I have had an amazing life, no matter how you look at it. I grew up with a normal life, an amazing family and great friends. It was completely normal right up until I joined the Navy actually.
When I was a kid I played soccer like everyone else. While in middle school I play some ice hockey at the local ice rink. Had awesome friends growing up that I would love to hang out with. When I got to high school my mom introduced me to water polo. My uncle played it in high school and thought that I would enjoy it. And oh how she was right!! I absolutely love water polo! I wish I had gone to college to play it. In high school I played water polo and was on the swim team. I had such great times in high school! Looking back, the only reason I went to class was so that I could play sports after. I know I am a smart guy but I hated sitting in class. Unfortunately I only did just enough to keep my grades up so I could play sports. If I had really applied myself I would have aced high school. But oh well.
After high school I worked for a while. My hight school had a "grad night" at an indoor go-kart track. I loved it so I actually got a job there after graduation!! It was an awesome place to work. Great people and all the racing I could handle when I was off work. Unfortunately that place went out of business so I had to move on. I got a job at Hollister Clothing Co. While working there I went and talked to the Navy recruiter. I "joined" the navy in April of 2005 but stayed home for about 7 months. It gave me time to say goodbye to everyone and get ready to leave.
I left for the navy in November of 2005. I spent the average 2 months in Great Lakes, Illinois for boot camp. Great Lakes is right next to Chicago, and Chicago in the winter, what a wonderful place! I hope that everyone got the sarcasm in that last statement. From Illinois I went to Pensacola, Florida for my "A" school. This is where all the fun in my life began. I made it through Aircrew school and Rescue Swimmer School with no problems at all. When I got to "A" school that is when I learned that I had, what is called, Fibrous Dysplasia in my left forehead. Within two weeks of my diagnosis I was in Birmingham, Alabama getting surgery on my head. It took two surgeries and a plastic plate in my forehead but I made it through that just fine. I was on hold for about six months in Florida waiting to get a waiver in order to be able to fly still.
I received my waiver and moved on from there. I moved out to San Diego, California for my next schooling. I started FRAC, or Fleet Replacement Air Crew, in October of 2008. It took me about 10 months to complete my FRAC but passed that with flying colors. I was transferred to HSM-71 right there in San Diego for my sea duty. As soon as I transferred I was deployed to the 7th Fleet AOR. That is the 7th Floor Area Of Responsibility to those not in the military. That was a 5 month deployment and was a great learning experience. When I got back from that deployment I was riding my motorcycle and was in my first accident.
I am going to stop right there and tell everyone, I KNOW. It isn't a safe hobby and I should have stopped after my first accident. Some may understand what a passion it is and why I got back on a bike. I absolutely love it and to be honest, I would ride again. I am NOT going to though so don't worry about that. I can't put my friends and family through that again, let alone myself.
Anyways, I didn't have any physical injuries from that just a really bad concussion. The Navy qualified it as a TBI or Traumatic Brain Injury. Whatever that means right Mom? (She is going to kill me reading that haha) I was in therapy for that injury for about 2 months. Once done with therapy I went back to work but wasn't allowed to fly. I guess studies have shown that if you get knocked unconscious you are at risk of seizures. I was just fine but had to work in Operations at the squadron for a year until I received my waiver to fly. Again, I made it through with flying colors.
After that I was deployed 2 more times without any incident. Deployed the first time for seven months and the second for nine. Good times there for sure! Sarcasm again... After this last deployment I was riding my motorcycle again. I hit a bump in the road, was knocked off balance on my bike and wasn't able to get set for the turn right after. I ended up going off the road and "high siding" my motorcycle.
The second and FINAL motorcycle crash was much more serious than the first. I was left paralyzed and in bad shape. I broke my clavicle, scapula, a few ribs, and some vertebrae. Also punctured my lung, good times. I ended up spending 85 days as an inpatient in the hospital. It took me almost 2 months to walk again. The thing that I didn't do, however, was listen to the doctors. They kept telling me to have a backup plan so that I wasn't disappointed when I couldn't walk out of the hospital. Well I sure as hell showed them.
I worked as hard as my body would let me in order to get back to where I was and I am still working on it. I got the therapy 5 days a week and workout at the gym up to 7 days a week. I have been taking my weekends off lately because my body needs the rest, but I don't like it.
I WILL succeed and I WILL get back to as close to where I was before my accident. I set up this blog in order to vent my feelings a bit but mostly to inspire and motivate people to push themselves. Your body isn't what is stopping you, your mind is. Strong mind, strong body! Keep it up everyone!
When I was a kid I played soccer like everyone else. While in middle school I play some ice hockey at the local ice rink. Had awesome friends growing up that I would love to hang out with. When I got to high school my mom introduced me to water polo. My uncle played it in high school and thought that I would enjoy it. And oh how she was right!! I absolutely love water polo! I wish I had gone to college to play it. In high school I played water polo and was on the swim team. I had such great times in high school! Looking back, the only reason I went to class was so that I could play sports after. I know I am a smart guy but I hated sitting in class. Unfortunately I only did just enough to keep my grades up so I could play sports. If I had really applied myself I would have aced high school. But oh well.
After high school I worked for a while. My hight school had a "grad night" at an indoor go-kart track. I loved it so I actually got a job there after graduation!! It was an awesome place to work. Great people and all the racing I could handle when I was off work. Unfortunately that place went out of business so I had to move on. I got a job at Hollister Clothing Co. While working there I went and talked to the Navy recruiter. I "joined" the navy in April of 2005 but stayed home for about 7 months. It gave me time to say goodbye to everyone and get ready to leave.
I left for the navy in November of 2005. I spent the average 2 months in Great Lakes, Illinois for boot camp. Great Lakes is right next to Chicago, and Chicago in the winter, what a wonderful place! I hope that everyone got the sarcasm in that last statement. From Illinois I went to Pensacola, Florida for my "A" school. This is where all the fun in my life began. I made it through Aircrew school and Rescue Swimmer School with no problems at all. When I got to "A" school that is when I learned that I had, what is called, Fibrous Dysplasia in my left forehead. Within two weeks of my diagnosis I was in Birmingham, Alabama getting surgery on my head. It took two surgeries and a plastic plate in my forehead but I made it through that just fine. I was on hold for about six months in Florida waiting to get a waiver in order to be able to fly still.
I received my waiver and moved on from there. I moved out to San Diego, California for my next schooling. I started FRAC, or Fleet Replacement Air Crew, in October of 2008. It took me about 10 months to complete my FRAC but passed that with flying colors. I was transferred to HSM-71 right there in San Diego for my sea duty. As soon as I transferred I was deployed to the 7th Fleet AOR. That is the 7th Floor Area Of Responsibility to those not in the military. That was a 5 month deployment and was a great learning experience. When I got back from that deployment I was riding my motorcycle and was in my first accident.
I am going to stop right there and tell everyone, I KNOW. It isn't a safe hobby and I should have stopped after my first accident. Some may understand what a passion it is and why I got back on a bike. I absolutely love it and to be honest, I would ride again. I am NOT going to though so don't worry about that. I can't put my friends and family through that again, let alone myself.
Anyways, I didn't have any physical injuries from that just a really bad concussion. The Navy qualified it as a TBI or Traumatic Brain Injury. Whatever that means right Mom? (She is going to kill me reading that haha) I was in therapy for that injury for about 2 months. Once done with therapy I went back to work but wasn't allowed to fly. I guess studies have shown that if you get knocked unconscious you are at risk of seizures. I was just fine but had to work in Operations at the squadron for a year until I received my waiver to fly. Again, I made it through with flying colors.
After that I was deployed 2 more times without any incident. Deployed the first time for seven months and the second for nine. Good times there for sure! Sarcasm again... After this last deployment I was riding my motorcycle again. I hit a bump in the road, was knocked off balance on my bike and wasn't able to get set for the turn right after. I ended up going off the road and "high siding" my motorcycle.
The second and FINAL motorcycle crash was much more serious than the first. I was left paralyzed and in bad shape. I broke my clavicle, scapula, a few ribs, and some vertebrae. Also punctured my lung, good times. I ended up spending 85 days as an inpatient in the hospital. It took me almost 2 months to walk again. The thing that I didn't do, however, was listen to the doctors. They kept telling me to have a backup plan so that I wasn't disappointed when I couldn't walk out of the hospital. Well I sure as hell showed them.
I worked as hard as my body would let me in order to get back to where I was and I am still working on it. I got the therapy 5 days a week and workout at the gym up to 7 days a week. I have been taking my weekends off lately because my body needs the rest, but I don't like it.
I WILL succeed and I WILL get back to as close to where I was before my accident. I set up this blog in order to vent my feelings a bit but mostly to inspire and motivate people to push themselves. Your body isn't what is stopping you, your mind is. Strong mind, strong body! Keep it up everyone!
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