Three years after being hit by bus, firefighter Matthew Long's marathon recovery's a miracle
Tuesday, October 28th 2008, 5:51 PM
Watts/News Matthew Long trains for Sunday's Marathon - three years after his leg and pelvis were crushed in an accident.
Three years ago, Firefighter Matthew Long was expected to die after he was run down by a bus as he biked to work during the city's transit strike.
Dozens of surgeries and hundreds of hours of therapy later, a determined Long learned how to walk again, one painful step at a time.
His recovery is about to take a stunning leap - one that is 26.2 miles long.
Long, 42, is set to run the New York City Marathon next Sunday, and he hopes to serve as an inspiration for others facing long odds after a devastating injury.
"I wanted to be an athlete again and I wanted to be myself again," Long said. "I'm not looking to be a hero, but I know I can be a role model."
Long was biking to the FDNY Academy on Randalls Island on the morning of Dec. 23, 2005, when he was crushed by a Bear Stearns charter bus that made an illegal right turn on E. 52nd St.
His injuries were catastrophic: a shattered pelvis, a broken leg, a broken arm, a dislocated shoulder and massive internal bleeding.
"This man should have died," said Dr. Dean Lorich, associate director of orthopedic surgery at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell. Lorich performed the first operations on Long.
"He was ripped open from stem to stern," said Lorich, who was delayed reaching the operating room because a cop refused to let him pass a transit strike checkpoint that required cars to have four people inside.
"This same hospital treated the window washer [Alcides Moreno] who fell 47 stories last December and lived," Lorich said. "Matt was hurt much, much worse than that."
It took nearly a month for Long to regain consciousness. He dropped more than 50 pounds from his 180-pound frame while confined to a hospital bed.
A former triathlete, Long - who doesn't remember the accident - spent the next eight months trapped in a wheelchair.
"It was really depressing and frustrating to know what I used to be," said Long, whose father, Michael, is chairman of the state Conservative Party.
"Then I decided to change my attitude from 'I want to do something' to 'I will do something,' " he said. "And that made the difference."
An accomplished runner who ran the marathon in three hours and 13 minutes the month before he was hit, Long attempted his first jog after the accident this April in Arizona.
"I said, 'I'll give you a mile or three falls,' " Long said. "I don't have full control of my right leg, and because I'm not always sure - where's it going - it makes each step harder.
"But I didn't fall," he said.
The surgeries left Long's right leg three-quarters of an inch shorter than his left, and it requires a special shoe. He still walks with a limp, but has slowly regained his endurance and recently managed to run 14 miles.
Long, whose suit against the Transport Workers Union for authorizing the strike is pending, returned to work in July and won a spot in the New York Marathon through a lottery.
He will have a large cheering section along the route - family, firefighters and the team of doctors and physical therapists who helped him take those first few steps on his long road to recovery.
"He shouldn't be running or walking or even going to the bathroom by himself, but he knows he's an inspiration to other people," Lorich said. "My whole family will be at the race's finish line to cheer him on."
Though he realizes completing the marathon will be a challenge, Long is driven to finish because he knows he is not just running for himself.
"I know there are people in hospital beds who will see me finish that race," said Long, who just started the I Will Foundation for people who have suffered similar injuries. "That's why I'm doing it, to be someone else's light."
Join us as we celebrate the finish of the NY Marathon by Matt Long and other marathon participants on Sunday afternoon at Third and Long. Festivities begin at 4pm!
And don't forget about Halloween tonight! Ghastly drink specials and prizes to those with the most unique costumes!
Nuff Said
No comments:
Post a Comment