South
Carolina Motorsports Racing News
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Contents www.SCMSRN.com
May 7th 2009, A Significant Day In My Life
The
day had gone pretty much as usual. I
had gotten off of work at 1:00 pm, made it home, took a little nap and got up
sometime between 5 and 6 pm. Since I
usually didn’t eat after work, when I awoke from the nap I felt like I’d go out
for dinner.
On
evenings like this one, I’d often take off for a ride with the one I was and
still am really passionate about. I’ll
introduce her to you as “my baby doll, a yellow 2008 -Kawasaki ZX6R.
We
were headed for the Peach Orchard Shopping Center, which was only about five
miles from our place of residence. On
our way from the house we were closely approaching the stoplight located at US
76/378 & SC 261 when I happened to see my son driving his work truck
passing through the intersection, on his way home.
As
we turned onto the highway, the thought crossed my mind, since I hadn’t seen
him or my second grandson (Paul J Miller V) in a week or so, we’d go there
first, for a short visit and then get the meal afterward.
Well,
just before the Peach Orchard shopping center there is a flashing light
overhead warning of the signal light ahead, the speed limit is still at 55
mph. We were riding in the left lane of
the highway, which had a median. As we
were passing by the entrance/exit of the shopping center connecting to the highway,
I saw a glimpse of a car enter the vision from our right. (This is where we would’ve originally turned
right to go to the Subway Sandwich shop)
We had very little time to react before it was collision time for both
of us; slamming into the drivers side rear passenger door of a burgundy
Grand-Am.
The
left side of my body took the major part of impact with the car, from my left
knee, thigh, hip, the lower side of my back, the bicep of my arm and my
neck. The only bones broken were those
of a few ribs. I didn’t have any
punctures or scrapes of my skin.
I
strongly believe in the use of my safety gear.
I always ride with total protection, the best I can afford. The helmet (Shoei), leather jacket
(Kawasaki), textile pants with padding (but lacking enough in the thigh and hip
area), Joe Rocket boots and gloves.
My
visor was ripped from the helmet and landed amazingly on the base of the window
we’d just shattered. That was a
testament of the first place my face could have been impelled with glass and
metal. My body continued its path up
and over the car trunk breaking out the rear window. My baby’s windshield, speedometer were ripped and torn. Her fuel tank was severely crushed. The frame under the seat and fiberglass
panels were fractured. The license
plate and rear light assembly was ripped from its mounting points and scattered
on the pavement.
I
don’t remember the impact, (but I seemed to recall that I wasn’t going to be at
work tomorrow) I remember lying on the ground in a tremble and seeing the
sky. Not in any pain but trembling and
being stunned. As I try to recall so
many times, just what had taken place I’m amazed. I don’t remember ever feeling any pain. I had no sense of time and I don’t remember any length of
consciousness except for what I write about this accident. I remember someone asking me if I could move
my hands and feet, to which I thought I said yes and moved them. I could smell the gasoline that had leaked
from my babies’ bosom.
Not
sure how long I was attended to. I
remember seeing sky and the noise of my transportation device (the gurney) as
the paramedics put me in the ambulance.
Then the sight of sky once again and the sound of rotor blades from the
medivac helicopter as it lifted off for a thirty-three mile sprint to Palmetto
Richland Hospital. The next time
consciousness arrived I was being wheeled through the doors of a room for the
surgery that was about to take place.
The
following day I woke up in the intensive care room with a couple of I.V.’s in my
arms and various tubes inserted in every orifice of my body except my rectum,
and a couple inserted in the left side of my body.
At
first being resuscitated on one ventilator and I was presented with a suction
tube to aid me in removing the venom from my lungs. I can’t recall all the exact details and they aren’t really
necessary. I made it to a point when
the ventilator was removed but my body wouldn’t work and they had to install
two units to get my organs back in operation.
All
total I spent 16 days in the intensive care room (5th floor) and the
last three days in a regular room on the 7th floor of Palmetto
Health Richland Hospital. It was quite
an ordeal!
The
accident happened on the May 7th about 7:30 pm. I was out of work until the 18th
of August. The surgeon said it’d be
about a year to recover. Still working
with some minor aches and pains, but the worst is the scar tissue on my vocal
cords. I’ve had two surgeries for the
tissue to be removed and I’m contemplating at least another two. During my last follow-up on November 24th
Dr. Bouknight’s concluded that she couldn’t do any more and that she’d have to
refer me to a specialist in Augusta, GA.
The scar tissue affects my speech and breathing. The build up of scar tissue is a result of
the incubation tubes in my throat of the extended period and having to have
been placed on two ventilators to get my lungs functioning properly.
The
injuries sustained in the accident were, respiratory failure, collapsed and
bruised lung, multiple broken ribs, blisters to my back, various contusions and
bruises to my left side (neck, arm, waist, hip, thigh, and knee). I lost my spleen and my diaphragm and to be
sewn back together. I was told later my
internal organs had been pushed upward into my chest cavity and they had to put
things back in there proper places.
I
know it was an experience that God placed in my life as a result of a prayer
I’d made. Over the past few years I’ve
been dealing with some real emotional issues.
I’d been prescribed anti depressants on a couple of occasions. I hadn’t taken them in a while and felt
better, but things were happening again that led me to ask one thing from
him. Being a Christian I knew taking
care of things myself wouldn’t be right, so I asked him to take me, so I
wouldn’t have to deal with things. He
gave me something else to deal with.
I contribute to still being alive, first to God, secondly to the emergency response personnel,
the medivac crew, the surgeons and nurses that attended to my recovery. The prayers of others were also very worthy.
Paul J Miller III
Ó SCMSRN.com/Paul J Miller 3rd, 2000-2009