Two Years Ago Today...

[Lotsokids]

This is where I was... in a Hungarian hospital.
Destroyed jaw, 16 missing teeth, broken right eye socket, skull base fracture, and in a coma balancing between life and death. But what a miraculous recovery. Yeah, it's been a long, difficult road, but able to be traveled. Counting my blessings. Listening to my amazing son playing the piano next to me now. I could have been watching from a distance if you know what I mean. God has been so good to me. Very thankful. Take some extra time with your family. Our life can be taken in an instant.

[roverfj1200]

Sometimes the road takes us places that are hard to travel and other times its easy sailing. I am glad your recovery has gone well.

Merry Christmas and may the new year bring you peace and happiness.

[Mark Olson]

That was a very tragic accident and by the grace of god you are still here , enjoy your family as you have been given a gift my friend.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

[Firehawk068]

We are all glad you are still here.........................FJ or not!   

[pdxfj]

The pics always make me cringe...

Amazing how much you recovered in a short amount of time.  Even more so after you came back to the states for some proper medical care.  You wouldn't be where you are today if you had stayed in Hungary with their medical system.

[FJmonkey]

Yes Mark, you are spot on!!! We will not know when or how we leave this life. I am pleased your time was not up yet, you have a good heart and family that supports doing good things for others... And I am very happy you found the FJowners site and let us into your life...

[simi_ed]

Mark, that was a horrible thing, and it's a miracle you survived.  I'm glad you did!  You're a good person, and a real asset to our group. 

[Dan Filetti]

Glad to see you recovered Mark.  I'm curious, has your face shape changed?  Do you see a different face staring back at you in the mirror today, than say 2.5 years ago?

Dan

[Lotsokids]

I'm curious, has your face shape changed?  Do you see a different face staring back at you in the mirror today, than say 2.5 years ago?

I see a little change, but healed very well. My manager was at the scene of the accident just after it happened - I was still sitting in the car. He said my jaw bones, teeth, and nerves (stuff) were hanging out of my face. He's still amazed when he sees me today. Below is a photo taken at work just last September. My right eye area sags very slightly from the eye socket fracture. But thankful both eyes track fine - vision is good, except in extreme looking up and down. Then I get double vision slightly. So serious sport bike riding may not be an option for me anymore. I even had some problems on the FJ leaning over the fuel tank "mid-kookaloo." LOL.

I have a massive scar that conveniently follows my goatee and runs under my jaw to my neck. Mostly unseen - thankfully. You can see it in the picture. A little swelling still at that area, but I wear an Icon helmet that's designed narrow. I still wear it. The same one that I wore before the accident. So it's not bad.

That was the long answer. Sorry.  Short answer --> Overall, the dimensions are extremely close to original.

Best thing is no pain. ZERO. I get asked that question frequently.

[TexasDave]

Amazing job the doctors did on your face. You are a lucky man. Thanks for sponsoring the kids. Hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas.  Dave

[Steve_in_Florida]

...just WOW!

Sir Mark,
You have a whole cadre of angels watching out for you.

Seriously.

You better not be squandering your time here on earth.

Write an inspirational book, maybe? T.V. movie??

Glad you're still here.

Steve

[Lotsokids]

Write an inspirational book, maybe? T.V. movie??

Not a bad idea. I kept a diary of major events. It's shocking when I read it myself.

I hate reading. Just not interested. I'm the type that waits for the movie. Ha ha. But I did read a book in my "down" time from a friend and cancer survivor, Cary Schmidt. It's called "Off Script" and is a personal account about when God takes your life "off script." You know, the life script we write for ourselves, where everything is great with no problems and we all ride FJ's and V-Max's. But sometimes events (OUT OF OUR CONTROL) take our life a totally different direction. How do we respond? It's an excellent read.

http://www.amazon.com/Off-Script-What-When-Rewrites/dp/1598941690/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310107383&sr=8-1

Thanks for the kind words, everyone!