I'm Your Uber Driver, I'm on My Way...
I was working as a driver for Uber in the vicinity of BWI Airport when I was in the accident that drastically changed my life. I received a ride request at about 11:08 pm on Saturday night October 8th, 2016. My rider was waiting for me at the MARC Station near the airport. I had just sent him a message letting him know “I’m on my way, be there in 5 minutes.” I pulled out of my waiting spot and started on my way down Rt. 170. I never did make it to that pick-up… I hope he’s not still waiting. A young woman, driving the opposite direction on 170, fell asleep at the wheel and came across 3 lanes of traffic to hit me head on. I was going about 40 mph and she was as well, that’s an 80 mph impact, boys and girls… OUCH! Luckily, the young woman driving the other car was unhurt and was able to get herself out of her car. She came running over to me to see if I was OK… I was not OK. I asked her to please get help right away. Before she walked away from me I asked her to to give a message of love to my girlfriend if I didn’t live. This sent her into a fit of crying and panic. I’m sure she felt terrible and was terrified that she may have just killed someone. I feel a bit guilty for that now. But, I was in so much pain, I truly didn’t think my injuries could possibly be survivable. The impact crushed my car around me and when rescue workers arrived on the scene about 15 minutes later, it took them an hour to cut me out of the wreckage. I knew right away that my left leg was messed up, BAD. They had to cut the entire roof off my car (effectively turning it into a convertible… I always wanted a convertible), they had to rip both the front and back doors off the driver’s side, they tore off the front left fender to get into the dash and firewall to free my pinned leg, and had to break the driver’s seat back off before they could get me out in one piece. I was awake and alert for the whole ordeal. When I was Finally out of the car, it was clear that my left leg was crushed. My left femur was notably shorter than the right one. I was transported via ambulance to UMMC Shock Trauma in Baltimore, MD. X-rays and CT scans showed that my left femur was fractured in at least 12 places and my tibial plateau (that’s the bottom half of the knee joint) was crushed. I also broke a rib on my left side, I fractured two lumbar vertebrae, lacerated my spleen, suffered a hernia along with a variety of other trauma related issues. I ended up spending 11 days at Shock Trauma, underwent 3 major surgeries and watched a lot of Law and Order on TV. After my stay at Shock Trauma, I was transferred to acute physical rehab at The University of Maryland Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Institute where I spent another two weeks learning how to go home and recover. Home for me was a notably not handicapped friendly two bedroom apartment on the third floor of a building that DID NOT feature an elevator. So, I spent most of my time in physical rehab preparing to conquer the three flights of stairs and narrow doors and hallways that awaited me at home. I also learned how to maneuver a wheelchair, a walker and crutches. Because I was going to be NON-weight baring for another 6 weeks after I was discharged. I went home on November 3rd, 2016 and stayed in that appartment pretty much the whole time for 5 weeks. I only made it outside about 4 or 5 times during that month or so. On December 12th I saw my orthopedic surgeon again and was cleared for weight baring and ordered to start physical therapy. I went home from that appointment and started testing the waters and letting that left leg feel the ground again for the first time since the accident. I started PT at the first available appointment on January 6th, 2017 with the best, most important New Years Resolution I have ever made (and probably the only one I ever truly intended to live up to). I resolved that I was going to walk again unaided and I would fight as hard and long as I had to to make that happen. I’m writing this on March 23rd, 2016, one week before my 45th birthday. It’s been about 24 weeks (just about half a year) since the accident. It’s been just shy of three months since I started PT. After a ton of hard work and a lot of PT, I’m closing in fast on my new year’s resolution. I’m walking with a cane for now. But I’m hopeful that someday that cane will just live on a hook by the door as a reminder of all my hard work. I still experience pain on a daily basis. My leg can predict cold rainy weather. My knee has a click in it now. I still have some physical limitations that are annoying. And, I don’t sleep that well anymore. But, I’m a survivor! My progress will continue! I will persevere! Thanks for Reading, Jimmy
