Hello. My name is Steve. In 1979, I was 16, and involved in a life changing motorcycle accident. I went to pass a car in front of me, and the driver accelerated to prevent me from passing him.

As I tried to re-enter the lane, I was intentionally bumped by the Mustang, and I hit a car coming the other way. The Mustang was so close to me that he also slammed into the oncoming car. If you look at this next picture, you can see the man standing in front of the woman looks worried that he's in serious trouble, possibly even going to jail. But since I could not tell the CHP what happened, the man got away with assault with a deadly weapon. Road rage.

Accident scene, Jan 8th, 1979. Driver looks worried after forcing me into a head-on collision....
 
INJURIES SUSTAINED: Right foot de-gloved
Right leg paralyzed from severed spinal nerves
Leg amputated below the knee in 1990
 
5 broken ribs RH side
Collapsed right lung (repaired)
ruptured spleen, appendix and gallbladder- all were removed in January of 1979
I also ruptured my urinary bladder-repaired
 
Transfusion for 18 units of blood caused by a severed femoral artery in my left thigh
Lacerated/torn stomach wall (80 staples; still there)
 
8 fractures of the pelvis, 3 lumbar vertebrae
(L-3, L-4, L-5)
crushed sacrum (5 fractures)
2 compound ankle fractures, both tibia's and fibula's. I smashed another
7 bones in my left foot and 4 in right foot (3 pins)
Right radius and ulna fractured (4 steel plates)
I had 44 surgeries in the 93 days that I was in the hospital. When I returned home, my dad made me go back to school the very next day.I was not happy about that.But I did get back into the flow of things quickly. I remember being told by doctors that I'd be in the hospital for 2 years and that I'd never walk again. Who tells people that shit? I left in 3 months, while staying current with my school work, (I was in 11th grade), and I returned to school the next day.My dad even took me to UCLA after I got out and they said my pelvis was impossible to fix. We had the input of over 50 doctors and they all said no. I had to live with it.
Over the next several years,
I had another 24 surgeries on my right foot alone prior to electing for a below knee amputation....that was 1990, a full 11 years after the accident. But at least I could stop having surgery 2 or 3 times a year. Also, in 1990, I met my wife. In 1998, we had tiny twin boys who were only 2 pounds each at birth. They spent 6 weeks in incubators and today they are 6 feet tall and they have earned their college degrees. Over these years, 3 disc's in my lower back became herniated. But I managed to maintain a positive outlook through it all, thanks to having a loving and supportive wife for 26 years. She has been a rock.

Fast forward to today....
Now I have a new challenge. After 43 years, my crushed pelvis and lumbar region has overloaded my pain circuits. This pain now prevents me from walking far at all.So, I need a spinal cord stimulator since I have tried everything else. The cost is quite a bit and I will be off work until I recover. The surgery, including the implanted device, will set me back $24,000. (My GFM goal has been reduced by donations that I received outside of GFM.) I cannot return to work until I
have control of my pain. The SCS is a revolutionary device for eliminating chronic pain. I believe it will be a game-changer for me. I have always overcome any obstacles thrown my way, but now I need some outside help since my down time and the device will not be fully paid for by my insurance. Cost breakdown includes expenses incurred while preparing for surgery. After 3 blood tests, insurance won't cover anymore for a year.
 We've done 17 blood tests looking for the cause of my elevated white blood count.$103 each. The physical therapy regimen has been a challenge with my pain level so high but I have to stick to it. Over $1000 in PT co-pays so far, etc.