Our nightmare started with a knock on the front door about 7:00am on July 18, 2001. It was a Highway Patrol Officer coming to tell me that my husband, Michael, had been in a very serious car accident. He was in stable but critical condition. My son Jeremy and I arrived at the hospital about 7:30 and Kevin my oldest son arrived about the same time. It was almost an hour before we were able to see Michael. He had a pressure monitor on his brain, IV's everywhere, scraped and bruised all over.

A young man, 21 years old, ran the red light going 93 mph and hit Michael as he was on his way home from work. He worked nights at the Post Office. The man was twice the legal limit drunk and also on drugs. He was killed at the scene.

Michael had what they called a "closed head injury" or brain shear". He was in a coma for almost 3 months and slowly began to wake up and become aware. We have been in 5 different hospitals. We have now been home almost 5 months.

As you know every injury and recovery is different. But it does help to know that there is always hope. The brain is such a complicated and unique organ and able to heal itself. It does take time and there is hope. As I have grown to understand over the last year, that the man I knew and loved died in the wreck but his body did not die. Now we have to learn to live our lives all over again with a new person. Michael does not have many memories of our past together. I do, so therefore, it is a lot harder on me sometimes. We have to just pick up the pieces of our lives and go on and make a new one.

I heard all these things from the doctors early on in Michael's injury but did not fully understand there meaning until he was awake and starting to regain his life. Mentally he seems to better off than he is physically. Although he has made great strides in his recovery, we still have a long long way to go but Michael is alive and we have hope for the future. He has started to walk some with a cane. He can get out of bed on his own and make it to the livingroom with his walker. He still needs help with the bathroom and taking a shower. Short term memory is still a real problem. Long term memories are starting to surface. It is just a slow process.

Michael is 55 and we have been married for 32 years. He retired from the Post Office April 1, 2002 after 30 years of service. He had enough sick and annual leave to carry us that far.

I had to quit my job at the elementary school to be Michael's full time caregiver.

They say the older a person is the longer it may take for recovery. All I know is that from where we were to where we are today is nothing short of a MIRACLE. That is why I call Michael my MIRACLE MAN.

Written by (Becky - Wife & Caregiver)

One year later, July 18, 2002, I had very mixed emotions on this day. I was sad forall that we had lost, but ever so grateful to have Michael alive and doing so well.