5 years today since my wreck

[plumcrazy]

What were your injuries

Definitely brain damage, pretty obvious i thought....oh and he hurt his leg

[outnumbered]

I knew you were involved in an accident, but I had no idea as to what extent. You are truly fortunate to still be here and share your story.

[Vprbite]

Definitely brain damage, pretty obvious i thought....oh and he hurt his leg

There was a serious TBI. But you knew that. Go back to jersey!

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I knew you were involved in an accident, but I had no idea as to what extent. You are truly fortunate to still be here and share your story.

Thanks. But really I wouldn't be here or doing this well without help and that's whyninstarted this thread. I really wanted to thank the club for all the support.

[Vprbite]

Seriously inspiring story - God bless you for making it through and being able to share your experience. Really puts things into perspective... I've been in a post-cancer funk for the last couple of weeks, and your story does help to trigger a reality check.

I hear you on the nerve pain - it can be excruciating, especially in the cold weather. I've been stuck between a rock and a hard place on it - my feet and hands are driving me crazy, and the gabapentin (Neurontin) helps a lot in my case, but it makes me so sleepy that driving the new ACR around is just plain scary. So, I've been grounded for a while - can't really drive with my hands and feet feeling either numb or like I'm walking on thumb tacks, and can't really drive if I feel groggy.

Anyhow, that's a really minor inconvenience compared to not having part of a leg, and having the other one all torn up. Life is short, we've got to make the best of it with what cards we're dealt...

Honestly, I out my leg on in the morning and don't think about it until I take it off. The knee, ankle, shoulder, and wrist hurt every day.

As far as nerve pain, I have found acupuncture to help. So it may be worth a try. In my foot and ankle where the nerve damage was worst, acupuncture has seemed to be the only thing that helped. Good luck. Pain is pain, no matter if it's due to injury or cancer. So I hear ya.

[poptarts]

well sir can't wait to meet ya at the nve3 in vegas.. ill be there. i already got our room. and ill have my car out there as well. your story is definitely an uplifting one. so now i wanna ask how many different pain meds or pain management classes do you go to? do you use medical cannabis?

[Vprbite]

well sir can't wait to meet ya at the nve3 in vegas.. ill be there. i already got our room. and ill have my car out there as well. your story is definitely an uplifting one. so now i wanna ask how many different pain meds or pain management classes do you go to? do you use medical cannabis?

At few years ago I went to a pain specialist because I didn't like the amount of pain meds that I was on. My tolerance was through the roof. So I saw a pain specialist and we walked it back down. I do still take them when needed.

I never cared for marijuana. I tried it in college and I don't get any of the fun. I only get wildly over the top, holy shit, people are coming to get me, type of paranoid. Not a fun experience. So that is not an option for me. There is evidence that CBDs (cannabadiols) can be helpful for pain and they are not psycholoactive so I am considering those as I learn more about them.

I use a lot of breathing excercises and meditation type things, especially if I wake up in pain, to get me throughnthe worst of it at times. That does seem to help a lot,mesoecially when my legs just ache. As I said, I am not above taking pain medications if needed though.

[Vprbite]

Thanks for all the kind words and PMs, I really appreciate it

But please remember this thread was really started because I wanted to recognize and thank all the amazing people in this club and the unbelievable support I received from all of you. I would not be doing this well if it wasn't for all that support and encouragement. I can not thank you enough and I don't know if I will ever be able to truly repay you all for what you have done for me.

[Viper Specialty]

You have come a long way, and I am glad you are getting through everything with a hell of a positive attitude.

Seeing that wreck just adds a layer of caution to a normal line of thinking... even though as it happens, you cannot plan for everything, and certainly not everyone else as a variable on the road.

If there is anything I can do, let me know.

[Vprbite]

You have come a long way, and I am glad you are getting through everything with a hell of a positive attitude.

Seeing that wreck just adds a layer of caution to a normal line of thinking... even though as it happens, you cannot plan for everything, and certainly not everyone else as a variable on the road.

If there is anything I can do, let me know.

Thank you for the kind words and the offer. Yet another example of why I started this thread. The support is really amazing. And I can't tell you how helpful it has been. My bills are now at 1.4 million. Even with great insurance I have spent a lot(not to mention lost productivity). And I still am working through physical therapy and starting biofeedback for the head injury (5 years is often a tipping point for traumatic brain injuries), which may be the most frustrating of all the injuries to be honest. Because often times it leaves me feeling not like myself or like I am less capable than I used to be. It would be really easy to get down on myself about that. But everytime I am tempted to, I see more of this support from the greatest car club that has ever existed.

I regularly get asked to go speak with new amputees or even just people at inpatient physical therapy wih bad injuries who want to give up and show them that with hard work, their life is not over. And I feel honored that I get to do that. So that is yet another good thing that has come out of this whole ordeal. But I couldn't do that if I didn't have you guys backing me up.

Thank you Viper Specialty for being a class act with your offer and showing me yet again how fortunate I am to be part of this amazing group of people. I don't know where I would be without you all. I hope to repay you all in some way if at all possible.

[Policy Limits]

Just awful but certainly could be worse. Glad you're still around. As an injury lawyer I have many clients whom have lost limbs and suffered similarly. On the other hand, I've had at least a half dozen clients whom were fatally injured in crashes. Commend you for the work that you do speaking to the injured. My firm has sponsored injury victims through great charities such as the brain injury association and we sponsored a supercar rally to help pay amputee medical bills through the one fund to benefit victims of the Boston marathon bombing. I've dedicated my life to serving injury victims, sorry you are one. Glad to hear acupuncture is effective. Try water pillows as well. Congratulations on your progress and best wishes for the road ahead,

Rick

[serpent]

Jeff you are a stellar person, the only person in the club to reach out to me and you are about 750+ miles away in Arizona. Luckily my parents live in Chandler and I was able to meet you back in 2014.
3 years later I'm still in the hunt for a Viper! I feel I'm getting close.

Thanks for taking me out for a spin in your 06 Coupe and sharing with us your trials and tribulations.
Keep up the good work and look forward to meeting you again when I get my Viper. I will make a road trip to Az from the Bay.

Jerome

[512BB]

Wow this is an inspiring story and you are an inspiration. Thanks for sharing your story and looking at that car and reading about what you went through, I am glad that the sequence of events led me to this thread. Wishing you the best and will continue to follow your story.

[Texasvenom]

Wow, I have seen your posts / comments on here but never knew what happened. I now feel very fortunate, I was coming back home from gokart racing just this past Friday, was a little after 2 in the morning and someone crossed the center line, I swerved to the right and ran into the concrete barrier on a bridge. Airbags deployed, a good bit of damage on the front/right side but I was ok, just minor scrapes on the face from the airbag deployment. My first accident, person who crossed over never stopped.

[Vprbite]

Wow, I have seen your posts / comments on here but never knew what happened. I now feel very fortunate, I was coming back home from gokart racing just this past Friday, was a little after 2 in the morning and someone crossed the center line, I swerved to the right and ran into the concrete barrier on a bridge. Airbags deployed, a good bit of damage on the front/right side but I was ok, just minor scrapes on the face from the airbag deployment. My first accident, person who crossed over never stopped.

I'm sorry I just noticed this reply.

That is eerily similar to what happened with me. So glad to hear you are alright. If you need anything or I can be of help, please let me know. Do not hesitate to ask

[Vprbite]

Wow this is an inspiring story and you are an inspiration. Thanks for sharing your story and looking at that car and reading about what you went through, I am glad that the sequence of events led me to this thread. Wishing you the best and will continue to follow your story.

Thank you. I really appreciate being called an inspiration but don't forget that any compliment you give me is shared wjrh the amazing people who helped me and supported me through this journey and continue to do so. I wouldn't be doing anywhere nearly this well without them

- - - Updated - - -

Jeff you are a stellar person, the only person in the club to reach out to me and you are about 750+ miles away in Arizona. Luckily my parents live in Chandler and I was able to meet you back in 2014.
3 years later I'm still in the hunt for a Viper! I feel I'm getting close.

Thanks for taking me out for a spin in your 06 Coupe and sharing with us your trials and tribulations.
Keep up the good work and look forward to meeting you again when I get my Viper. I will make a road trip to Az from the Bay.

Jerome

Glad I could help. Congrats on the new Viper

[Vprbite]

Just awful but certainly could be worse. Glad you're still around. As an injury lawyer I have many clients whom have lost limbs and suffered similarly. On the other hand, I've had at least a half dozen clients whom were fatally injured in crashes. Commend you for the work that you do speaking to the injured. My firm has sponsored injury victims through great charities such as the brain injury association and we sponsored a supercar rally to help pay amputee medical bills through the one fund to benefit victims of the Boston marathon bombing. I've dedicated my life to serving injury victims, sorry you are one. Glad to hear acupuncture is effective. Try water pillows as well. Congratulations on your progress and best wishes for the road ahead,

Rick

That's great to hear you help those who need a leg up (see what I did there? ) once in a while. I'm sure you have found that these people can be capable of everything anyone else is once they get over the rough patch. Knowing people are supporting you goes so far in keeping you going on days when you don't know how you are going to power through.

Brain injuries suck. That may be the most frustrating of everything. And the twice rebuilt right knee hurts every damn day. The amputation, I barely even think about. I put my prosthetic on and don't think about it until I take it off 17 hours later. The right side hurts every damn day.

I honestly don't think of myself as an injury victim. I feel I am a wreck survivor or an injury survivor. I believe I still have power and control over my situation. There are always choices to be made, and I can choose the better one even if it's as simple as choosing not to be pissed off about how things are or something frustrating that day. I say this a lot, but it's because it's true. There is so much more good than bad in my situation. And I feel if I get hung up on the negative, then I'm telling everyone who supported me that they wasted their time and they should have just blown me off cause I wasn't going to take advantage of it anyway. If I get hung up on the negative, I'm saying I should have hit that minivan let the kids inside get injured even though my injuries probably wouldn't have been as bad. But the good is all around me. Even right here, I have the support of you great people and I have made so many great friendships just on the forums alone. That's just one facet of my life. And thanks to hard work by myself and those around me, I run into that good everywhere.

Thank you for the kind words and support. I promise your support will never be wasted

[Vprbite]

Many people like to tell me how my story has affected them or inspired them. I can't tell you enough what that means to me. Many times I share those stories with new amputees so they know that not only will they not be judged or looked down on for their new piece of equipment but that they have the chance to help people you don't even know just by how you deal with this challenge. That's pretty cool.

Also i look forward to getting to know more of you as time goes by and if course at NVE III. Please don't hesitae to say hi. It's always great to put a face with the people who have helped me so very much.

[SmoknTires]

All I can say is holy Lord, wow. You truly have a profound experience as a result of this, and explains why you are as positive as you are. Those pictures just send chills.

[Vprbite]

All I can say is holy Lord, wow. You truly have a profound experience as a result of this, and explains why you are as positive as you are. Those pictures just send chills.

They still sometimes give me chills too. I diagramed the wreck in terms of G forces and came out with some numbers that are pretty unbelievable

Thank you for your compliments on my positive attitude. Though it is who I naturally want to to be, it still sometimes takes work. So it means a lot when people notice it and tell me I am having a positive effect on people. That's huge for me.

[theviper]

I just saw this thread. Amazing story. There are options for nerve pain, phantom limb pain/syndrome, and TBI that I'm certain your pain specialist has not discussed with you. We see patients from all over the country and even internationally who have failed at some of the biggest universities and hospitals in America. Happy to let you know what's available if you're interested.