Russell Sherman

Have you ever been some place and at the time wish above everything that you had not been there. But, in retrospect, are very glad that you hade been there despite all you have gone through, well that is me.

On May 5th, 1990 myself and two friends went to Capital Airport in Springfield, Illinois to watch the Air National Guard do ‘touch and go’s’ with the F-16 fighters that were stationed there. My friend Aaron was driving, Brandon was riding in the front seat and I was sitting behind Aaron. We were turning left from and country road onto and two land county road. Just as we were turning left on to the county road we were struck in the side by a semi-tractor trailer. The last thing that I remember seeing is the semi just as it slams into the car I am in. It struck the car from the drivers side door and crushing that part of the car and pushing the car about 40 feet into the corn field opposite how we were coming onto the road.

My friend Aaron was killed instantly with a broken neck, Brandon got a broken arm and was knocked unconscious and I hit my head against the side on the car which caused a subdural hematoma (bruising to the brain), a broken jaw and a broken femur in addition to some nerve damage to that leg. I ended up being comatose for 2 weeks before ‘awakening’. From there I was in for very long road to recovery. At first I didn’t know which one of my parents was which or even where I was. I even attempted to leave the hospital and get back to school for my American History class.

I then went on to spend the next 3 months at Memorial Medical Center for a beginning my rehabilitation. I walked between parallel bars, spent lots of time on the exercise bike and reading Dr. Seuss Books. The problem with the reading was that often times I would see as work, like monkey, know the word but not remember how to say it, and then on the very next page see the same work and again forget how to say it (aphasia). I also had a great deal of problems with math and hard science (physics, chemistry, etc.) because of where the severe damage to my brain took place, that being on the upper left side causing damage to my pre-frontal cortex.

I was able to recover enough by the middle of August to be released from the hospital and go back to high school for my senior year. During which time I went back for rehabilitation for the next year to work on waking and occupational therapy. I was able to attend college at the University of Illinois and go on to get my bachelors degree in history and political science as a double major. Even though I had originally wanted to major in aerospace engineering, gut I soon figured out that with the severe brain injury that was going to be impossible as I could no do basic calculus or physics.

After I graduated I took a year off before starting masters degree, but put that on ‘hold’ to take a position in Washington D.C. I then moved back to Illinois with my wife for a new position. From there it was new job to new job and then returning back to school and joining the Illinois National Guard. The plans that I though were going to work ended up causing more stress and questioning how the brain injury were making my life harder. I then moved with my wife and children to Indiana were I though I a could get my professional life going, but again ended up jumping from job to jot to where I am presently working at a hospital in Columbus, Indiana.

Though this a very brief summary I have leaned a lot in the past 36 years since the accident. Firstly I am so blessed for my great wife and children, who I never would have had if not for the terrible car accident. I have also come to see that God has a plan for us and he will help us through any trial that we end up going through. As the saying goes we don need to ‘stop and smell the roses’ because you may never get a chance to see what is in the world around us. Am I sad my friend was killed and I had learn things that are often times taken for granted, sure. However, life is a journey not a set destination and it is very important to live life one day at a time, accept the challenges and have fun on the ride of life.