My accident occurred almost a year to this day, and I am very happy to be able to be her to share my story.

Me and a bunch of friends were at the Jersey Shore one night last Aug. (2001) we were drinking and smoking pot while taking turns riding my ATV. My girlfriends friend was to scared to ride alone so I took her for a ride. I had only been to this spot once so I didn't really know the trails all that good. I was doing about 60 mph and hit a tree head on, flew over the handle bars and hit a tree head first. The girl on the back didn't let go, so we both flew through the air and collided with the tree.I don't remember anything about the accident but have herd the story countless times. She says that she got up and called my name and kept trying to wake me up because she thought I was kidding at first. After realizing that I was knocked out cold she started running around trying to find the rest of our friends. After finding them they all jumped in their cars and drove to where I had crashed. One of my friends that was with us is an EMT and he called the paramedics immediately on his 2-way radio, they then stabilized my head and neck, and loaded me in a pickup truck to bring me out to the road and meet the paramedics, and helicopter.

Upon arriving at the hospital I had a facial fracture and was in a coma for the next five weeks. My mother was told there was a slim chance of me waking up and even if I did wake up I could have been what they called "a vegetable" for the rest of my life. Well I did wake up, with a bunch of tubes coming out of my neck and stomach, and I was like "what happened". After going to rehab the doctors estimated a six month recovery time but I was out in about six weeks. My memory, balance, and speech still stink but I am happy to be able to say that.

The best thing about this story is that my friend saved my life and from what the doctors say, if he wasn't there I would not have survived the hr. car ride to the hospital. All my friends would come to the hospital everyday and spent hrs. with me, even people I didn't really know. I think my quick recovery and even waking up at all was due to their support.