Horror Show and no CFII

[Jaybirdfsx]

I have been thinking of this for a couple of years. I want to share something that has been truly devastating to my life. I know there is a sad story around every corner. However here you go. In 2010, life was pretty good. I had a rag top Trans/AM, motorcycle, good pay, until Dec. 29. , it had been raining, snowing and pretty cold most of the month. I had put my motorcycle up for sell as it was reaching 35k on the odometer. The 29th was to be sunny and near 70 degree, so I called my son and told him lets go ride, as it would be my last day to do so, because I would sell my bike over the weekend. We did, he came over with his girl and we all took off. The ride was good until we started heading home. It happens, accident, was going a bit fast to make a corner I had made many times, yet this time there was some gravel in the road which would not let me make this corner at normal speed, and was going to pinch my son and his girlfriend. You guessed it I took the ditch and let them stay on two wheels. Thank god it had been bad weather, and was lots of mud, about 4-6 inch worth. The bike hit the bottom of the ditch as to which it came to an immediate stop and bucked me off like a horse. I was wearing a nice helmet and leather riding jacket with pads built in for protection. Icon brand on both if you’re familiar with that brand then you know.
My bike had about $100.00 in damage however I had the worst end of this. I heard a pop and seen stars. Mind you when I landed I was only doing about 15mph. The ditch was around 2.5 feet deep. My son ran to me to help me up, and I told him don’t touch me, and was in pain. Moving my arms, legs, fingers to see what broke, to find no limbs was messed up like that, but my neck was come to find out few hours later fractured in 2 placed, a damaged spinal cord and ripped up rotator cup. My friend lived about 5 miles from me, and came to the rescue to help wash the bike after it was removed from the ditch to remove some of the mud. Mind you I did not call the bambalance or the police. I’m a pretty tough cookie, I put my helmet back on and rode the 5 miles to my buds house. Here is where I left my bike and had him drive me the 40 miles to the hospital. Almost passing out once I got there a. Cat scans, x-rays MRI, you name it they did it. I recovered form that, and was back at home seeking help from local and state to help pay bills etc, which lasted along with my saving about six months. My son had moved in to help with my care, however in June 2011, funds ran out.
We were homeless, and now living in a abandon house of a friend that was under foreclosure. Under the agreement we would fix the plumbing issue, we could stay through the summer rent free. Little did we know, the electric meter had been pulled by the city as to which we had to get licensed electric guy to pull the permit to have my electric transferred and turned on. Right, no funds no permit. The temp outside was around 115 that month. I had noticed the house next door had no one living there and the electric was on, so I placed a long cord over the fence at night and borrowed power to run a small window unit for cooling so we could sleep. When this came to an end, I sent my son to live with his grandmother and I went to a homeless shelter.
I spent about 5 months still recovering from my neck and living at the shelter. During my stay I had become a procurement officer for the shelter, as to which I was able to bring a lot of tangible goods in for the place. All my belongings were in storage's with help for pay coming from out of state family, due to all of mine already laid to rest. Over the last couple of years before this all happened, I had a lot of thought about the flying industry and how I might be able to get into it. Always wanted to fly, I wanted to pilot. One of my cousins and I had talked a few times about becoming a flight instructor, and to which there were schools around that taught the course.
After about 5 months, I found a person to help me out of the shelter and offer me a place to stay to help her look after it while she worked away from her home 4 days out of the week. Times were still tough. During my time of readjustment, I thought about furthering my education and went back to college, with help from the government grants and loans. The local news came out with a story about the local collage I was to attend was to start a flight instructor program in the fall of 2012. I jumped on board and started summer school to refresh things.
To shorten this up a little bit, it took the school and FAA a year and a half to get this class going. I was going to move 90 miles from home to attend another school in Waco, TX that already had this in place. Not wanting move and a school near me was opining this class I elected to stay on terms of next semester. That went on like I said over a year and a half. More classes, and more time borrowed money for school. I was a full time student to which I was now renting a room form a friend near school. I lived semester to semester. Bought 3 cars with my loan money paid for school and living expenses.
Along about May 2012, I had to have a small surgery between semester of spring and summer. Now the flight class was to be held in fall 2012. Two day surgery and about a week to recover, I would have been back in summer semester. I had a 3.4 GPA and was setting up scholarships with the school along with some local aviation companies to help with class cost, as well as things needed for flight school. Guess what? Nope surgery was not to go as planned. I spent 28 days in the hospital, lost 60 pounds, and spent the next 4 months in bed with home healthcare.
I lost half of my tongue, had my throat cut half way across from my right ear to the center, with a tracheotomy in for 4 months, and was tube fed for 3 of them. Yup took me right out of school.
Washed out my dreams, and a new career to become a CFII. This would have been the rest of my life at 52 yr old. The school had told me a month before surgery, that family and health come before school, and providing something went wrong during surgery, that if I was not to make it to classes, it was ok as long as I had it on paper, I would be forgiven of my classes, loans etc…
Once I was back to walking again, about 6 weeks after surgery, I returned to the school to show my prof of hospitalization. Again I was told all was good and I could register for fall classes on July, 18th. Restrictions did not allow me to do this, so I went back to the school yet again still bandaged, trach in place, and asked what was going on. They said: Talked to financial aid, they said talk to registrations. I finally got my answer. Since I was not able to attend summer classes which the school canceled anyway due to lack of enrollment, that they paid back my loan money to the loan people as to which I singed for just like all the rest I singed for, because I did not attend classes. I owed the school $3591.00 before I could attend school again. WHAT? I tried to set up arrangements to make payments. The total had to be paid before I could register for fall classes, and even if I did not make the payment in full by Sept. 17th, I would go to collections. I now owe the school that and the government about 23k. waiting on red tape.
Mind you I was living on my school money and going full time 9 hours. In 4 months my funds ran out. I became homeless once again with no place to go, but yet to another abandon house of a friend that was in foreclosure. I lived in a bad part of town during the winter of 2013-2014 freezing my tail off, finding little to no work. A longtime friend offered help in Feb of 2014. I got a low paying job to which it would not cover bills etc… Life has moved on, just not as well as planned. I want to fly  . I have FXS on my system at home, but it took me months to load it back up, now my boat anchor will just play it in low settings. I have not recovered from all that mess. My job laid me off in Dec. 2014 due to slow time of the year, and not heard from them since. What is next? I really don’t know. Guess I will never get to fly. With my health being in tacked but limited, I had tried to plan to do something that was not to much for me. To teach folks how to fly small to med. Aircraft would be not only rewarding, but fun at the same time. No I do not have a private pilot’s lic. I have a passion, a want, a will and a good seat of pants.
Thank for taking the time to read my post. Happy flying, and be sure to tell the ones you love, you do every day.
Tracy.