“I’ve certainly experienced physical pain in my life.”
Katey Sagal
Aug 1 1986
This day lives on as the day my life changed in a few seconds.
The clutch on my pickup had failed, so I borrowed my girlfriends AMC eagle 4×4 that day. Along the way, I made a few stops. I made a deal to buy a one-ton 1953 Chevy pickup with a box. I had plans to start a firewood business. I knew where a lot of fallen birch lay after a logging operation and had permission to take what I wanted.
I picked up the parts I need to fix my truck. Last thing to do was give a crippled guy a ride to an A.A. meeting in the next town.
With my companion a red Doberman and the crippled guy, I started out on our journey. A mile from the town I saw an oncoming fast-moving Honda crx bounce off the side of a tent trailer being towed ahead of me. Then he was coming at me, I tried to avoid him by driving off the shoulder, but he had radar lock-on and ploughed into our car at about a hundred miles an hour. He hit me corner to corner. My foot was still on the brake at impact, the engine and tranny in my vehicle had pushed my knee into the steering column. I didn’t know had bad the injuries were then.
I did what I always do at accidents, what I was trained to do in the military. Take charge, save lives. I examined my passenger no major bleeding he had a pulse. I climbed out through the window that was now missing. I tried to walk over to the car that hit me, my right leg was not functioning at all. I had to lay down.
I looked over at the Honda and there was blood dripping out of both doors and his engine was in the back seat. I had to assume they were dead.
Some people showed up and I gave them Instructions. I got two of them to direct traffic. One to call police and ambulance. I got someone to pick up the fifties and hundred dollar bills all over the highway. Pretty obvious these two were on their way to make a dope deal. A boy came up to see what was going on I gave him the most important job to take care of my dog and call my girlfriend tell her I was alright. I really wasn’t.
Police and ambulance arrived, the EMT’S were trying to take care of me first. I told them I can wait, and that they should look after the others first. When they finished with everyone else, they attended to me, One of them was trying to cut through my new very expensive runners. I told him to stop. He told me I was going into shock, I said ” if you cut that runner I will go into shock.” His senior came over to see what the yelling was about and took over. He cut the laces not the shoes.
We arrived at the hospital in Salmon Arm and it was decided my injuries and the driver of the Honda were too severe to handle here, so they put us in the same ambulance and shipped us off to Vernon Hospital. During that trip I could smell the alcohol on his breath. He thought it was funny. He asked what happened, I calmly said “you fucking hit me head on”.
It took all I had not to strangle him.
We arrived at the hospital in Vernon, it would be three days before I would have surgery. I didn’t feel much pain those first days. After 12 hours of surgery then I felt pain, like nothing I had ever felt before. That lasted 33 years.
My right knee joint and kneecap were completely broken in pieces. The surgeon told me later it was the worst injury he had ever worked on. He was in there for 12 straight hours repairing the damage.
A few days later I asked him what was the prognosis?
He asked if I wanted it sugar-coated or the truth?
“The truth of course.”
“You will never walk again”
“I will fucking walk again” I answered with a little tempered anger.
And I did after four years of physio. Time spent in a wheelchair, then a cane and limping, then I learned to hide my disability. I even managed to skydive and climb a mountain. It wasn’t pretty or without pain but it got done.
A few years ago I looked up that surgeon and thanked him for the good work he did then, without him, I would have never walked again. And maybe I can even thank him for giving me the courage to persevere.
There were more injuries to come in future accidents. I am still here and still going.
I do all this for one reason, it needs doing.
