USA Soccer Player on his way to making a remarkable recovery less than 4 months after a horrific crash
Charlie Davies is lucky to be alive. He knows it, and even if he were to forget, there are plenty of reminders.
There are the surgical scars that now tattoo the American soccer star's body. There are the constant reminders from family and friends who never let him forget what he nearly lost, and what he has already overcome. Then there are the pictures burned into his memory of the mangled car he was pulled from after he survived a car crash that killed another passenger on Oct. 13. Davies, 23, sustained multiple serious injuries (a broken right femur and tibia, a broken left elbow, facial fractures and a lacerated bladder).
The prognosis was that he would face an arduous six- to 12-month recovery and extensive rehabilitation. The strongest reminders of how fortunate Davies is come from Davies himself as he pushes through what is shaping up to be a miraculous recovery from that laundry list of major injuries.
Less than four months after the crash that threatened to end his promising career, Davies is already jogging at a good rate and working on agility drills that would have seemed impossible just weeks earlier, when simply getting out of a wheelchair was an exhausting exercise.What does this progress mean, exactly? It means that, barring any setbacks,
Davies could be back on the field with club team FC Sochaux by April, meaning his chances of playing for the United States in June's World Cup should no longer be seen as a shattered dream."Charlie is pretty much light years ahead of where anybody would tell you he should be," said Jim Hashimoto, the former U.S. national team trainer who is overseeing Davies rehabilitation. "When everybody heard about the accident, including myself, it was like, 'OK, this is going to be a long one' -- and it's still going to be a long one, but to see his progress is pretty amazing."
Just how amazing?
The multiple broken bones in his leg, face and elbow have healed. So has a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, and he has recovered from bladder surgery, which left a foot-long scar on his stomach. He has regained the 15 pounds he lost after enduring six surgeries following the crash, and is days away from undergoing his final surgery associated with the accident, a procedure to remove a bone, plate and screws from his left elbow. After a week to recover from that surgery, Davies expects to be back training with Sochaux by the end of February.
"The World Cup is easy for me to be back for," said Davies. "I want to get back to France, and I don't want to just get back -- I want to be good.
"I don't want to be that guy just to make the [World Cup] team and just sit there. I want to be back and starting and scoring, playing well and doing the things I know I can do.
"People haven't seen the progress I've made, and maybe they don't know the kind of person I am and the motivation and new appreciation for being able to play that I have."Davies was written off as a legitimate possibility for the World Cup because of the number of major injuries he suffered in the accident. However, his ability to heal quickly, along with the fact that he avoided any major long-term ligament injuries, has set Davies up for a recovery few could have seen coming.
Today, Davies looks very much like he did before the accident. The swelling in his face that was so evident during his interview with ESPN last November has subsided, though a shorter haircut reveals the scar he has from ear to ear arcing over the top of his skull. That scar came after doctors peeled his face off down to his chin in order to repair the multiple fractures that left his facial bones a shattered mess.
Davies has dealt with the physical recovery from the crash, but the mental recovery has been just as difficult. He acknowledges the mistake he made by breaking curfew with the national team on the night of the accident, and admits to fighting with the lingering doubts and questions about the fateful night in October.
"I couldn't sleep at night for two months," Davies said. "My mind would be racing, just thinking about how it happened and how I let this happen. How did I survive? Why did I survive? Why did I let the girl drive me home? Why couldn't I have taken a cab? When will I be back? Will I be back the same? How will the guys talk to me when I get back with the group? What do I need to do to change and be a better person?" [read rest at source] seriously read the rest it is very good
DAVIES ON FIRST WAKING UP AFTER THE ACCIDENT “The next part I remember was just waking up in the hospital and thinking I was in Honduras, thinking that people were trying to steal my organs. That’s how I woke up. It was maybe the third day and I was really confused about where I was.
"A nurse came up to me and said, 'What are you doing Mr. Davies? Relax.'
“No. You tell me why I’m here.”
“You were in a car accident.”
“No, anybody could say that. Where am I?”
“You’re in Washington D.C.”
(Davies, who had torn out five staples from the incision in his stomach after waking up, realized that the story made sense and proceeded to pass out again.)
more quotes hereOriginal post on accident Read about Oguchi Onyewu's road to recovery
here
LA Laker Jordan Farmar and Pro Soccer player Jill Oakes are engaged. The two were at UCLA together, Jill now plays for
Chicago Red Stars I could not find an official announcement but Getty had it in there
pic description & she is wearing a ring
Big eared Jordan and beautiful Jill were part of Mia Hamm and Nomar Garciaparra's 3rd Annual Celebrity Soccer Challenge.
it really pained me to make a post that involved the Lakers
james kyson lee
Gilles Marini
he looks like crap here
Geoff Stults
Do y'all think he's pointing at Shawn or President Bartlet
Gerson Mayen (Chivas USA) and Eric Avila (FC Dallas)
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posted by GossipGander
\\ tags: accidents, sports athletes
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