Published in the Woman Today Magazine June/July 2017
Nick Schaller doesn’t remember anything about his devastating motorcycle
crash on October 9, 2015, or the three weeks directly following in the
hospital as he began his arduous recovery.
A long-time a fan of motorcyles, Nick was the proud owner of a 2006 Harley-
Davidson Electra Glide Standard and a member of the Thunderbird Motorcycle Club.
On that fall day, he and a friend were on the road heading for a bar and
grill when Nick went around a corner and ended up in a ditch, hitting
a light pole. Sadly, Nick was not wearing a helmet. His friend, who was
following him on his own motorcycle, came upon the scene of the crash
and called 911.
Nick was rushed to St. Luke’s Regional Trauma Center via ambulance.
He sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and was in a coma for a few
days. “My friend told me very few details,” Nick says. “I
never knew what happened or what the site looked like.”
Working His Way Back
Nick’s injuries included hitting the back of his head, having a spike
on his handlebars pierce his thigh, and other abrasions. After being discharged
from St. Luke’s Intensive Care Unit, his treatment went into high
gear for the brain injury on St. Luke’s Inpatient Rehabilitation
Unit (8 West).
“I received really excellent care at 8 West at St. Luke’s.
I am told I was a difficult patient at first and kept getting out of bed
and setting off the bed alarm, but I don’t remember any of that.”
He remained in the rehab unit until November 3, 2015, before going home
to continue his recovery and therapy.
“TBI can take at least two years or more to heal, with the initial
healing taking six months. Then, after two years, you just adapt with
‘work-arounds’ for whatever has not come back,” Nick explains.
Setting goals for himself included working to get back in the Army National
Guard where he was on a medical leave hold following the crash. Nick is
an E6 Staff Sergeant and 16-year veteran who had tours in Bosnia (2003-04)
and Iraq (2005-07).
“I was bound and determined to make it back in the Guard and was
thrilled a year after the accident when I was accepted back. I hope to
have at least one more tour,” he says.
In October of 2016, when an opportunity came up at Lake Superior College
(LSC), Nick’s experience as a mechanic in the military helped him
get a position as a college auto lab assistant working with auto students
and LSC staff. He notes, “I love this job and the people I work
with, and it has given me a stable position to help put things back together.”
It’s still, though, a day-to-day process to pick up the pieces. Nick
adds, “I had been warned about depression and that has been a challenge.
And while I had a great memory before, now I have to keep a notebook and
write things down. But the main thing I have learned from all of this
is resiliency. My strength is that I never give up, and I don’t
take for granted that the doctors still call me a miracle.”
A Team Effort
Samuel Laney, MD, is a member of St. Luke's Physical Medicine &
Rehab Associates and the medical director of St. Luke's Inpatient
Rehabilitation Unit. Dr. Laney has earned a subspecialty certification
in Brain Injury Medicine (BIM) and is the only Physical Medicine &
Rehabilitation physician north of the Twin Cities who has this subspecialty.
“It’s important with brain injuries to deal with the medical
issues, of course, but also with the psychological and emotional aspects.
TBI patients often exhibit agitation (akathisia) where restlessness causes
them to pace all day. Some patients are combative and will tear their
rooms apart. It is a challenge for the team, rehab nurses, therapists,
and doctors, because they want so badly to help but patients cannot always
tell you what’s wrong,” Dr. Laney explains.
He says that recovery is a very active process with three hours of therapy
a day including physical, occupational, and speech. “It takes a
team, not just a doctor, with everyone supporting the patients to believe
they will get better. By the time patients are discharged, they need to
be making good progress and actively participating in their own therapy.”
Dr. Laney notes that rehabilitation is a lengthy process where “patients
have to learn and respond to challenges and eventually to come up with
compensation strategies to deal with any limitations.”
He adds, “When people suffer a traumatic injury, that is when many
show the greatest dignity and the strongest character. Nick is that kind
of patient.”
Read about other patients' trauma experiences at
St. Luke's Regional Trauma Center.
BELOW: Nick Schaller, Motorcycle Crash Survivor