Trying to smile and transmit that everything was fine while in the TICU, just a few days after waking up

I wake up and the first thing I notice is that something is not right about the roof, this is not my bedroom. As I try to get up my arms fail me and I fall back down on the bed. A nurse then screams out “Stay in bed! You were in a motorcycle accident”. I quickly try to recall any memories of an accident; nothing. Last thing I could remember was leaving a conference center to head back home. I straight away demand what day is it, “Sunday” the nurse replies. I sink back and think “Fuck! I last remembered it being Wednesday”, that is when it all started. Deep inside my brain, my subconscious started working and channeling energy to my body and urging it to recover as I have an urgent mission: to make my way back. The pivotal moment that changed my life.

The memories from the first few days are blurry at best; understandable given the amount of medications I was given for pain management. After conversations and videos from family and friends that kindly visited me, I was able to figure out more or less what happened during the 20 days at the hospital. Several doctors were called in to explain to me the situation. For those wondering here is the official injury list from the motorcycle accident:

• Third degree burn in my left thigh
• Third degree burn in my left quad
• Second degree burn in abdomen
• First degree burn right hand
• Compound fracture in left arm (both radius and ulna sticking out off skin)
• Fractured radius in right arm
• Fractured left rib
• Punctured left lung
• Collapsed right lung
• Cervical number 2 flexion teardrop fracture

My first reaction to finding out about the state of my body was neither be sad nor victim to tragedy it was more like “OK doc, what do I do to improve?”. In a weird way I was at peace with the accident since from the moment I bought my motorcycle I sort of knew the risks that come with the hobby (but you never expect it happen to you, at least not this bad). I quickly learnt that when you replace “Why is this happening to me?” with “What is this trying to teach me?” everything shifts. My single greatest tool for dealing with this dire situation was to approach it as a major growth opportunity. I learnt that trauma and pain can lead to growth. Everyone at the hospital was positively surprised by my mindset, despite all the injuries and my fragility I was in a good mood for most of the time (thanks in part also to a drug called Dilaudid). The positive vibes I transmitted quickly replaced worry and grief of my visitors and in turn they became my source of energy.

What caused all this is still not very clear to me, not surprisingly I have ZERO recollection of the accident and of the three days after that, since they kept me in an induced coma until I could breathe on my own. As told by the driver I hit, the story goes like this: It’s a Wednesday 3pm, beautiful sunny day with great visibility and I’m cruising down a 4-lane avenue in Wynwood, Miami. The driver was driving down a small street that goes across the avenue in which I was riding. He stopped at a stop sign to go across the avenue. He checked both sides before going across, didn’t see any oncoming traffic and proceeded to gas his SUV into my path. I guess it must have been too late for me to avoid him, as I crashed right into the side of his SUV (I had no stop sign or any kind of yield to oncoming traffic). I must have held on tight to the bike as I didn’t fly away on impact, which likely was the reason I fractured both arms as all the force was first absorbed by the arms/wrists. My helmet then hit his rear window likely fracturing my C2, and then I fell to the side, with part of the Ducati on top of my left leg which probably fractured my left rib. The bike then caught fire as some gasoline probably spilled and combusted, which is what caused the worst burns on my left leg and abdomen. In the picture featured on the top of the post, the fire is the motorcycle and I am laying on the street with two civilians around me helping, one is the driver.

Two weeks post-accident, still in the hospital but now in a nicer room with a little privacy

What happened next is nothing short of a miracle. The driver rushes out of the car to pull me out from underneath the bike which was now a huge fire and then extinguishes the flames on me. He then realizes I have bones sticking out of my arm and bleeding profusely, so he rips his shirt and ties a tourniquet around each arm to stop the bleeding while the first responders arrived. Luckily the accident occurred less than half a mile from the closest fire station, they arrived quickly, stabilized me and raced me to the hospital. Fortunately the best hospital they could have taken me to for my injuries, was also the closest one. Rescued and delivered in less than 10 minutes, crazy, and super blessed.