Dan Fernandez's life underwent a profound transformation following a catastrophic car accident in April 2018, resulting in a broken back, a severed spinal cord, and various other injuries. Once a successful retail executive, overseeing 70 stores as a Regional Director, Dan's transition to living with a disability has been marked by significant challenges and adaptations. Throughout this harrowing journey, he has found strength and resilience, bolstered by the unwavering support of his wife, Donna, and their family. In our poignant conversation, Dan recounts his remarkable evolution from an active lifestyle filled with fishing and travel to navigating the complexities of life after spinal cord injury. His narrative serves as a powerful testament to the enduring human spirit, illustrating how love, determination, and community can illuminate the path forward when faced with life's unexpected adversities. Dan Fernandez's compelling story reveals the profound transformations that arise from adversity. Once an avid fisherman and golfer, his life was irrevocably altered by a devastating car accident that rendered him a paraplegic. This episode of Walk and Roll Live delves into the intricate details of Dan's health crisis, including his lengthy hospital stays and the extensive rehabilitation he undertook at Casa Kalina. His narrative is interspersed with reflections on the emotional support provided by his wife, Donna, and their children, showcasing the pivotal role of family in navigating the complexities of life after a severe spinal cord injury. Dan’s journey is not merely one of survival; it is a chronicle of rediscovering passions, such as fishing, and adapting to a new lifestyle that embraces both challenges and triumphs. His experience encapsulates the essence of resilience and the importance of community in the face of life's unpredictability. Walk and Roll Live

Takeaways:

• Dan Fernandez's journey from a successful retail career to living with a spinal cord injury exemplifies resilience in the face of adversity.
• The unwavering support from Dan's wife and family has been a cornerstone of his recovery and adaptation to life after his accident.
• Dan's transition to using a power wheelchair highlights the challenges and adjustments that come with significant life changes.
• The importance of community and finding purpose after a traumatic event is a central theme in Dan's inspiring story.
• Engaging in activities such as fishing after his injury demonstrates that one can find joy and fulfillment despite physical limitations.
• Dan's experience serves as a powerful reminder that life can change dramatically in an instant, yet strength and determination can carry us forward.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Aguiar
• Smart and Final
• Big Lots
• 99 Cent Store
• Casa Colina
• Margaritaville
• Premier
• United Access

The following is a productions original series.

Hello and welcome to Walk and Roll Live.

I'm Doug Vincent, joined by Addie Rich.

Our podcast is dedicated to amplifying the voices of the disability community.

I am a polio survivor.

And Addie, she has cp.

Yeah.

You like that?

Yeah, I was not ready.

Electronic smart ass.

And then you just stole it anyway.

Well, you can use it next week.

All right.

We're glad to be with you.

Thank you for being with us right off the bat.

Want to say thank you to Renee Rojo for being on last week and sharing that episode.

Everybody must have loved it because it's doing really well.

So thank you.

Thank you.

And so what's.

What was your week like?

Anything.

Anything fun?

My week was good.

My week was really good, actually.

I finally got my promotion at work.

Good, good.

Officially, you've been doing the work for a while, but I've been doing the.

Work for two years.

But they finally recognized that work and, you know, changed my title and gave me a little bit more cash behind that title, which is awesome.

It's not all about the money, but we do like the cushion.

But I do appreciate the recognition and the fact that, you know, they told me that now I. I could apply and grow to management.

I didn't realize I couldn't in my other position.

So there's a pathway now I can.

Yeah, exactly.

So got another storyline to follow.

I know, right?

But so that was really cool and, you know, led to a good week.

And then I went to a networking event yesterday.

There is a group here in Atlanta that a really cool lady named Mingly has started.

It's called Girlies Making Friends in Atlanta.

Really neat for just people who.

I mean, it doesn't really have.

It's people who want to make friends or get out and do things.

They're very good and very neat at having different people in the group kind of sponsor events.

And they do some, like, paid events and they do some unpaid events.

So somebody will be like, oh, we're going to karaoke, going to this restaurant.

I'll be there at 6.

Anybody want to come?

Or like yesterday it was a more paid networking event.

So it was a brunch and it was kind of Easter themed and.

And did that kind of stuff.

But I took my wheels because I decided that since I've kind of gone on this advocacy journey and I'm encouraging people to go as they are and, you know, do the things that make them most comfortable and help them to exist in life.

This.

This was intentional.

This was intentional.

You know, and that's one of those things that you hear all the time from, you know, speakers, motivational speakers, and, you know, and the people that like life coaches.

Like, I know you dabble in that a little bit, too, is to get outside your comfort zone.

So, I mean, you have a chair, and I know that you don't use it a lot yet in your transitioning, you know, and you still want to use as much of your mobility as you still have.

I know all of those things, but.

So this time you wanted to kind of push yourself a little bit, would you say?

Yeah, I wanted to push myself and not be afraid.

Honestly, too, like, okay, so if with.

When you watch me walk and things, like, carrying a plate and a drink and going to do things and whatever, that can be very challenging.

And I knew here I am in this networking circumstance, I really want to be able to meet people.

I want to not be uncomfortable.

Comfortable with.

Like, please don't trip.

Please, Jesus, do not throw this plate of food.

Like, I, you know, it seemed the most logical choice to choose something that set me up for the most success.

I know how to put a plate on my lap and roll away and do what I needed to do.

But one of the coolest things about this event is if one person asked to help.

17 People asked to help.

Like, can I help you with your plate?

Can I carry a drink?

But it wasn't.

It literally was like, a quick question and moving on.

And, you know, a lot of.

One of the reasons I'm passionate about this group is one of the things I really felt was like, a universal calling for me in this was.

And which I've learned kind of through this podcast, is not being afraid to advocate for something you need.

So they did an event in winter that wasn't accessible.

They rented a charter bus to go to a place, but the charter bus wasn't accessible, so I really couldn't go.

And after that, I reached out to Ming, and she was very, very open, and I said, hey, can I help with some accessibility stuff?

Can I volunteer to, like, vet a place or help you, you know, get a charter bus that is accessible or whatever?

And she was super open to it and, like, really receptive, and it's been a great place to kind of grow, but it.

The imposter syndrome is falling away, and I don't feel like a fake disabled person, as funny as that sounds.

I feel like I've always kind of straddled a line, right, because I. I wanted to be seen as competent, and all the things that are misjudged when people just look at your container.

And.

And now at this age, I'm learning you can be all the things.

And so yesterday was a perfect example of you can be all the things.

So that was me.

How about you?

Well, before we talked on.

On the show, you had mentioned a couple other things.

Was there anything else you wanted to mention?

You mentioned about some of the contacts or.

Oh, I don't want to give it away yet.

Okay.

All right.

Things are in the works.

Things are in the works.

Whereas, you know, the universe makes no mistakes.

And.

And I can't tell you what it.

What made it happen that the imposter syndrome fell away, but it has finally fallen away from me, maybe embracing your whole self.

So.

So I think there'll be things in the future that I really look forward to.

Well, look forward to those too.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Everybody else?

Good.

More story to come.

I like it.

Well, I went to another adaptive sports event this past weekend, and part of the reason was because it's.

It's bocce ball.

Because there's bocce ball and there's boccia ball.

I'm still doing a little investigating on this yet, because I think one is.

Is for the disabled community, was specifically designed for the disabled community for more people with cp, as a matter of fact, you know, so that's part of the event's history, but now they're opening it up to everybody, you know, so.

And it was.

It was awesome.

And one of the reasons I picked it is because when I go to these adaptive sports events, there's a lot of the stuff that I've done a little bit in the past, and I'm kind of past.

You know, part of it's my age and part of it's what, you know, the walking on the crutches and pushing a wheelchair for, you know, all these decades has done to my shoulders and whatnot.

So this is going to be low impact and something I can get out there, have the social component.

I, you know, the competitive component, just the recreational component, all those things, you know, to get together.

So.

So this was a tournament, so I just got to watch, but I met a lot of people.

You know, there wasn't as many people there that I thought I would know.

So I got to learn, meet a lot of new people and make connections with the pachi ball community.

And, you know, so I met a few of the.

Of the judges that travel the world doing this and.

Yeah, yeah, all of that.

So we're gonna learn more about Bocce ball coming up.

Yeah, so.

And it was fun.

And I'm gonna get to play.

There's events around in Burbank.

I met the.

The gentleman that's.

I don't know if he's like the top guy, but he definitely is up there in the Burbank recreation department.

And Burbank, if you don't know, is doing a phenomenal job in the disabled community.

They.

They open their gym every weekend at a park.

I don't want to give you the wrong name because I. I think it's one name and I keep saying another one.

But anyway, they do an adaptive sporting event once a year.

They.

In that same park, they put in an adaptive, wheelchair accessible, all disability accessible playground for the kids in that park.

Yeah, yeah.

So I talked to him a little bit yesterday about maybe putting in a accessible softball field.

So he's like, you know, he didn't now.

Now just say no.

So that was good.

You know, let's go back to the, you know, the committees and all that.

And see if that's really important.

Yes, absolutely.

So they.

One of the things they do when they open up everything on Sundays is bocce ball.

So I'm gonna head over and.

And give it a shot.

I'll let you know how I do.

Yes, I'd like to hear.

Yeah, yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

So that's it for that little update on what's going on with us.

Don't forget to like and subscribe and share and rate, I think is a thing now too.

You know, I'm an old guy, so I don't know all the current terms, but I'm.

I'm doing my best.

Coming up today, it's an interview with Dan Fernandez.

He was one of those poor unfortunate souls that I was stalking.

No, I just.

I met him in a waiting room with the United Access folks when they were doing a service on my van.

And he was in there getting a service on his van, too.

We got to chatting, and pretty soon I had his contact information and I invited him on the show.

Stop smiling till he said hello.

Yeah, exactly.

Why are you looking at me so weird?

Leave me alone.

I will not break the voice.

You know, it's like a staring contest.

I will not break it first.

Exactly.

So that is our interview today.

So we'll do that right after we hear from our good friends at Agar.

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From the agyar professional training studios, you're listening to walk and roll live.

Disability stories.

We've told a lot of stories.

There's been so many glories.

Welcome back to Rock and Roll Live.

I am Doug Addy is here and we have our guests this week.

We were just talking before we came on that, you know, nobody's safe for me anymore.

I, I find guests wherever I can and Dan and I had a nice conversation in the waiting room at United Access.

I think we were getting our vans serviced so I, I pounced.

And buddies, I'm doing a podcast.

Would you like to come on and tell your story?

And, and, and I'm just finding, I don't judge, you know, I ask everybody and, and I'm just so thrilled to hear the incredible stories that, that come, you know, when I do that.

And I'm sure Dan will be no different.

Well, first of all, why don't we you help us get to know you just a little bit of just like kind of where you're from now.

What's the nature of your, your disability and that's, that's I guess mostly it.

And then we'll jump off from there.

Sure.

My name is Dan Fernandez.

Originally from San Bernardino, born and raised.

I went to high school in San Bernardino.

I got married when I was 19.

Still married to Donna.

We've been married 44 years now.

Congratulations.

Yeah, quite a feat.

And she, she gets all the credit, believe me.

Especially since the accident eight years ago.

So basically we're Ukipians at this point and live with my oldest daughter and my son in law who help with my care and two grandkids.

My son lives in the casita behind us.

All my children are adult age and my son is 34 and in a band, etc.

So all my kids are artists in one way or another.

And I got an accident in April.

I got up early to go on a fishing trip.

Prior to my accident I.

My passion and my, my absolute love was saltwater fishing.

So I thought I'd get up early and go get some early spring yellowtail so I could have some sashimi.

And I left the house at 2:30 in the morning, trying to get to San Diego by about 4:30.

And as I got to the 60 freeway in Moreno Valley, which was fairly open that morning, of course at that early hour, I was rear ended at a guy driving a Maserati at 131 miles an hour.

Oh my God, he clipped me.

Yeah, he clipped me.

And my back seat was down because my ice chest was in the back of my Jeep Cherokee.

And when that happened, the back seat pushed into my seat, which immediately broke my back, severed my spinal cord, fractured my pelvis and my cervical collar.

And I was in the hospital for three months Overall, back and forth between Kaiser and Casa Kalina.

I was in Fontana, Kaiser, I was also in Ontario, Kaiser.

I was in Casa Kalina twice.

The first time I was in their ICU unit because after I got transferred from Kaiser Fontana, I had several issues that caused me to code.

And I ended up in their ICU unit for almost two weeks before getting transferred back to Kaiser and then ultimately transferred back to Casa Kalina.

So quite a journey.

Yeah.

Back and forth, back and forth.

And you only time I got to see fresh air was usually in the evening when I was getting transferred.

Right.

You're like, can we transfer somewhere?

I need to go outside.

I know, exactly.

But I would like to go outside, please.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And if people are having it now, which is amazing because I'm, I'm seeing more and more people like have it now, but they do it like almost as a nick surgery.

They don't like fully do what they did to us.

I was the female and there was a male version of me and they actually like took her back out and did all that stuff.

So it was a lot more complicated.

Right.

Like they didn't want to do it microscopically, but I do.

One of my earliest memories of like getting back together was them rolling me outside and like washing my hair outside.

And it was like, yeah, best days of my life.

Because I was like, I'm outside Rat's Nest.

Because after being cooped up.

Right?

Yeah, yeah.

Really?

Air feels so different when you haven't felt it for a long time.

Oh, just the fresh air in your lungs.

Yeah, exactly.

Some vitamin D and K, right?

Exactly.

So you got a long career in retail leadership.

How did you get Started with that.

Yeah.

Well, my parents had a grocery store in San Bernardino and we used to source our goods from Smart Final as our primary resource.

And when I used to go into the store, first of all, they were open Monday through Friday, 7 to 3:30, and they were only open to businesses.

And so.

Yeah, I do remember.

Yeah.

Having wanted to work there because I knew all the guys, it felt like a second home, so to speak.

And so when I got my job there, I got a full time job.

And I was 18 years old.

And to make the money I was making, you know, at that time, as an 18 year old full time with benefits and a pension, I absolutely felt honored and privileged to get that job.

And so I worked at Smart and Final in the stores in, you know, several capacities, all the way to store manager.

I managed three different stores for Smart Final before moving on to Human Resources and worked in Human Resources for a few years, both as benefits manager.

Thankless job, by the way.

Yes.

Yeah.

And that transitioned into manager of associate relations for both corporate and stores.

And that ended up turning into a district manager position, which is really what my goal was, was to become a district manager.

I managed four different districts for the company in a little bit over four years.

The last district I ran was in San Diego, which was the number one district in the company.

And I was very privileged, but I was making the long drive from Yucaipa down to San Diego almost every day.

And so that ended up turning into a promotion to director of Store Operations.

And I served in that position for a couple of years before I really started seeing the inside of the company was kind of like being married to someone for 20 years and then all of a sudden getting to see the inside of what made it tick.

And at that point I wasn't really thrilled about what I was seeing anymore with the company at that time.

And I was enjoying my career at Big Lots and I could see the writing on the wall there.

And obviously, as we all know, Big Lots is no more, unfortunately.

And so it's here.

It is totally in the South.

No, they're gone.

Oh, they're gone now.

Wow.

I haven't gotten out of the house apparently.

What was your name before, Dan?

Big Lots was Pick and Save.

I was like.

It was Pick and Save.

My favorite freaking store when I was little.

Yeah.

And I heard they're thinking about coming back.

Well, somebody bought the name Picket Save.

And yeah, it was actually the old CEO of 99 Cent Store who bought that name.

And he's opened up a couple of stores at this point under the Pick and Save name in the Inland Empire area.

So you still have your finger on the pulse of the business.

Yeah, I still know a lot of people and, you know, we talk and, you know, you read different journals.

But anyway, I saw the writing on the wall.

So, yeah, I put my resume out there and I got a job with 99 cent store and that company.

Actually, I was there for a little bit less than seven years before the accident.

I started my career in 81, and I just absolutely love that company.

Ultimately, I felt like I was appreciated more than I had been appreciated in other companies.

I felt like I was really making a genuine contribution to the organization.

People.

And 99 cent store is not around anymore.

And people ask me what happened?

What happened?

And I say, well, after they laid me off, after my accident, they obviously couldn't operate anymore because I wasn't there.

Right, Exactly.

There you go.

You were the missing word.

Exactly.

I was the key.

So that brings me.

Dan, that brings me to a question, if you don't mind.

I was thinking what kind of conversation you had with your employer for the sake of, you know, this show where we deal with the topics of disability.

You know, was there ever a conversation about, you know, you continuing after.

Because I imagine your.

Your job was, you know, more, you know, of a.

Not intellectual.

But, you know, it was.

It was, you know, your mind.

It wasn't.

You weren't doing any heavy lifting.

Right.

In that capacity.

What had happened, Doug was.

After the accident.

You know, while I was in my position before the accident, I was a regional director.

I was responsible for 70 stores in the basically Inland Empire and parts of Orange county and parts of LA county, and all the way from Indio to Long Beach.

I had eight district managers reporting to me.

Absolutely loved my job.

I was out in the field most of my time.

I would say 80% of my time I was in the field outside of being in my office for reporting purposes or corporate office or meetings, outside of being in the field.

But the.

After the accident, I was off work for nine months.

And so obviously at that point, I couldn't return to my previous position.

And the reasons I Say, obviously is because of foul and urine, you know, catheterization and that type of thing.

And.

And I wasn't prepared to drive either.

And so I would have had to have a driver take me store to store, etc, and we weren't in a position at that point to do so.

Fortunately, while I was off 99, again, they appreciated me to the point where the president of the company was calling my wife, asking her if there was anything that I needed.

They left me.

They left me on payroll.

I never had to sign up for disability while I was off for nine months.

I was getting my regular paychecks and they just treated me really, really well.

That is an organization that truly is treating you like you matter.

Yeah.

And.

And again, I, you know, even before then, I felt like I was very much appreciated.

I was saving the company a lot of money with some of the projects that I was in charge of prior to going back out to the field.

I was a district manager to begin with, and then I went into the corporate office in a couple of different capacities and then ultimately, like I mentioned, a regional director.

But after the accident, I was offered a position to take my old position at corporate back and be able to do that from home.

And so I was given a portion of my team, not the entire team that I had before.

And they gave me an opportunity to just work from home and, you know, conference calls and reporting from home, etc, and I did that for, oh, gosh, about nine months again.

And then the company was, at that point, they were going through a lot of management changes.

They had changed the president of the company, the guy that was talking to my wife all the time, they had changed my boss.

And so the company was starting to hit a very fast downward trend.

Yes.

And they brought on another company to determine, you know, where could layoffs happen, etc.

And so that's what happened.

I got laid off through reduction in workforce.

Boo.

Little did they know, attitude went away.

Yeah, the president, your boss, and the president left.

And it left with them, unfortunately.

Sounds like, yeah.

Little did they know that Covid was gonna hit and everybody was gonna work from home and they would look like jackpots because.

Yeah, yeah, but, you know, yeah, I.

Worked from home on and off.

And people would always say, no, but what do you really do?

Because I'd say, well, I work from home and I work in, you know, marketing or I Work in accounting or whatever I was doing at the time.

And people like, no, no, really, like, what do you do?

I was like, that's a real job.

Then Covid hit.

Suddenly everybody else had a very similar job.

And suddenly it was a job, you know.

Yep, yep, I'm with you.

Yeah, it was unfortunate.

I, I was hurt, you know, I, I cried when I got laid off.

I would have cried too.

Yeah, I did.

I mean, I, I felt like I was still.

Even though I was working from home and I didn't have quite the same structured organization that I had had before, I still felt like we were making positive changes.

You know, one of my rules of thumb when I was in the director position at the corporate office, because office positions aren't where the money is made, you know, it's where money is spent, usually.

And I had a rule of thumb with my team.

I said, you know, if you're making $50,000 a year, you need to find and save the company $500,000 a year.

So if I was making, let's say, 80,000, I needed to save the company 800,000.

And all in all, one year, my team saved the company over $15 million.

My.

Just my organization between, you know, one of the, One of the big things I was responsible for was compliance, and that means hazardous waste compliance and trash pickup and things of that nature.

And so we went after some what I would call low hanging fruit, but it was really expensive, low hanging fruit for the organization from fines that they had years before.

And so year over year, that one year we saved the company over $15 million in both hazardous waste and weights and measure complaints.

So weights and measure fines.

We, we had a significant lawsuit and weights and measures that I was able to rectify.

And, and that just, that one fine saved the company over $3 million.

Right.

But it's.

You're treating it like it's partly your company and like you care about it and things.

And that shows when you put the right people in the right seats.

Yep.

And you value them as people and you value their intelligence and all the things you hired them for.

It is worth it.

Yeah, I, I just.

Because you get around differently, doesn't make any difference.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

And I, I was fortunate that I had some very loyal, very smart people that worked for me.

I mean, some people that were much smarter than me working for me.

These kids that were coming out of college with degrees in advanced mathematics, and I was able to just, you know, push their buttons and get them to run reports for me that, you Know, back in the old days would have taken months to get, and they were able to have them on my desk within sometimes a half day.

Yeah.

That's amazing.

Yeah.

You knew how to assemble your team.

I was lucky that my boss was supportive enough to allow me to hire and train as I saw fit.

Yeah.

Well, I mean, it sounds like from your whole story, it sounds like you.

You lived as an older man even when you were younger.

I don't mean that in a weird way, but, like, you got married really early, you got a big job really early.

So it's like, kind of fascinating that you.

You started a little bit more aged than normal 18 year olds or like.

Yeah.

So it's kind of.

I find it sort of fascinating that it, like accelerated to start you and then kind of slowed down via an accident.

Right.

But you still still got to.

You still learn to savor things.

Because it sounds like even as a person with no difference who just enjoyed stuff, you knew how to enjoy people and things and whatever.

Do you think that's helped you?

I mean, I would.

Oh, absolutely.

The funny thing is, is, you know, when you look back at my career, I wanted to be a district manager.

That was my goal when I was younger.

And I saw myself in that role by the time I was 35 as a dream.

And I was able to hit that and beat that by a few years.

But what.

The main reason for that is because of all things, they asked me to work in human resources, and I. I was not a fan of that.

Right.

I could not see the benefit of doing that.

The first year they offered it to me, it came with a $17,000 pay cut.

Yeah.

Along with having to drive to LA every day and having a wardrobe change.

Wearing.

At any point, do they take out your nails with the pliers or.

Exactly.

You know, but they.

The first year they offered it to me, I said no.

And so the second year they offered it to me, they said, this is the route to become a district manager.

If you want to become a district manager, you're going to work in human resources.

So, you know, I. I swallowed that big horse pill and I. I did it.

And it was really the reason I was able to accelerate so quickly as a district manager to a director of store operations in just four years.

So it's the major league manager going to Poughkeepsie.

Yeah.

He didn't want to be there, but it was part of that path.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I was a fish out of water.

And I just learned so much.

So, so much working in that Role that I was able to leverage that.

And so it helped me throughout my career up until, you know, the layoff.

And you know, after the layoff, I, I went on state disability for a year, exhausted that.

And then I decided to, you know, we looked at the finances.

I had gotten a settlement from the accident and we looked at the finances and we were able to pay the house off and have enough money not to worry about things.

And so I decided to go ahead and retire early.

Yeah, well, you kind of earned it because you did everything so fast.

But so I have a question going back because I'm always like, nature versus nurture kind of is fascinating to me.

So you obviously didn't want to take that pill, but you got wise and you're like, if I do this, do you feel like you were always kind of like that as a kid or like, was it modeled for you?

Like, how did you figure that out?

Was that born in you to be, to have the wider view?

Or did you learn that from your parents?

And being in the grocery business, like, where do you feel like that kind of came from?

Because.

I would say that it came from my parents.

You know, the, the grocery store that we had in San Bernardino, we were open six days a week.

We opened at 8 o' clock in the morning.

I had to work at the store every single day we were open.

You know, some of the kids were out there playing baseball at 12 years old, just like me.

But at a certain time I had to stop and say, guys, I gotta go.

I, I had to go work in the store.

I had my responsibilities on a daily basis that I had to go and fill up the beer and soda case and separate the deposit bottles and clean the band saw.

We had a, we had a fresh meat department.

My dad was a meat cutter butcher and he would get a side of beef once a week.

And so my job was to clean the band saw and you know, all the different tools that, that we used for cutting meat.

But yeah, I just, I had to learn that from a very early age.

And then once I got smart, final one of the.

Well, the store manager, his name was Dan also, he was like an older brother to me.

I had known him since I was a kid, but he kind of really took me under his wing and brought me along at that point.

And I just felt very fortunate that I fell in with the right crowd, so to speak.

Well, this being walk and roll live, we, we want to kind of delve into your disability experience a little bit more too.

So how was your, how Was your care, were you.

And not only, you know, your, your care to get healed from your injuries, but also to prepare you for this new life.

You know, I, I hear so many different versions of this, you know, from, you know, just barely anything to, you know, some of the best stuff that is out there.

So how was your experience?

Yeah, you know, I mentioned earlier that, you know, I was bouncing back and forth between Kaiser and Casa Kalina.

You know, obviously.

Well, I won't say obviously, but, you know, during the accident, I, I.

What had happened was I got spun around and as I mentioned, I broke my back and severed my spinal cord.

I didn't know that my legs weren't working other than the fact that I opened up, the car next to me that hit me was on fire.

I knew that I had 21 gallons of gas in my tank and I did not want to burn, you know, and, and so I opened up my car door, the interior light went on.

I tried to get out.

My legs weren't working for some reason.

I looked down at my left foot, my van, my slip on van was not on my left foot anymore.

And I was like, what is going on?

Are my legs broken?

What happened?

You know, and so I, I weighed on some cars that were coming the other direction.

I waved them over like, hey, guys, can somebody come and help me?

So a couple of guys actually got out of their cars and one guy was emt and he had me cross my arms and he, they pulled me out of the vehicle and laid me on the pavement.

And as I laid on the pavement waiting for paramedics to arrive, I could feel my breathing just getting really shallow.

And I thought, either I'm in shock or there's something else physically wrong with me.

And so what ended up happening was during the accident, both ribs, or, excuse me, both lungs were punctured and both lungs were filling up with blood.

And fortunately, I was only two miles away from a trauma center, which was Marino Valley.

Donna, what's the name of that hospital I was in?

Riverside Health Systems.

Okay.

And so chances though, that an EMT is one that pulls over and that you're two miles away, you could have been anywhere and nobody could have been around.

And I know angels.

Angels.

Angels, right.

I love that.

Yeah.

And so I was there, Doug, for couple of weeks before Kaiser wanted me over there because obviously I was a Kaiser patient.

And so they wanted to get me, excuse me, they wanted to get me to, to their own facility.

So when I were conversations at that point, as far as, you know, what was Going to happen long term as far as, you know, making, I mean, I'm sure the, the, the primary thing was to get you, you know, get those injuries taken care of, get you.

Alive to the hospital.

Yeah, get you alive first.

Yeah.

But was there conversations about rehabilitation at that point?

There was conversation that eventually I would need to get into a rehab center.

Yeah.

And you know, start working on my arms so that I could work on transferring, etc.

And so what had happened was they had given my wife this xerox piece of paper that looked like it had been xeroxed a hundred times before.

It was very faded and it had these list of skilled nursing facilities in the Inland Empire.

And so fortunately my, my family was around and they took charge to go visit these locations.

One of my oldest sister is a registered nurse, so she was kind of directing everybody.

Katie, you go here.

April, you go here.

Stephanie, you go here.

Yeah, so, so they were all going to different places and coming back and reporting to my wife where I should be.

In the meantime, my wife was talking to nurses and nurses were saying, get them to Casa Kalina.

Get it right.

Casa Kalina.

Whatever it takes, get him to Casa Kalina.

And so I was fortunate enough to be accepted and Casa Kalina had a bed for me.

And so that's where I went.

But after the second night, like I mentioned, I coded from, I had sepsis and all kinds of other stuff and I was in their icu.

And at the time, I think Casa Clena has a six bed icu.

Three bed, My wife just corrected me.

Three bed icu.

He was like, you weren't even awake.

I'll tell you how many.

Yeah.

And there was nobody else in the ICU except me.

I was the only patient.

So I had one on one care.

Amazing.

And every day, you know, the doctor would put his thumb up to my wife.

He's getting better.

He's getting better.

But you know, I, I had almost died on the pavement.

I had almost died, you know, when I coded.

And then, you know, I, I, I was getting stronger after I had gotten out of the icu, obviously.

And then they moved me back to Kaiser just to kind of stabilize me, so to speak.

Yeah.

And then once I stabilized, then they sent me back to Casa Kalina and that's really where I started the therapy part of it.

That's where I started getting a shower every other day.

Finally a shower.

Oh my gosh, like shower in a shower chair.

Shower in a shower chair.

You know, they were lifting me with a hoyer, putting me in a Chair, rolling me into the shower.

You know, I was on the bowel program, you know, learning all these new and different ways of life that there.

There's not a manual.

There's not a manual that says to my wife, especially, here's what to expect when your husband, you know, is a paraplegic and, you know, he's £300 and you're not, you know, and you need to, you know, so learning all this stuff to care for him.

And so, unfortunately, while I started my physical therapy, I tore both rotator cuffs to.

To the point that it was excruciating pain.

How did you do that?

Yeah, I was going to say, how did you.

Through therapy.

They.

They were trying to get me to lift my body weight and.

And, you know, pushing down on these wooden.

I don't know, it was a tool that they would.

You had to grab onto the wooden dowel, so to speak, and push down in order to try and get your butt off the.

Off of the mat.

And I was trying so hard that I tore my rotator cuffs, you know, because again, I mentioned, I'm a big guy, you know, I'm a big guy.

And, you know, I was trying to push down and tore them both.

And they didn't know that I tore them.

I just told him, my shoulders hurt.

What's going on?

They finally sent me into an orthopedic who said, stop doing this.

You.

You've.

You've tore both rotator cuffs, which is insane.

And so just an exercise you've been doing for a while.

Oh, yeah.

It wasn't just one episode.

It was.

No, it was a regular part of my therapy.

And even after.

Even after I tore them, they were like, come on, Dan, you got to learn how to.

You got to build up your arms.

You're like, dude, you know, and they had a machine called rickshaw machine.

And.

And you can imagine what a rickshaw looks like.

And so I would have to push down, you know, and they just kept on wanting me to accelerate the weight I was pushing down, go from 50 pounds to 60 to 80 to 120, etc.

And I was doing it, but it hurts so, so bad.

And the doctor finally said.

And I was using all kinds of creams to put on my.

My.

We had a friend that works in the cannabis industry, and he was getting me these different creams that would really, more than anything, they would help me sleep.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Because I just couldn't, you know, turn or anything.

Yeah.

And so it was just.

It was awful.

It was just.

It was Horrible.

And so I, I, I think I was telling you, Doug, that day at United, that that's why I'm in an electric wheelchair, is because my doctor.

But the orthopedic said if we, if we operate on your rotator cuffs, there's probably a 90 chance.

If you, if you start transferring yourself, there's probably a 90 chance that you're going to tear them again.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And that also includes the possibility of getting blood clots again.

Right.

You know, and so me and my wife made the decision that I wasn't going to get that surgery and that I would just be in an electric wheelchair for the rest of my days.

Yeah.

So otherwise you.

And this is painful for me to think about, but you could have been in a manual chair if you hadn't done that to your shoulders.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

You know, I saw Andrew from Triumph, and he had.

I don't know what the wheels are called, but they're a.

Something assist, where.

Oh, yeah, Motion assist, I think is what they're called.

And he was right.

And he.

And he's a quad, you know, and so he's able to even get into his own vehicle and drive, you know,.

And so a few guys like that.

Yeah.

I bought a vehicle.

I don't know if I told you, Doug, but I bought a vehicle from United, and I had it all set up for myself to start driving again.

And I went through the class A guy by the name of Frank down in Corona, and he certified me to go ahead.

It'd be okay to start driving again.

And so I got behind the wheel and I was scared.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I.

Up until my accident, I was a driver doing 60,000 miles a year.

Yeah.

And all of a sudden, I was scared to drive.

So I just.

That was the first time you got behind the wheel since your accident?

Yeah, but I. I tried it several times in my neighborhood.

I tried and I tried and I tried, and I was just like, no, I'm not gonna do this.

I. I am not gonna drive.

I.

Why do I need my club?

First of all, I. I have a wife that is retired, too.

I bought a beautiful Ford Transit van with a great lift on it.

And so if I need to go somewhere, she could take me.

Yeah.

And so I. I decided to sell the other vehicle after it sat in my driveway for a year and a half collecting dust and, you know, dropping in value.

I took a huge loss on it, but I got rid of it and opened up a spot in my driveway.

Yeah, yeah.

I think we all have to go through that morning process.

Right.

Like, I never, I never drove.

I took.

I've taken so many driving less.

I've taken probably 40, more than 40 hours of driving lessons from, you know, and I'm 46 now.

But I kind of got to this point a few years ago where I was like, I don't feel safe.

I worry for other people more than for myself.

I want to be fair to those people because some cerebral palsy has depth perception and like, if you scare me or I get spooked or whatever, I tend to be like gas instead of break, you know.

Oh, yeah.

I don't want to take.

No, not good.

I didn't want to take the chance of like hurting other people.

But it was a whole mourning process.

Process of like, I will be reliant on public transportation or someone else or a friend for the rest of my life.

I had a minor, minor rear end accident on the freeway where I rear ended a car and I drove away from it.

You know, it was like I say it was very minor, but that got in my head for.

It probably took me two years, you know, in a stop and go traffic not to start getting anxious over that kind of minor.

So, you know.

Yeah.

To be what.

To go through what you went through.

You know, Doug, the other thing I wanted to mention was before we, before we were done is.

Yeah.

Two years later, actually almost two years from the accident, I was on a blood thinner orphan.

And because I had blood clots in my left leg and that's where I got most the impact of the accident.

But I ended up getting a brain bleed and I. I was fading away in my bed and my wife was like, why are you not taking your pills?

Why are you not responding to me?

And finally, because I was going so slow in front of her, she didn't realize that there was something really, really wrong with me until my son came in and said 91 1.

And they came and got me and I had an emergency surgery within three hours to drain the blood in my.

In my brain.

However, after the, after the operation at Loma Linda, I was having severe headaches.

And prior to that, I was having this pain.

I called it.

I don't even remember what I called it.

God, it's been so long.

Anyway, I was having this pain in my butt and my thighs like hot, hot, hot water and a thousand and a thousand bees stinging, you know, every square inch of my butt and thighs.

Like a weird Sensation, pain, like.

Yeah.

And.

And they couldn't figure out what it was.

Was it a form of neuropathy or what was going on?

And so it was.

Oh, it was just horrible.

It was.

And they couldn't.

They were trying different medicines to get rid of it.

Well, fast forward to the brain bleed.

And I was having these headaches, and they started giving me Percocet.

Well, I real.

I realized that Percocet was taking away, A, my headaches, but, B, the pain in my butt and thighs, it was.

It was hitting the right receptors in my brain.

Right.

And.

And so they put me on Percocet for.

I was on it from January of 20s up until eight months ago.

Okay.

And my body finally started getting used to the Percocet to where it wasn't effective anymore.

So then I went on to methadone, and I was on methadone for eight months until that.

My body started, you know, getting used to that and not giving me the relief that I needed.

And so my doctor told me that that would happen.

And so he put me back on Percocet two months ago.

And I'm not.

I'm.

I'm not getting the relief that I used to get.

I'm getting some relief, but not.

So we're gonna probably have to either go back to methadone or we're gonna have to try something else.

But I've tried morphine.

I've tried fentanyl.

I've tried so many different things, but, you know, I just kind of wanted to share with folks that, yeah, the Percocet actually hits the right receptors anyway, for me, for, you know, so.

And that's the thing, you know, I remember even myself in the.

The pain that I have.

I rotate medications.

You know, Luckily, I'm able to go between, like, ibuprofen and Aleve and, you know, Tylenol and all those things.

But Aleve is the one that, for whatever reason, works best for me, you know?

Yes.

You have to try a different thing.

Have you tried anything holistic like acupuncture or.

Well, I have.

I've gone through acupuncture and really nothing.

The one thing that does work 100% is cannabis.

And the challenge with cannabis is I can't smoke inside the house.

It's just a rule that we have.

So then you ask yourself, well, how about gummies?

Yeah, I can take gummies, but because I'm such a big guy, it takes about three of those things to give me the relief that I need.

And they're Pricey, they're not cheap.

And so if I have to take three of those and then she gets me ready and then I go outside and I smoke a doobie.

And the grandkids just love it when I'm high because I give them all kinds of material, you know, that they videotape me.

Oh, yeah.

And then our grandpa.

This is what happens when.

Yeah, exactly.

So, and the other thing is, is my doctors don't allow me to be on cannabis and a controlled substance at the same time, which makes sense.

They're like, choose your poison, which one do you want?

Because we can't control half of this.

Right, right.

So at this point I'm, I'm choosing the prescribed medication rather than the cannabis.

But yeah, you know, who knows, someday I might have to be, you know, a stoner.

Yeah, well, gosh, hopefully you get it all sorted out and get some relief.

And before we let you go, I have a few questions I want to ask.

You know, I know your passion was fishing before your injury.

Are you able to get out there at all now?

Yes, we found a couple of different boats that allow me to, to roll on.

And so the one boat that I just absolutely love for, for anybody that's listening, is a boat out of H and M Landing called the Premier.

It's a half day boat and so you're only on the boat for, you know, six hours.

But I charted it, and I've charted it a couple times where I charter it for 10 hours instead of a half day and I'm able to bring my friends and family or whoever and we go out, we do what we want.

We went out a few years ago and the captain ended up taking us out 40, some what, miles and we got into the Dorado mahi mahi and everybody on the boat limited out.

And I, you know, it's funny, these mahi mahi, they're strong fish even when you're able bodied.

But I caught one that was, I don't know, 12, 15 pounds and I couldn't finish the fight.

I had to hand the, the, the rod over to one of the deck hands that was assigned to me for the day.

A young kid by the name of David, 15 years old, and he was my compadre for the day and he ended up bringing the fish in for me and my arms just couldn't handle it.

And this is the guy that, you know, I had caught a 231 pound bluefin tuna before.

Holy cow.

Yeah.

Wow.

And I mean, I just, I was, we'd drive, we'd fly to Puerto Vallarta once, once a year, me and my buddies and we would go hunting down these 200, 300 pound yellow fin tuna.

And that's the kind of fishing I absolutely love to do was, you know, big, big fish, big sport fish fishing.

But back in those days, you were probably fishing all the time, right?

Oh, I was probably on the, on the water, I would say 25 to 30 days a year.

Yeah.

So you're out there training, basically.

Oh, yeah.

So when, when you got that fish, you probably hadn't fished in how long?

Oh, gosh, that one.

I had it.

Fished in five years.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But how cool.

You, like rediscovered your love and found a way to do it.

Right.

Like, that's so cool.

And that the community around you is like, I got your back.

We are gonna get, get these fish.

You know, it was, it was funny the first time I, I got on a boat after the accident, all my fishing buddies that, you know, I was fishing with before the accident, they went with me.

And these guys were in tears.

Oh, shoot.

I would have been in.

I'm, I'm nearly in tears.

I don't even know my buddies.

And I got this applause that was so unexpected from my friends and family being on, on a deck, you know, having not been on a deck for five, you know, four years or whatever it was.

And it was just so moving to be on, on a fishing boat again.

Yeah.

That's awesome, dude.

Now it.

Was the boat accessible or did they, you know, just do brute strength get you on or.

No, this, this particular boat is actually deck high.

The deck is exactly level with, with the dog.

And so I'm taking notes here.

I didn't even, I didn't even need a ramp.

The one thing we did need to do was everybody, all my passengers needed when we got back in, because it was high tide, everybody needed to get on the one side of the boat in order to bring the weight of the, or the, the level of the boat down.

So I didn't have to run up to the van to get my ramp.

Yeah, yeah.

So, yeah, it was.

Everybody's weight was enough to go, you know, drop it down like three inches.

So I didn't have this big bump to go down.

Yeah.

When we got back in, I have.

To look up the premiere.

Yeah, look, look it up.

Captain's name is Brandon and his crew is just absolutely fantastic.

Doug, we should have him on about fishing trips for you, you know, that'd be awesome.

Heck, yeah.

And then, you know, one, one last Just, are you able to get out and travel with the family?

I know that was something you were passionate about, about before.

Yeah.

Two years ago, my wife and I went on our first vacation since the accident, and we went with a couple of friends, long, long, long time friends, and we took our Ford Transit van up to Lake Tahoe.

And I was on the phone for about nine hours, calling different hotels, trying to find a hotel that had a bed that was on a bed frame instead of on a platform.

So you could use your lawyer.

We need to introduce you to Corey Lee and his mom.

Yes.

Okay.

Yeah, yeah.

Because I. I finally found the Margaritaville has a few beds still that have not been transitioned to the platforms.

Yeah.

And so we went two years ago, and then this last year, they actually put us in a different room.

And the first thing my wife looked was the platform and said, oh, no, no, no, this isn't going to work.

Yeah.

And so we went back to the room that we were in the year before, and they hadn't transitioned it.

So I talked to the manager, and his name is Max, and I said, max, I said, leave it alone.

I'll be back next year, you know?

Yeah.

Like, you have my forever business if you leave this bed like this.

Yeah, exactly.

So, you know, we were fortunate.

Two years ago, we stayed for six days.

This last year, we stayed for nine days.

And, yeah, it.

We just had a blast both years just getting away.

And, you know, even though my wife is my primary caregiver, even allowing her to get away and do something different than her normal routine, you know.

You know, we both love Lake Tahoe, and it's just absolutely gorgeous.

And then to be able to hang out with friends, too, that could share the driving responsibilities with her.

Yeah.

That's awesome.

Well, Dan, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story.

I appreciate it so much.

And, you know, my intuition is right.

That guy's gonna be a good guy.

Good job.

I told you I could talk.

I see the hooks coming and.

And that's fine.

What?

A couple of things, too, you know, and this is what I love about a story like yours, is because of other people that are listening, that may be, you know, closer to their injury than life afterwards, and.

And you let them know, as devastating as that was, that, you know, and there's some rocky bumps along the way.

I mean, I could hear your voice.

You know, you're living life.

You know, you're a positive guy.

Yeah, I try to be.

And, you know, they told us that things would get tougher before they got easier, and they were right.

You know, just prayer, lots of prayer, and just stay with the programs that your medical team is, you know, pushing you through, and, you know, just keep a optimistic point of view, and, you know, you could be fishing on the premiere.

There you go.

Yeah, there you go.

You will be pushing on the premiere.

That's the mic drop right there.

Yeah.

Bang.

All right, thank you, Dan.

We'll let you know when this airs, and we'll talk to you soon.

All right.

I appreciate you having me on, and I hope you guys have a great day.

Doug and Addie, thank you.

Take care.

All right, Take care.

Bye.

Bye.

All right, we're gonna kick you out of here.

We got some other work to do, but thank you very much.

All right, Doug, that was awesome.

Thanks for having me on, man.

I appreciate it.

You got it.

Yeah.

Nice to meet you, too, Addie.

And say hi.

Hi to Donna.

I will, I will.

Thanks a bunch.

See you later.

Hey, guys, have a great day.

Bye.

Bye.

Each week on Walk and Roll Live, we share honest and open stories of.

People living with a disability.

I was excited to show my family.

Just how much better of a skier.

I got to be.

So we went out there on December 30th.

Then the next morning, I woke up 10 out of 10 pain, chest, back, head.

I slowly lost all feeling from my feet all the way up to my.

Chest that I was paralyzed, essentially.

I didn't understand what was happening.

All I knew is that something scary was going on.

Join us weekly for another powerful episode, Walk and Roll Live, wherever you get your podcast.

Podcasts Life Limitless.

Subscribe now from the Agyar Professional Training Studios.

You're listening to Walk and Roll Live Disability Stories.

Welcome back to W and R. And looks like that stalking paid off, huh?

Dan's story is so awesome because of how his family has, like, come together to love on him, him and help him continue to have a life.

And it shows how, like, community is so important to.

To healing, to growing into this new thing that you are or will be.

I feel like we say this every week, but I feel it's so true.

And that's why you and I sit here and dedicate, really, our voluntary time, because this is all voluntary for you and me, but, I mean, you spend even more time doing all the.

To the cleanup and the get ready to put this on the air.

But this is why.

Because if somebody who's listening has felt so alone and they hear us today, even for two minutes, and go, oh, my God, these are my people, or I'm seen as, quote, unquote, normal in this space for this hour with a different story than we've done our job.

Yeah, well, you know, to.

When I go to these events and I get into these conversations, I say it there, too.

So, you know, and I hear the stories of people that have found their community, and sometimes it's, you know, fairly quickly, sometimes it can be years and years.

And they just had no idea that there was a community out here like this, and it has supported them and.

And they blossomed because they've been a part of the community.

So I love to hear those stories, and that's why I keep saying it here and wherever I go.

Yes.

Find your community.

Yeah, absolutely.

Oh, and, you know, in Dan's story, I think I talked to him a little bit after the show, too, and I didn't want to get into a whole thing, you know, there on the show, but with him.

But he's just.

I run into those people all the time, and it's been really a phenomenon that I've noticed in the last maybe getting close to 10 years now.

These people that are on the freeway, I mean, the freeway goes along at a pretty good pace, you know.

No, but nobody's on the speed limit.

They're going 70, sometimes 80 all together.

We've decided somehow that's the speed right now we're going.

Everybody's going 80.

And.

But then there's people that pass you like you're going.

Like you're standing still.

Standing still.

Yeah.

And there's been times when I've checked my mirror and I go back to start moving over and zoom.

It goes by.

And if I just done it a second, you know, earlier or a split second earlier, I would have been in dance condition, you know, and so.

Stop it.

Jesus.

Stop it.

Stop it now.

You don't know.

I always.

I say that, too.

I mean, obviously, because for me, I can't drive, right?

So whoever I get in the car with, I am at your mercy to keep me alive, especially sitting in the passenger seat.

Not to say that you aren't in danger as a driver.

Right.

But that can be a blind spot for a lot of people.

And I'm always like, I just see lunatics and.

And I'm just like, okay, nothing is worth it.

Like, we're all going to get there.

Or like those people that do crazy because they need to get just a little ahead, and then you see them at the next.

Really?

Yes.

Yeah.

I'm like, you know what?

Sometimes I think that I do not drive.

Because I would have road rage.

Because I'll have road rage anyways.

But it's not road rage that, like, you cut me off.

It's just like, you're stupid because that was such a needle thread for no reason.

Yeah.

You know, and I guess it's delusional of me to think that, you know, I'm asking somebody to care more about somebody else's life than they obviously do their own.

So, yeah, you know, it's probably a moot point, but, you know, whatever.

I'll.

I'll try stop doing that.

Okay.

Yeah, I'll.

I'll die on that hill.

Please, not by somebody's stupidity.

I will die on the hill of.

Hey, please go slower.

Hey, just think about it.

If it's your child, if it's yours, you should care about yourself enough not to want to die exactly that way.

All righty.

That's.

That's our 2 cents on that one.

We're done proselytizing.

Yes.

So next week we've got Dina Peterson.

She's going to come on and tell her story.

And another, you know, story full of twists and turns and.

And, you know, you never know where you're going to be in life.

So we will get all the details on that next week for sure.

Well, be with us next.

Next week at this time, even though you say we don't know where you're going to be, be with us so you can hear your story.

Here you go.

Thank you for listening.

I'm your host, Doug Vinson, with my good friend Addie Rich from the Agar Professional Training Studio.

This has been walk and roll live disability stories.

Life limitless,.

Bro.

Life.

Life.

The best walk in all life limits.