Kevin Swindell remembers everything about the sprint car crash that left him with fractures in his back and spine and the recovery process that came with it.
Swindell, 26, son of legendary sprint car driver Sammy Swindell, wrote about the Aug. 13 wreck at Knoxville Raceway the landed him in a helicopter flying to Des Moines Mercy Hospital for OneDirt.com.
The blog entry is Swindell’s second in as many months.
Here are a couple of excerpts from the blog post, as Swindell remembers “the worst year of my life.”
On what he remembers from the wreck:
“I remember being in the air. I remember landing. And most notably, I remember the instant realization that I couldn’t feel my legs. The idea of being still to not hurt yourself worse in a moment, when all you want (to) do is get the hell out, is excruciating.”
On the helicopter flight to the hospital:
“The guy that took care of me on the helicopter ride did a hell of job with what all he accomplished, while in the air, in preparing me and keeping me as comfortable as possible. He even offered to pull my suit off rather than cut it, to which I answered ‘they make more, cut away.’”
Swindell is still recovering from his injuries, but is enjoying the life he still has.
“I got engaged to my best friend and the girl who hasn’t left my side for more than a few hours since this happened, Jordan. She has been what’s kept the fight in me, when I wasn’t sure I had it. I’ve spent a good bit of time working with some people to hopefully make improvements in how we get drivers out of the car in bad situations. This is something that I hope will keep someone from ending up like me.”