One Dead One Seriously Injured!

2005-07-18T21:49:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Ron and this is my story!

It all started on December 28th of 2000. I had a doctor's appointment that day in a near by town. It was a beautiful winter day. I climbed into my Jeep Cherokee and left town headed toward the city where my appointment was located. I was headed west on Hwy. 20 toward Corvallis, when it all began. I had just pulled away from the last stop light in town and headed into the countryside. I cleared a small hill and saw several cars coming toward me around the corner ahead. Then I noticed a cloud of dust back in the pack of cars. I couldn't see the car that was causing the dust cloud. As I proceeded along, I slowed and pulled to the right as far as I could get without going into the ditch. At the same time I was looking through the windshields of the oncoming cars, trying to get a look at what was happening back in the group of cars. Suddenly there was a horrendous crash. The car that created the dust cloud had hit me head-on! When I re-opened my eyes I saw the car, or what was left off it spinning away from me in the same direction I was headed. It was so mangled it was not distinguishable that it was even a car. It was just a twisted pile of metal. It was all that was left of a Ford Escort. It came to rest a few feet in front of my Jeep. I then noticed I was bleeding profusely from my face. All I could see is my crimson red blood spraying from my face. There was so much blood I went into hysterics! I began too scream for bloody murder. I thought I would bleed to death before help could arrive. Then as if someone turned off a faucet the bleeding stopped. For a moment I thought I had bled out! When I got my composure, I began to look around the car. The front passenger seat and the console were covered in my crimson life fluid! The cup holders in the console were full to the brim with my life's blood. At that point I was already in shock so nothing seamed to bother me much. I then realized I was hurting in other places also. I began to check myself out. I looked to the left and saw the steering wheel and column were gone. I was laying in a pile on the floor in front of the driver's seat, and was laying across the console. With every breath I could here crackling noises and knew I had broken ribs. With my right arm, I pushed myself up away from the console. But in doing so I noticed the seat belt was around my neck. After a short time I was able to release it. I then tried to lift myself back up onto the seat. But the seat was bent forward and I couldn't get all the way back up on it. I was only able to get on to it enough that I was able to un-tangle my twisted broken body! When I turned my legs back to the left my knee hit something that caused me great pain. It was the steering wheel, which was hanging by some wires from the dash board. While still holding myself up from the console I lifted the steering wheel from my left knee. I noticed a hole in my pants with something white protruding from it. I later found out it was my kneecap! Then I noticed people outside of my car. I saw someone run passed the front of my car to the other car. As quick as he or she got there the person turned away and I heard him say "This One's Gone!" Suddenly a woman tapped on the drivers side window of my Jeep and asked if there was anything they could do to help me. I asked her to break the window! With that I pulled my coat up over my head and she did just that! I then asked her to hold this, and handed her the steering wheel. Then another woman asked me if there was anyone I wanted her to call! I asked her to call my wife. At that time the paramedic's arrived on the scene! When they came up to the car they took the steering wheel from the woman and cut the wires removing it from the car. They then asked me some questions and took my vitals. Several fireman were using the Jaws of life to remove the rear hatch from the Jeep to try to get to me, as the drivers door was wedged shut from the crash. But they couldn't recline the seat as it was a power seat and the battery had been destroyed in the crash. I told them to come in through the drivers door. So they turned there attention to prying off the drivers door with the Jaws of Life. After they removed the door they cut the hinges off the seat, I could sit upright. My left foot was under the seat, and when I pulled it out my foot was turned around backward. Using my arms to lift my left leg I raised it up and set it outside the door, I then removed my right leg from the crumpled Jeep. And they were able to remove me from the car and place my broken body onto the stretcher. They then rushed me to Albany General Hospital where my injuries were assessed. I don't remember much from then. A while later the doctor's at AGH ( Albany General Hospital) decided my injuries were beyond there expertise. So they put me back into an ambulance and sent me to Oregon Health Sciences university in Portland. They had the sirens blaring and were not wasting any time getting me there. But with every BUMP in the road I let out a scream! I'm sure they didn't like me much by the time we got there. As it was a 80 mile journey, and I was calling them every name in the book. I remember pulling up to the emergency room door, but nothing for several days after. The first time I awoke I was in Intensive care, and it was New Years Eve, or at least that's what the nurse said. Before she entered the room I couldn't move or hear anything, and as people walked passed I would call out, but no one would answer. I began to panic, as I thought I had died. I remember asking the nurse if I was going to live, but she didn't answer! I guess she couldn't! A few days later I was moved to another room and that's when I first learned how bad my injuries were. The 28th when I was brought in I had 3 teams of surgeons working on me at the same time, trying to put me back together again. One was working on my face, one on my chest and the other on my left leg. I had suffered several debilitating injuries. My nose had been ripped from my face, bone , cartilage and all. A team of plastic surgeons had to completely reconstruct my nose! All the ribs on the right side of my chest were broken and all the cartilage was pulled loose from the bone. This is called a flailed chest. Also my right lung was punctured in several places and had to be repaired. My left leg had a laceration that started on the left of my knee about 6 inches from the top center of my kneecap. It went across my knee cap area to the right about 4 inches then up my leg about 7 inches. This laceration was to the bone cutting all the major ligaments and tendons and had cut my kneecap from my leg. Then to my ankle. My left ankle was crushed. My foot was turned around backward and the talus bone was backwards from my foot. The talus bone is the bone your leg bones pivot on, it's the bone that makes your ankle bend. Also the talus bone was broken into 21 pieces. Somehow the orthopedic surgeons turned the talus back around and using pins, screws, and a plate stabilized it! But they did not know if the talus would survive, because it was so badly injured. I had a cast on my left leg from my toes to my hip. A splint on my nose. And there was nothing they could do for my broken ribs, they just have to heal on there own. I spent about 2 weeks in the hospital and was released. But went I got home I was still ambulatory and had a hospital bed awaiting me. I was in a wheel chair for about a year. And then slowly began to get around on my own. Since I've had 2 more surgeries on my ankle, where they tried to fuse my talus to my heal bone, they call this a "sub-talor fusion." But the talus bone is not viable enough for the fusion to take. So, I have what they call a non-union. Effectively this is when you have bone on bone and non healing bone. It's very painful!!!
More to Come.....
After I got out of the Hospital..................
The months that followed the accident were very hard. I laid in a hospital bed at my home for months. My family was wonderful. I had help from all of them with meals and transportation to and from doctors appointments. But it was a very trying time! My best friend, was a little dog, and three days after I got home he got sick. He cried for a couple day's until I couldn't take it anymore. I told my wife to take him to the Vet. When she returned home he wasn't with her. She told me he had cancer and had to be put down. It was very hard for me, as I was in a very emotional time. I still miss him. In February of 2001 I filed for SSI and SSDI, for the first time. As the days, weeks, and months drifted by I slowly healed. But, the healing process for my injuries seems to never end. As time goes by I'm not getting any better. I have come to a point were I am as good as it's going to get. I'm in constant pain and some day's can't seem to get past the emotions! Since the accident I have changed. I used to be a very busy person. I was always doing something. Now I have good and bad days. On the good days I like to work in my yard. But, I can't do too much, or I'm flat on my back for several days. I can't be on my feet for more than a few minutes or I pay for it when I do sit down. My foot hemorrhages. It turns black, red, and blue, and it swells terribly. I've also found that I don't have the lung capacity I used to. I get winded very quickly. Life is a struggle now, as I haven't been able to go back to work yet. I don't know if I'll ever be able to work again. But Social Security has denied me 3 times. They say I'm not disabled! Besides my injuries from the accident I have a very bad back. Over the years I've fractured vertebrae on three different occations and have a herniated disc, and degenerative disc disease. I also have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, which causes more pain. After my leg and foot healed, and I could somewhat get around, I went to the Oregon Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. I spent a very long time, jumping through all their hoops, filling out paperwork, taking test, etc. To qualify for help from them. They finally decided to help me with retraining. I decided on a major in Accounting, as I have a lot of math skills. But shortly into the program, at the local Community College, I found my self having problems. I talked to my councilors at the college and at Voc. Rehab. Then Voc. Rehab. had a physiologist come in and run me through a battery of tests. It was found that I had suffered a brain injury in the accident. My short term memory was a problem. I tried for several terms in college to around this by using special help from disabled services. But, to no avail., my grades kept dropping until I had to drop out of school. But still Social Security denies me. My memory seems to be getting worse all the time. A few months ago I really noticed a problem that brought this to my attention. I've been a fan of motor racing since I was a small boy. And, one day I was watching TV, when a commercial came on. It was a commercial for Chrysler/ Dodge/ Mopar. The man on the commercial was familiar to me, but I couldn't remember his name! I knew he was very famous but, know matter what I did, I couldn't put a name with his face. I couldn't get it out of my mind. After seeing the commercial several times, over a period of a couple weeks, I finally put a name with his face. It was Richard Petty. After I realized who he was, it really bothered me. This man is an icon in motorsports. I shouldn't have had any problem remembering his name, but I did! Now I'll be talking to someone, and won't be able to find the words I'm trying to say. Most of the time they won't even be difficult words, they'll just be words we all use, all the time. I also, when talking to another person find myself rambling, I just jump from one topic to another without finishing any of them. I know this is frustrating to the people I talk too. But, I can't help it. It's like my brain is short circuited somehow!
July 12, 2005
I know I haven't written anything for a while. My life has been very busy. My 95 yr. Old Grandmother had a heart attack and subsequently died the next day. So I haven't had time to get to my bloc to tell you how things are going. Other than grandma dyeing, nothing much has changed in my life. I did have my 30 yr. High School reunion a couple of weeks ago. Since my accident my friends have meant so much to me. And, it was so good to get reconnected to so many old friends I had lost contact with so many years ago. I'm still waiting for my appeals hearing with Social Security. I just can't understand how they can deny a person who needs the money they have paid into SSI for so many years when they really need it. I've known so many people through the years that weren't in as much pain and misery as myself that got SSI and SSDI. It's just not fair! I do have good day's occationally, but, it seems that when I do, I always over due it and am back flat on my back for several days and sometimes weeks. Chronic pain is something I would never wish on anyone! I can't take pain pills for the pain because I got addicted to them following the accident and am afraid of that happening again. I don't want to go through the withdrawals again! I was able to wean myself of them but it was very hard. I have a strong will and a lot of will power.
As I've been involved in Stock Car racing at the local race track for many years, I occationally go to the track to see my old friends. I have a very good friend there who has been there for me through my ordeal. Since he knows I don't have much money, he pays my way into the races, so I can enjoy myself as much and as often as possible. I'm not much help to him with the race car, as I've forgotten everything I learned about setting the car up. And, I can't do much to help him through out the night, but, he enjoys my company, and still asks me what I think we should do to the car to make it faster. I enjoy this immensely but pay for it each and every time I go. I usually over due it, and hurt badly for days afterward. But, in my mind it's all worth it, as I enjoy it so much. But when I'm on my feet to much my left ankle hemorrhages, leaving my ankle all strawberried and bruised. It also swells a great deal and I can't hardly get up to go to the bathroom without screaming in agony for a couple days. I have so much nerve damage in my ankle from all the surgeries that my foot feels like it's asleep most all the time. But, when I am on it too much it goes completely numb. When it does this I can't tell how much I'm damaging it until I sit down and take off my shoes. Then it begins to swell and turn all sorts of colors. Then when I get up and put weight on it I usually end up screaming in agony. It's no fun. My doctor wants to operate on it again but I don't like the prognosis of the surgery. He wants to remove the talus bone and fuse my ankle solid. This would make my left leg about 1 inch shorter and I would have to have all my shoe built up. Also they would have to put a rocker sole on my shoes to take the place of my ankle. This would alleviate most of my ankle pain, but, it would make it much harder for me to get around. Plus without SSI and SSDI I just can't afford to do it. I'm sorry if I have been venting but I need people to know how screwed up our government agencies are!!! Thanks for listening I'll write more again soon.

I'm back! It's March 2006. Nothing much has changed except I finally got my appeals hearing in January of 2006. Nothing has been determined yet. Last month I had, I guess what you would call an emotional breakdown. Ever since the accident I've had thoughts of suicide. And, when someone makes me mad I obcess about getting them back in one way or another. I got into an agument with my Dad and I obsessed until I wrote him a very ugly letter. I couldn't print it out, so I called him and read it to him. I told him to shut up and listen, and not say a word until I finished. When I did finish I hung up, and haven't talked to him since. I cried for a week. I called the crisis line and talked to someone there for a while. They made an appointment for me to see a therapist. Last month I went in for the intake appointment. The therapist sid she thought I was Bi-Polar. I'm not sure if she was right, all I know is somethings wrong with me and I feel like I'm going crazy! I told my lawyer about the diagnosis, and he asked the SSI judge for a continuance. A couple days ago I got a letter from the deterninations department. They are sending me in for a neurophsycological exam. I don't know what that means, all I know is that it said it would take 3 to 6 hours. I'm really nervous about all this! I'm affraid I'm going to end up in the nut house. I know from talking to my friends that I've changed since the accident. I knew it before I was told. I don't like myself anymore. I don't have any self esteem, and have a real hard time talking to people I don't know well. I'm in fear all the time, I'm always afraid I'll say the wrong thing. It seems I have no control of what comes out of my mouth anymore. I drive people away before they can really get to know me. I don't know what I'm going to do. I need help!

2005-06-11T22:22:00.000-07:00

I know this isn't a very good pic is was taken from a newspaper article.

Accident Victim

One Dead One Seriously Injured!