Crhis Tricke update 97-11-03

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Some good news! Thanks to Jayski for the link. ===== Story by Glenn Puit, Las Vegas Review Journal. I quote:

The experts warned Chris Trickle's parents not to hope for miracles.

They told Chuck and Barbara Trickle it wasn't likely their son would ever come out of the coma he was catapulted into following his highly publicized shooting on Blue Diamond Road almost a year ago.

For a man who lost at least 5 percent of his brain to a skull-piercing bullet, talking was also out of the question. But a week ago today, Chris Trickle did both.

After recovering from a brief, life-threatening bout with pneumonia Oct. 26, the race car driver not only started processing thoughts, but he also put them into words.

"He was very, very sick and for several days we thought he would have to start all over again with the progress he had made," Barbara Trickle said. "But last Sunday night, we were holding the telephone to his ear and his girlfriend was talking to him and all of the sudden he said, real softly, 'I love you.' He repeated what he said and we were in a state of shock."

"Chuck and I started crying," Barbara said. "A couple of days later his girlfriend was sitting on his bed and said 'Do you want to say goodbye to your mom?' and he put his right arm around me, held my shoulders and said 'No. I want a kiss.' It was just the sweetest thing I've ever seen."

By Wednesday, he was eating three meals a day and breathing on his own.

"It is a miracle," Barbara said. "We watched him eating lunch and he said 'More pudding. More whipped cream.' They said statistically he never should have woke up and I don't know all of how it happened, but I do know we are so grateful for it." Trickle's parents readily admit their son still has a long way to go in his recovery, but say the signs that his brain is processing thoughts are astounding when considering the 25-year-old's condition on Feb. 10.

Police say the nephew of NASCAR driver Dick Trickle was shot in the head, possibly during a traffic altercation, while driving his white convertible east on Blue Diamond Road near Interstate 15.

Despite extensive efforts by detectives and the featuring of the case on the "America's Most Wanted" television show, the gunman has never been identified or apprehended.

Trickle has yet to be questioned about the shooting and likely doesn't even know what happened, his mother said. California surgeon Sandra Clancey was on a bus near where the shooting occurred and ended up rushing with her husband, Michael, to Trickle's car to render aid. She said she was dismayed at the severity of his injuries and speculated at the time he wouldn't survive.

"My husband took the young man's pulse and I was clearing his mouth out," Clancey said. "He was vomiting often. He was not conscious. He was very, very placid."

Trickle was taken to University Medical Center where neurosurgeon Dr. Lonnie Hammargren performed emergency surgery. Barbara Trickle now says Hammargren, who is Nevada's lieutenant governor, saved her son's life.

Family friend and publicist Mike Henle said that shortly after Hammargren consulted with the parents, a tearful Chuck Trickle emerged from the meeting and addressed a gathering of concerned family and friends at the medical center.

"He said if there is ever a time for prayer, this is it," Henle recalled. "He kept saying prayer will work, prayer will work, and so we all gathered hands and started praying."

After surgery, Trickle was unresponsive and dependent on life support. He has since undergone four more operations, and in April, was moved to a special rehabilitation hospital in Southern California. He is still there today, and undergoes daily physical rehabilitation.

Barbara said the couple's insurance company, Sierra Health, has played a major role in facilitating the rehabilitation, as has the endless emotional and financial support offered to the family by residents of the Las Vegas Valley.

When Chris Trickle was moved, Barbara Trickle moved with him. The parents set up a motor home in the parking lot of the hospital, and she stays by her son's bedside from 8 a.m. until midnight daily. Chuck Trickle stays in Las Vegas during the week to run their mailing business, then travels to California on the weekend to be with his wife and son.

"Barbara is mother of the year," Henle said. "Chuck is just as unbelievable, and both should be an inspiration for this entire nation, the way they've responded to this. I have never in my life seen anything like it."

Until last week, Chris Trickle was unresponsive. While his eyes would be open and he would occasionally make sounds, there were no indications he was processing thoughts.

He still cannot care for himself and mobility on one side of his body is slower than the other due to the brain injury. His brain is also nowhere near operating at full capacity.

His mother said the family will not start setting limits on his ability to come back from the tragedy.

"We've never had a limit before, why should there be one now?" she said. "Only God knows limits. We are just going to continue doing what we are doing. Who knows, someday he may be back in a car again. You never know."

Barbara Trickle said while her family's lives have been changed forever, she believes faith, love and the assistance of others led to Chris' incredible turn.

"When you look at Chris' situation, you realize you shouldn't ever let the small stuff bother you," she said. "You can't let the day-to-day things that happen control life, because you never know when life is going to turn. It can always be worse." ===== Sorry for the length of this article, but we all need some good news now and then. ===== "Ford Motor Company officials said that Dan Davis would be replacing Bruce Cambern as head of the company's worldwide racing operations. Cambern, who took the job last fall, has been under fire for several months."(JournalNow) / Jayski ===== Mike Irwin (mailto:mike@nascarfans.com) NASCAR Fans _______________________________________

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