again

The days got longer but finally I was told I'd be going home. I had a wheelchair I could use at home. Since my arms were still in casts, I had to push myself around backwards! I can remember going out in public for the first time. We went for beers. I remember walking in to that room and seeing everyone turn and look.

The waitress said, "You look like you were hit by a truck!  " (I filled her in)

One day my brother picked me up and loaded my wheelchair into his van and we went to see what was left of my van, since I had not seen the aftermath of the crash. I was in the back of his van when we pulled in to the yard, where the van sat as a reminder for the next 10 years. The guy in the yard told my brother that the company had been to clean out the van already. When my brother told him the driver was in the back, I heard him say that he had assumed that I was a dead man. When my brother opened up the back door, the guy turned white! Eventually, that April I was allowed to take my first few steps without the crutches or wheel chair. I continued with my therapy until I returned to light duty at work that August. The company bought me a brand new van with heavy-duty suspension and high-back seats.

What did I learn? You can only imagine all the things I've learned.

• I learned that you may not know what you're doing tomorrow, if anything.
• I learned that when you say goodbye to someone, it may be the last goodbye.
• I learned about the power of prayer, not only mine but others.
• I learned to appreciate my 10 fingers, two arms and two legs.
• I learned that things can change in a heartbeat.
• I learned to appreciate my friends and family.
• I learned how to tell people "I love you".
• I learned that there is a higher power.
• I learned that miracles happen every day.
• I learned that there is nothing like a true friend.
• I learned that, after all, there is a lot to smile about.
• I learned again recently, that anything can happen, when I broke my leg skiing.