Scott Booth: It was a normal flight until it wasn't...

Today we give the floor to our good friend Scott Booth. On February 10, 2018 Scott survived a fatal helicopter crash in the Grand Canyon. The NTSB determined the cause of the accident to be loss of control likely due to Loss of Tail Rotor Effectiveness. For more information please refer to the official NTSB report. On this episode we wanted to give Scott the ability to share his story. It is one of courage, survival, and mental resolution.  Today Scott shares his recollection of the accident, his recovery, his struggles, his successes , and how music has aided in his mental recovery.  He hopes to be an inspiration to anyone out there who has experienced extreme trauma, and shares a beautiful message of courage and strength. Thank you for trusting us with your story, we love you! 

SEASON 1 THAT'S A WRAP! 
Thank you guys so much for listening in, we appreciate your support and encouragement. We hope you enjoyed the first season of the Forever on the Fly Podcast, and we will catch you next time!! Fly safe out there!

Episode Transcript

Unknown (00:02):
You're listening to the forever on the fly podcast
What's up AV nerds. Welcome tothis week's episode of The
forever on the fly podcast, yourbi weekly dose of aviation
inspiration, education andentertainment.
My name is Diane and I'm Joseand we're trying
to get you guys hooked onaviation.

(00:24):
Alright guys this week we'regoing to give the floor to our
good friend Scott booth to sharehis story. On February 10 2018,
he survived it fatal helicoptercrash in the Grand Canyon. To
learn more about the accident,please refer to the NTSB
accident report online.
On this episode, we wanted togive Scott the ability to share
his story. It's one of courageand survival and mental

(00:45):
resolution. Today he shares hisrecollection of the accident,
his recovery, his struggles,most importantly, his successes,
and how music has aided in hismental recovery. He hopes to be
an inspiration to anyone outthere who's experienced extreme
trauma and shares a beautifulmessage of courage and strength.
We're going to give the floor tohim now. And thank you for
listening in Scott booth.

(01:08):
It was just a normal, normalflight until it wasn't. Hey, I'm
Scott booth. And I'm forever onthe fly.
Welcome to the show. Thank youso much for sitting down and
chatting with us. I mean, it'salways good to see you. Yeah,

(01:29):
it's been a while. Yeah, you'remy partner right here. I
know, dude. I'm like superpumped to see you, missy. Yeah.
So Scott and I met I don't knowwhat. So when I first started to
work for Pantheon and our oldfriend Isaac Etherington was
leaving. And Scott was actuallymy first friend at pantheon. He
bought me a six pack of beer andbrought me to my first bonfire.

(01:50):
So I remember that. Yeah, I wentto the bonfire, and then just
sparked this beautifulfriendship that we have now. I'm
really happy about that.
Obviously,I get it. I know. First time I
saw you mean you were justjoking it up. Just jaw jacking
over there in the pile alone.
Yeah, I think that has more todo with your personality than
mine. You know, I'm I'm morestandoffish. I think you're
you're more easier to approachstandoffish. I've never heard

(02:12):
you be described as as thatever. Definitely not in the list
of words and adjectives thatpeople use to describe you.
Well, I love working there. Youknow, it's fun. Just it's like
going to work with your friends.
I don't want to say high school.
But but it's I mean, I know I'vebeen I've said that many times.

(02:32):
It was just like, finallyfinding a job where you can go
and everyone's doing the samething. Like the complaints are
the same that the love of whatyou're doing, there's the same
that the the issues you have arethe same that not wanting to go
back to the canyon one moretime. After four three type
three landings and like, youknow, a couple of months in
chubster you're gonna have tofor today, or we're shorthand in

(02:52):
this month do you have to forlandings a day for a week
straight? No problem. Let's justget it done. Whatever. I know
I'm gonna have a week off laterso let's just get done it but I
just love that place becauseeveryone just got together I
think no matter if you worked atpappy on or, or Sundance rip
Sundance or, or Maverick or theother smaller ones, I think that
the things are all the same.
You're just like, it's like,what, like the fraternity or
sorority? I don't discriminate,right? Yeah, totally.

(03:17):
It's like a definitely we talk alot about the camaraderie there.
The word I was going for, likewhen I heard Isaac's voice, it
got me happy because I was like,that's a chill, dude. Yeah, he's
a super chill dude. AndI remember he told me, he was a
helicopter, three engines. And Iwas like, Damn, dude, where do
you put third engine? And he'slike, No, one engine, like
starts it and then the other twoand just like fly it. And I'm
like, Well, do you need threepilots is like, Yeah, I'm like,

(03:39):
Wait, so you get one engine forpilot. So how does that work? So
we had to break it all down. Andwe had it's down over dinner. I
remember that night we're goingto dinner and when the
helicopter pilot says, Hey,Scott, you want to have some
supper? Like are the radio onthe AC frequency? And I'm like,
Yeah, who's it? He's, it's Rick.

(03:59):
And I was like, Sure he's allmeet me at the Mexican spot in
in Boulder City. And we'll havesupper and then he rolled out
with me and Isaac and him andjust shot the shit for a couple
hours. It was great. Oh my god.
That's hilarious. Great hangingout with like, like older dudes
that don't drink cuz they.
They've seen it. All right. Theyshouldn't be drinking. Like you

(04:19):
want to have a drink. You'relike, dude, just have a beer
with me. Come on. We just flewlike four hours today to have a
beer with me. You don't want tosee the top person. I want to
have that beer.
You don't you don't want to openthat. Can of Worms.
I love my wife too much havethat beer. I've never met a man.
I never in my life. To this day.
I've never met a man like thatloved his wife that much that
couldn't wait to get back hometo Texas to be with his wife on

(04:40):
his week off. Couldn't like whenhe was out PowerPoint. He
couldn't wait to get home whenhe was in Texas. He didn't want
to leave. Like damn, I'm nevergonna find that. Which guy was
this gentleman? Mr. Rick Neely.
He was a he flies EF he was aprivate helicopter guy on the
airline guy and then he flew. Heflew In the Canyon for a cook

(05:01):
for a year or two, and then hewent part time for a little bit
and then went back to Texas. Heflies EMS out somewhere near
Austin now I think, yeah, hestill keeps the results. And
once in a while out of the blue,I'll get a text and it was
remind me he's like, hey, it'sRick. I'm like, I know you are.
Great, dude. Like some separatedeal. Yeah. But like, oh, you
know, sometimes you're flyingalong and you just hear like,

(05:23):
some weird stuff on thatfrequency. Yeah, you're like,
Oh, my passengers hear this?
Yeah. I remember one time I'mflying. And I hear I'm actually
flying alone. The instructorpilots, and I hear Well, ladies
and gentlemen, thank you forflying with us today. I just
really want to thank you, youknow, a lot of choices and
flying in the canyon. Andreally, hopefully, that you
enjoyed yourself. You took somegreat pictures. And if you did,

(05:44):
you know, just pilotappreciation is always you know,
expected. It's I mean, except,you know, and then when the guys
radiates it, it's like, that'san epic fail man. Broadcast, it
was really funny. And it wasactually on the Boulder City
frequency. So I mean, not toomany people are flying around

(06:05):
for that, but I don't know whoit was. But I, I don't know who
what, who was, but I do know onetime. My good friend James and
Jones, who who's a good dude.
And there's some stories abouthim that are kind of funny, but
he was flying in the canyon andhe keyed the mic and started
giving his whole speech aboutthe most beautiful place on
earth, which is the GrandCanyon. So we're listening like

(06:27):
the whole everyone out flyingthat day. I probably 20 or 30
helicopters listen to this guygoing. And this is just the most
amazing magical place on Earth.
One of my favorite parts is onMike Burrows. Mike I mean you
can you know you can do a greatwhole segment on stuck mics like
the time I was at the airport inin I just got a helicopter

(06:48):
delivery back from Florida theother way normally, I've done
I've done like five deliveriesto Florida and then two down to
Brazil from here, like throughthe Caribbean and all the way
down through South SouthAmerican countries that like you
name them and people go oh,they're in Africa. My were
surname. Africa. Where's Guyana?
Oh, Africa, where? It's French,Ghana? Africa. No, they're not.
It's Venezuela. Suriname.
Guyana. What? Sorry, Venezuela,Guyana, Suriname, French Ghana.

(07:11):
Then Maka pop Brazil. Basically,they were the Amazon dumps into
the forest, some gnarly flying,which I don't want to repeat.
Yeah, I can do that. I can tellyou stories. I heard online once
for this. This guy says he'staken off and out of like New
York, or it's either in Englandor New York. Mmm, it's east
coast or England. And the pilotasked for something. And the guy

(07:32):
says, Well, you know, I couldapprove that. But then you'd be
over my mother in law's houseand she's just a bitch.
Something like that, or she'sjust PAL to deal with. So I'm
going to have you turn early.
Okay. Can we extend the downwhen he's all? Well, I'd let you
normally. But that's my exwife's neighborhood. So we're

(07:52):
just gonna have to move. I don'twant to hear them today. You can
find that one on YouTube aswell.
Nice. Well, at this point,Scott, if you're comfortable,
would you mind talking about theaccident? What happened that
day? And did you feel like theNTSB Did you justice and their
report?
I don't know how I can just jumpright in and just tell you like

(08:13):
my last day there, which, whichwas a bummer. As you guys know,
I I had two flights. I did alanding tour, which is great.
And I don't remember the peopleyou don't remember him. It's
usually good. Because you've had1000s 1000s of passengers,
right? I had a planning tour.
And then I had an air tour. AndI was like, I should be done
today. Because that's too it's aslow day. And then I remember
that, that they're like, Oh,you're you're sunset landing to

(08:37):
our soul. And I'm like, Alright,cool. Let's go back out there. I
didn't think anything of itbecause I've done it a million
times will actually read laterthat I've done it like six or
six or 800 times I can't giveyou the exact number but
somewhere in there. Yeah, andthen and it was a good flight
into like I've said this before,it's it was a good flight until
it wasn't it. And, and you know,I just remember waking up and

(09:01):
not not being in a good place.
And some lady giving me what hewould call the equivalent of
like the military last rites.
And if you ever seen the moviewhere like the soldiers are
storming the beach, and there'sa like, a Navy chaplain or
murdering a child over them,giving them like, their last
rites, if they were a Christianor Catholic, I think I've seen

(09:23):
it in the movies. But that'swhat somebody was doing to me
and I was like, Wow, this isn'tgood is really bad. And yeah,
and then I woke up in thehospital, I don't know how many
weeks or months later and likeyou guys were there. Which is
really, really nice because kindof goes back to what you were

(09:45):
talking about all the thecamaraderie and the family that
you get from working where wedid and, and flying together and
maybe that's probably the truethe true case flying anywhere in
the world when there's a groupof people that do something that
there is an element of danger toit. I think that you guys come
together really well. You know,I know people when I worked in
restaurants, you know, wasn'tdangerous, but they're like, oh

(10:08):
my god, another double. Andeveryone's like pulling together
and everyone hangs out together.
It was kind of like, I can'tcompare a restaurant to flying.
Yeah, flying in the canyon. Butit was the same vibe of
everyone's get together when Ihad so many people, one of the
nurses who, who later becamevery close to me, told me that

(10:28):
she was actually there when Iwoke up, which was really cool,
that she's can still tell me thestory to this day. She's like,
he woke up and we're like, wheream I? Where's my, where's my
MacBook Pro. I went on myMacBook. Probably did because I
was on that thing all the time,right for all my stuff. But what
I was saying she told me thatshe hadn't seen that many people

(10:51):
come to visit. And even though alot of them I couldn't get in
because of a lot of differentreasons. And you know, keeping
the infection level down preCOVID, non pre COVID. I was
gonna say pre COVID Nonsense,pre COVID, you know, keeping the
infection level down because Iwas really septic. And
susceptible to diseases, so butthere was just so many people

(11:16):
coming in, and it was, that wasa lot of love. And I think
someone even made me like,homemade, like granola or
something. That was me. Well, Iremember Yeah,
you. I was like, Hey, man, isthere anything that you that you
want or need? And you're like,Yeah, I just need some like

(11:36):
protein bars or like granolabars or something. to chew on.
Yeah, the food I love. I mean,you gotta give love to the
hospital. UMC in Las Vegas,they've saved a lot of people's
lives. No matter who you are,they're gonna take care of you.
And, you know, it's just, it'sunfortunate that at hospital on

(11:58):
those levels can't get the food,right. But that's okay. Like,
we're not going to complainabout because they let you bring
in your own food, which isreally nice. You know, it just
like once it's in the room, itcan't leave to go get heated or
some sort of someone brings yousomething nice. And you're like,
I'll just put it there. I'll getto it later. It's not it goes
out, it can't come back. Andthere's a lot of rules on that.

(12:20):
And, again, this is all forinfection level. Makes sense?
Yeah. But um, yeah, it was anice place to live for, for four
months, four or five, four, Ican't remember at this point.
But I know I was in the hospitalfor eight months, total and
across three differenthospitals. So I think for at
UMC. So February, March, April,May. And then I spent June, July

(12:47):
and August in Torrance. And thenI spent a month in Long Beach so
I ended up coming home from thehospital that I was born in.
Whoa. Which was kind of cool.
Yeah, it's pretty kneadedand after being in UMC which was
a teaching hospital and also apublic hospital so it's kind of

(13:08):
on the dirtier side but again,like they save they say lives
over there there's nowhere elseto go i If you get hurt anywhere
within like 100 miles of LasVegas like they're gonna they're
the only option and I went toTorrance for like more recovery
and to be closer to home butthat was like living in a hotel
because their private hospitalis super nice and I really get
food and what do I want fordinner? I was like, well what

(13:31):
can I have like what do youwant? What can I have like what
do you want? Pizza Sure. isn'ton the menu. No, we'll make it
for you. Wow. Hi pizza orderthat like five nights in a week
I love who I invited to it'ssuch an unpopular

(13:54):
no before I got so good. I was185 pounds. When I got hurt I
was I just come back from MountEverest. I went to I was Mike
one of my goals to do I want myfriends we had a destination
wedding and they got married atthe base of Mount Everest right
and and I was like on that wholethree week journey of hiking
from we flew up to fromKathmandu up to this town and in

(14:17):
height three weeks and I lostlike eight pounds or six pounds
but I was in really good shapewhich is probably that probably
what saved my life because likecouple month or two later I was
I got hurt and and I went downto from like 185 When I got hurt
down to like I think it was 118in the hospital. Yeah, and now I

(14:38):
got it. I got it all back. Andthen some lion fetus.
Yeah, but I was where I wasgoing to circle back with a
story was I went from UMC whichis kind of on the dirtier side
but again life saving dental toTorrance which was like hotel
flawless side, then to LongBeach and the front Last night,

(15:01):
I spent the night in the in theLong Beach hospital like this
giant. I woke up at two or threein the morning and this like
giant cockroaches was like youknow, like, I mean, we're in
Long Beach right now I'm fromhere. I love it and I'm like,
Oh, just welcome home you know,great. Okay. Yeah, here we are.
What's up? What's up Roche? Doyou name him? Nah Jose Oh,

(15:30):
that's a big one. I can imagine.
Forgive me va but that's what Ithought when I saw one of the
riches at the VA hospital. I waslike, dang. Well, we in the VA
for just when I got out when Igot to do a checkup? Yeah, they
gotta do like checkups. So justgo to the VA hospital. I don't
even use my regular medical.
Yeah, I don't know. I like theVA hospital here in LA. I like

(15:52):
the clinics there. But they'repretty solid for the most part.
Yeah. No, I forgot that. We werein the army. I forgot that.
Mexican Navy. Yeah, I mean, Ithere's a NTSB report that's
out. That's, I think prettythorough. I read it. I thought

(16:13):
they took a couple shots at methat were that were a little
below the belt, to be honestwith you. But you know, that's
their job. And I mean, well,I'll just point out one because
in I haven't had a chance totalk about it yet. But they
said, you know, a couple months,couple months before the the
incident that the pilot wasunsatisfactory on a training

(16:36):
flight. And I was like, youknow, one I don't remember ever
being on Saturday, we didn'ttalk about anything. We I was
flying with the training pilot.
And he said, we were doing oneat our auto rotations to hit a
spot on the on the runway, andit was fairly windy and we
weren't hitting our spot.
Exactly, neither of us. And wesaid you know what, let's just
discontinue this till tomorrowand before your check, ride just

(16:59):
come up and nail one. So thatwas our deal. And then I and
then I read in the NTSB reportthat I was unsatisfied on a
training maneuver a couplemonths before and then flew the
next day with a different pilotand was passed as like that's
really not what happened. But ifthat's the if that's what they
want to put out there then havethat makes them feel better
about making me now I mean, whowhat pilot going on what pilot

(17:23):
who flies anywhere hits there?
Who does a an emergencyprocedures, one time a year ever
hits their exact spot in like,unusually windy conditions on a,
you know, on a check ride prepon the you know, maybe they all
do? I don't know. I don't thinkso. But anyway, that that was I
thought that was a little,little off. But overall, I

(17:45):
thought the report was fairlydetailed. But yeah, I think we
were just what I said in the, inthe interview with them, it was
it was and what I told in theinterview with the Las Vegas
journal a long time ago was thatit was just a normal, normal
flight until it wasn't somethingyou've done many many times

(18:07):
before. I think the report saidI can't get the number but I
think it was something like 800flights and five or 600 landings
and in that area would so Imean, I do know what I'm doing
and and when you havehelicopters pointed in multiple
directions already down therethat kind of tells you that
landings are being done frommultiple directions and you

(18:29):
know, when the wind sockobviously telling you one thing
and then can switch prettypretty quickly which is what we
think happened is the wind wascoming from one direction and
then quickly shifted and there'ssome downdraft combinations and
just kind of slowing down to setup for landing the helicopters
like a sail, it just spun and itbecame uncontrollable and and

(18:55):
next thing we knew were weird onthe on the ground and I I was
fairly far away from the fromthe aircraft and my my pair I
remember my pants being on fireand I was brushing my brushing
my legs to get the put the fireout and I was in pretty bad
shape. My left leg was brokenpretty bad but other than that I

(19:17):
was conscious and then like Isaid earlier that there was a
lady like giving me what I wouldcall the last like the last
rites she was over me prayingand remember that the EMS people
showing up and trying to keep megoing until they could figure
out how to get help down thereand I think it took something

(19:40):
like seven hours or so I wasgood. But you know it kind of
circles back to right the thereThe accident happened was
because of nothing that I did.
It was just like we could callit an act of God or something.
But what could have been betterYeah, could there have been the

(20:03):
crashers and fuel tanks on theaircraft, which, you know, can
educate the audience on? Maybeyou could educate the audience
on, on why there's not at themoment or why there doesn't have
to be because of certain typeratings and built aircrafts
built, we started in certaintimeframe.
Yeah, yeah, we'll definitely goover them. Yeah.

(20:25):
So there wasn't those fuel tankson the aircraft, which would
have been a great, great helpfor all of us. And I think that
pretty confident that thateverybody would have would have
survived. With the exception oflike, my broken leg or whatnot,

(20:46):
I think we would have been inpretty good shape if we would
add those fuel tanks on onboard. So I hope that in the
future that that I know pappy onhas already put, purchased and
installed and if all the fleetif not, most of or all the fleet
they did at their own cost, andI really applaud them for that.

(21:08):
And they're great people, andthey've been great. The whole
family has been great to me fromfrom before the accident from
day one working there all theway till now, and they still
keep in touch with me and, and Ihope to see them all again. And
under better circumstances, youknow, as I recover, I mean, I'm

(21:28):
still on, get I learned theword, sir. It's called
ambulatory, that means walking.
I didn't know that.
I didn't know that either. Yeah,right.
As I get more ambulatory, youknow, I started in the I started
in the not being able to move inbed, to just being able to like,
roll from side to side, and thenI could get into a wheelchair.

(21:51):
And then after a while, I gotinto, you know, I can, I can use
a walker. And while I was withthe help of prosthetic leg, I
could get into a walker. And nowI can walk with crutches. And
pretty soon I'm going to try toget to just a cane. And the
people at rehab seem to think Icould get down to just nothing,
but I don't see that at all. Orreally, yeah, I don't see that.

(22:15):
Why do you say thatthere's just too many hills and
driveways. And you know what,you just you stumble and you're
just gonna topple right overreal quick. So I just, I don't
see, you know, just taking thedog to the park and just walking
up the grass that's uneven,without, like, some support from
the ground with a cane orwhatnot. I just don't think I

(22:37):
could do it. But, you know,they're positive. And I'm just
going to keep going. And justkeep hitting hard until we reach
some point, I think it's all offstrength to you know, you have
to do a lot of a lot of stuffson your own. There's no book for
this stuff, right? You're,there's no

(22:58):
manual. Yeah, there's no manualis.
So for the people that thatdon't know, my injuries, I was
had a very low chance ofsurvival be mostly because of
burns. So the burns caused my meto lose most of my left leg, but
just like but only, you know,from the ankle down of my, of my

(23:22):
right leg, but still, that'sboth of your feet, which is you
know, very unpleasurable andvery depressing and special for
coming from someone that'straveled to 50 plus countries
and just came back from hikingto sleeping at Mount Everest
base camp was such a cool thing.
And then you know, like I said,a couple months later, you're
just like laying in bed dying.

(23:43):
And and yeah, like there's nomanual for this and I'm and
because of my injuries with thewith the burns and the way the
skin heals, there's just no wayto wear traditional prosthetics
at all, which is the what theycall sockets where you slip them
on your, your left leg and yourright and then you you know you

(24:05):
have a sleeve and then you walkand and it just kind of breaks
down the skin so you'resomething you're only able to do
for a short period of time ifnot minutes, but now they've
developed what's calledosseointegration which basically
just means integrating into thebone and I have so that's the

(24:26):
surgery that I had done postaccident about a year a little
over a year ago and thatinserted the titanium rods into
with what's left to my femur onthe left leg and then my tibia
on the right leg so that allowsme to no longer wear prosthetics
as far as slip them on I canjust click them on like a like
you just click into your intolike ski boots or something like

(24:49):
that and just just go which isno there's no more rubbing on
the skin and and the pain is ispretty much non existent, no
more skin breakdown. So that's avery positive thing. So The
distance as walking is, isthere's unlimited that far you
can go. It's just how muchstrength you have. And you know
what's left of your, in yourmuscles. So just building the
muscles back will will bringthat back,

(25:11):
man. It's incredible. I mean, Ijust
what's incredible is that nobodydoes all the doctors said don't
do it, right. They're like, No,this won't work for you know the
No, because they just don't doit in America. It's huge in
Europe, and Australia. So I'mlike, What am I going to sit on
a plane to go to Australia for16 hours to let some doctor that
I've never met, like, drill intomy material into my bones and

(25:34):
tap in some, some rods, I mean,and I got to pay for that auto
pocket. And it's very expensive.
So I was able to actually findsomeone that had done in
Australia, but they have asurgeon here in Las cedars that
looks after them. So I contactedthat doctor and he said, I said,
No, I'll do it. I've done itbefore. And I can do it for you.
And we know we'll get a greatprice for you because we want to

(25:56):
help you. And you know, we'relearning to so if you'll take a
chance with us and I go, I methim one time, and I said let's
do it. Yeah. And, you know, therecovery was pretty long. And
there's been a lot of ups anddowns. And you know, they'll
still will be but but that wasyou know, I had to do it. I had

(26:17):
no choice, either, like, bemiserable, or, or be you know,
be in a wheelchair and I justcan't do I can't be like, I got
to stand up right? You know, andSan Jose being taller than me.
I just couldn't help but get soemotional seeing the video that
you sent me the other day and bewalking with your friend.

(26:41):
Yeah, Kim was over here. Andyeah, we just my wife, Liz took
six videos. She's like, let'sjust go for a walk. And then um,
yeah, I wish that we could havedone that without me lay down
her so much. But, you know, likeI said,
So tell us that man. Like, Imean, I seeing you go from being
in an induced coma in thehospital to not being able to

(27:04):
move to where you are today.
It's just absolutely incredible.
It's been a over three years.
Amazing over three years.
Unbelievable. I wouldn't, Iwouldn't have expected this, I
wouldn't expect to be where I'mat now. And when I Yeah, it was,

(27:25):
you were there. It was bad. Andto go from there, she here is
pretty, pretty amazing. And Imet so many nice people and from
you know, Lizzie, to all thedoctors and all the care people,
but you know, the question youhave to ask, and a lot of people
maybe they don't want to ask me,but I asked myself, like, would

(27:47):
you give that all up? Like,would you? Would you not? Would
you rather not know them? Andhave your old life back? And,
you know, that's always aquestion that that's gonna come
up is like, would you give itgive up everything you've gone
through, and all the new peopleyou've met to have your life
back to go back to like fiveminutes before so you could
have, like, done somethingdifferent with the aircraft or

(28:09):
like, you know, decided not toland and just flow off? Or maybe
still would happen? Who knows?
But maybe you're just not goneto work that day. You know,
those are, and you start goingdown those rabbit holes in your
mind. It gets a bad place,because you can't stop. Yeah,
dude, I could totally get that.
Yeah.
Cuz then you're gonna go back towell, you know, what if because

(28:29):
my aunt had died a week before.
And so I didn't, I switched myschedule, at work to go be with
them. And then my girlfriend'sbrother had died like two weeks
before that. And in a caraccident in San Diego. So I had
like, I'd taken a bunch of timeaway from work to go down to San
Diego and then up to La me. So Ican go to the funerals and
stuff. And then I went back toLas Vegas. So then you're saying

(28:51):
like, what if those people hadto die, then would I still be
hurt? Right? So you could playthat game all day? Yeah, it's
bad. You don't want to do that.
Yeah, I think the most importantthing is staying present. And
not not going back to the whatifs? Because it doesn't matter.
Right. Like all we have is thepresent and what to look forward

(29:14):
to. And yeah, I mean, I I thinkit was it was a blessing. I'm
sorry. It was a blessing at thetime that I wasn't working. I'm
so glad that I was able to haveso much time to be able to come
and spend some time with you inthere. I don't know if you even
remember me being there half thetime, but
I remember I think you were eventhere once when I had like, when

(29:37):
it might have been I'm prettysure it was you at my like the
catheter that they had in melike like wasn't working and it
was like all backed up and I wasI was trying to like pee and it
was hurting so bad and I waslike crying. It was either you
or like Vinita or somebody wasin my room and there's looking
at me and I'm just like, tearsin my eyes and like it hurts so

(29:57):
bad. Doctors like come in. We'lljust take it out. They just
ripped it. Like this day. Andthen you know, cuz they put it
in what? You're not awake. Yeah.
So when you are awake, theygotta put it back in. It's not
good.
Oh my gosh, I can't evenimagine.
I mean, oh, yeah, we all youknow, I had when I woke, I had

(30:25):
the tubes and in all the areasbecause of the burns, they, they
couldn't, they couldn't chanceyou like, you know, go into the
bathroom by yourself and gettingthe wounds infected. So they did
their best to just Yeah, gotcha.
Yeah. Dude, I can't imagine.
Yeah, itwas an incredible to see just

(30:47):
your, like, the little victoriesalong the way, you know that,
that keep you going? Yeah. Andlike from, from the time you're
able to actually be awake togetting the trach out and you
know, these little steps inteaches you patience. That's one
thing you I don't know, if I hada lot of patients before I got
hurt, but it just teaches youbecause they'll say, we're going

(31:09):
to do this operation in twoweeks. And you can't move like,
nowhere I could go out and somany tubes in me and whatnot. I
couldn't go anywhere for for twoweeks on the lay, they're just
looking at the clock, like 24hours a day, and then all of a
sudden the date would come. Andit's we're gonna push it back
two days. I mean, that justwould break your heart, man.
Yeah. And then the day of that,so we're gonna, we're gonna do

(31:32):
it. We'll be there at six in themorning to prep you for surgery.
So we can't give you any foodtonight. And then Sam will come
no income, then 8am 9am 10am?
Noon, two o'clock. Okay. They'llbe here in 15 minutes. An hour
later they show up? You know? Soyeah, it's just it's just, yeah,
it's a game and you just haveto? You're at their mercy. Yeah.

(31:53):
And how many surgeries total?
50 Plus, yeah. Wow. Yeah.
There's quite a few. I mean,just for this for the skin
grafts in the initial days, andweeks. It's a lot and then it
kind of tapers down.
And so I know you alreadymentioned that they gave you a

(32:14):
very low chance of survival thatI remember some numbers getting
thrown out there at 1.2% 3%chance, like ridiculous, like,
yeah, you know, nobody, none ofus knew if you were gonna unfold
through, there's a scale that Ilearned about later, it has
something to do with your age,and the percent of your body
that's burned. And since I was41, at the time, and 70%,

(32:35):
estimated burns, so they takethat number 70 plus 40, wide,
and if it's like over 100, youpretty much not going to live
that's what they that's, that'swhat I that's what I read I
could be I could be wrong, weshould do some research on it.
But yeah, but it's like there'sit's the name somebody whoever
invented it's their name. Andit's a scale. So so it was very,

(32:56):
it was very low. Andthey tell you that in the
hospital, or did they keep thatinformation kind of like that
you don't lose thatthat part. That part I found out
later. From some nurses thattreated me who later became my
friends, but one of the doctorstold me in the hospital that
that it's a miracle that that Ilove them so that I'm alive

(33:18):
absolute miracle they had theyhad they said they all thought
there was no way.
Well, what were some of thethings that got you through it,
do you Oh, can you pinpoint anyreally quick they said that?
They said that? They had ameeting to debate how much care
they should they should give mebecause I had a couple of
doctors said there's no there'sno way it's, it's going to be a

(33:41):
waste of effort. And I guess acouple of doctors thank God on
on we're on the other side ofthat. And they said, Well, his
lungs are okay, so let's put himon the breathing machine and let
that energy that would go tobreathing like focus and on
other stuff and healing onailing but yeah, what got me
through I don't know I've neverreally been, I've never really

(34:07):
given up on on anything. And Ithink I was way more optimistic
than I should have been like Ithought oh, well I'm gonna be
fine. Like, I'm just gonna getright back out there and, and
it's gonna be fine. Like I'mgonna, I'm gonna I'm not going
to be in a wheelchair. I'm notgoing to be in pain. I'm just

(34:28):
gonna go and I'll get out ofhere I'll be I'll be I'll be the
my friends were having an eventat the at the Wynn and in April
and I think I was in thehospital still in Vegas because
they'd come over and visit me.
And I'd say you know, I'm gonnacome to the event and I'm gonna
see everyone there's no therewas no way there was no way but

(34:49):
it's just my brain kept thinkingthat I'm not hurt and I mean to
this day, I never still feellike I mean I don't even like
the park in the handicap spot. Imean, I have a wheelchair
accessible van And that requiresme to go in through the side. So
if I so it's hard to park in aregular parking spot when I take
the wheelchair because I havesomeone parked next to me I

(35:10):
can't get out of the car, I haveto go through, I'd have to only
go through the, the the, thefront seat, right? So now that
I'm taking the walker, or thecrutches, I feel much better
about like dry. I don't even Iwon't even use the handicapped
spot. If I don't need I don'tcare about being close. I only
care about getting out of theside. Yeah, eating out on the
side. Right. So yeah, I thinkthat will get you through or

(35:35):
what got me through just so manypeople, you guys, all the pilots
and my family and just just justa lot of I had a lot of good
medical care that was providedby by the insurance company,
they they provide what's called,like a catastrophic case
manager, that, that deals withthe worst cases of worse, and

(35:58):
mine was like the worst of theworst, right? They, they don't,
they don't normally have peoplelike what happened to me
survive, so that I had likesomebody that would come and
visit me all the time. And theytake me to my appointments. And
it was really nice and, youknow, helped helped my my family
get through it, because Ididn't. I was seeing someone at

(36:20):
the time of my accident, butthey were in San Diego. And it
was it would be unfair to thinkthat they were going to take
care of me or anything. So thatwas that was quickly wrapped up
while I was hurt. But I had togo back and live with my parents
and I haven't lived with themfor decades. And my dad's much
older and he's got dementia andmy my mom's taking care of me

(36:41):
and him and, you know, I movedinto like the living room in our
house. And it's just it was itwas you know, once you get home
from the hospital, there's noone left to tell you when to get
up tell you when to go to rehabtell you when to take a
medicine, you're just on yourown. And I think that's when the
lowest of the lowest kicked infor me when I was the most

(37:06):
depressed and the most sad andthe most suicidal and most
everything was when I finallygot home and didn't have the
visitors because I got a visitorevery day I was in hospital for
almost eight and a half months.
I was visited every day, even ifit was 10 o'clock at night. And
I had an hadn't had a visitorall day like someone I remember
like my cousin Mike would pop inthe room at like 10 o'clock at
night in Torrance. And I'd sayWow, man, I didn't think I was

(37:27):
gonna get a visitor today. Andhe's like, No, I was just, I was
down there on a bar in Torrance,I was down at the bar that comes
to you. Like, that's great. Butwhen you're home, you know, now
it's like, you got your momthere. And I mean, I was just in
bad, bad shape living at home.
And I didn't think I was gonnamake it. I really did it. And,

(37:56):
you know, I don't know, I don'tknow what I did to snap out of
it. I can't put my finger on it.
Buthaving the the visualization of
getting the osseointegrationsurgery, which is like I said
before, instead of wearing theprosthetics, they insert the
titanium rods in your bones. Andthat allows you to click in

(38:16):
rather than rather than slip andslip them on and break down your
skin and be really uncomfortableand press on the bones. And it's
just, it's so uncomfortable.
There's so painful and souncomfortable. So I think
keeping my eye on that, and thenI think that just helped. And,

(38:38):
you know, reconnecting with Lizfrom the hospital.
Yeah. Tell us about that. So youalready mentioned that you
became pretty close with one ofyour nurses. Yeah.
We were. She was the nurse thatwas there when I woke up in the
hospital. And, you know, it waspretty shocking, because she was
in there. And she's like, Whatdo I say? I don't think she
didn't even know what she couldtell me. What I was allowed to

(39:01):
know. I found all this outlater, right. And then me she
used to work nights. And I justalways look forward to her
coming in because she's so justsuch a kind person. And she she
was smart and cute. She had allkinds of funny stories. And she
knew a lot about the restaurantindustry and, and marketing's

(39:22):
for restaurants. And thisinterests me and she used to be
a restaurant manager at one ofthe nice restaurants in Vegas,
and she was in Somalia. And Iremember saying, Oh, um, when
you get discharged, I'll bringin a nice bottle of whiskey and
and then we'll have a drink. AndI said that's nice. And I think
I got discharged before I eversaw her again. And then one day

(39:42):
I got a really nice note fromher in the mail. And it was just
really awesome. And I happen tobe going to Vegas like two weeks
later for to go see my friendsthat were working at an event at
the again at the Wynn and Iwrote her back and I said I
would love to He won't come inand see you guys again. And so I
went to the hospital to UMC inthe middle of the day and and I

(40:06):
went saw everyone I saw likesome nurses I was really,
really, really, really cool. AndI said, you know, you guys could
have been a little more lenientwith the pain meds. Yeah, that's
when I got the torn stayconfident. I'm like when I go to
the torn pain, Doctor, I gotthat pain nurse. Oh, you guys

(40:26):
are stiff. You guys like causedme a lot of pain, man. And yeah,
it'd be like, I mean, look at mybody. I look at what I went
through. And then like, you'regonna, you're gonna like give me
like one milligram of morphinebefore a dressing change. I
mean, come on, I got a torn solike, whenever you need, like,

(40:47):
like, every hour on the hourpush that. So yeah, so I go to
visit them and we take somepictures. And then I run into
one of the doctors and samedoctor that before he, he
actually he called me left him avoicemail. He left me a
voicemail and says like yourabsolute miracle, you're one of
our best cases we ever rememberbecause nobody thought you were
going to make any surprises alland so they said, Oh, she'll be

(41:11):
here on like, Friday orSaturday, I come back. And so I
just made a note to come backand and then I came back and and
I said I said Yeah, I got youryour letter was so sweet. And
you get mine. I wrote you back.
And she's all we haven't checkedthe mail yet. And I said we of
course she's married. And thenshe's so nice. I stayed with my
mom right now. I was like, Oh,well, once you come visit me in

(41:34):
Long Beach. You should come overhere and hang up. And so she did
and, and yeah, we spent sometime together in Las Vegas. And,
you know, looking at me andeverything I've been through and
and, and me you know my body andstuff. It's it's like I don't
even like looking at my what'sleft of myself in the mirror

(41:55):
sometimes or after a shower. I'mlike, Man, I look pretty scarred
up and it's pretty bad. But thenlike, you know who who's gonna
have more to love you than aburn nurse? Right? So I think I
got lucky it's amazing.
Yeah, that is awesome dude. Iyou know, man, I never ever got

(42:15):
to tell you I don't think I'veever have But dude, I got
nothing more love for you dude.
Ya know, it just you have a lotof grit and
yeah, well remember what I wassaying before I appreciate that
and I have here but memorize Iwas I was saying like I go to
boxing and there's the like I'mgonna take a picture you can put
it on I'm gonna put this pictureup on the the our Instagram or

(42:40):
some because I want to show theother guys that aren't cutting
it to they need to come herebecause you're doing it they
need to be in here every day.
And you know I've been doingsome more reading and research
articles by some handicapped ordisabled people I'm not even
sure the term of what I'msupposed to call myself. I don't
feel hurt you know, like I'mstill do everything I used to do
except, you know, I mean, I'mnot a stand up paddleboarding.

(43:01):
And I'm not running on the beachand stuff but you know, that's
overrated. I don't need to Idon't need to work out I mean, I
don't think you work I don'twork I don't you're not working.
I don't know.
Did Jose has been hitting latelyactually. He's been going on us
morning runs.
Yeah, well, you know, I got a Igot a gym in the garage. I got a
bike you paddle on. I got arecumbent bike. I have a bike

(43:23):
you pedal with your hands. Andwe just live right here by the
beach. So that that's sevenmiles a bike path? Yeah. So he's
go right down there and do thedo the whole thing on so I mean,
I'm getting some mix. Definitelyget some exercise.
So full circle. Liz is now hisfiancee.
Yeah, we just say we just say weit's so much easier to say wife.

(43:44):
We deserve a wife. Yeah, okay,cuz cuz I gave her both rings
already. Nice. So like I gaveher the the nice rock. And then
I gave her I said, Well, whydon't you just have the band to
because it just looks bettertogether. Yeah. So we just we
just went all in and yeah, yourWi Fi. Yeah, it's just easier.
And she's incredible. Shedoesn't want to go anywhere. I
just I'm like, don't you want?
I'm like, Are you sure you wantto deal with me? She's like,

(44:06):
Yeah, and our next house. We'regonna do this on my couch. She's
already planning for the nexthouse. And
you guys just got this one.
I know. We've done a full house.
I love this house. Thankyou. We've been working on it
for about 14 or 15 months. Soit's, it's like every day
there's like last week it wasthe garbage disposal that that
exploded like homeownership.

(44:30):
Yeah. I liked renting becausethat was that was that was
exciting. I'm like, Hey, John,my heaters not working. I'll get
over there take care of thatright away. And that's great.
Because you know, you have tobecause the law belongs to you.
If you ever do leave, man, andyou don't want that painting,

(44:51):
you let me know. It's got yourname on a scoop that
Jose ran all over it? No, wecould do some research online
and See if we can find thatartist there might be a
duplicate out there, fingers.
So it's a Hispanic man playingguitar wearing a sombrero. And

(45:14):
Jose got a similar piececommissioned by an artist who
ended up sending him a photo ora painting of a woman playing
guitar. And she had six calls upartist, he's like, Yo, this girl
has,what, what I just thought about,
about my paintings that it'sabstracted guitar I'd ever

(45:34):
realized that's not a guitarthat's only got four strings
is that a call is that aqualifying characteristic of a
guitar it has to have Yeah,guitars got to have six or 12
strings got or I mean, they domake seven string guitars as
well. But not four. But six isthe obviously by far the

(45:57):
standard that 99% of guitars arerarely rarely you'll find a
seven string guitar that somelike speed medalist has had
commissioned. And, and 12strings of course, because it
gives you that nice little soundbut that that I think is a
ukulele that has fallen but um,you know, you asked me but I can
tell you again, what I thoughthelps me maybe get through some

(46:20):
stuff is, is my my music love. Imean, I went when I was in
college, I had a I went afterthis this degree pursued of
audio engineering and musictheory. And then I finished in
around 2000 With that, and I'vealways loved music. That's why
we got the piano in here now.

(46:42):
And you had to put we had to addthe baby grand from the 20s to
go with the house was from the20s. But my guitars I've just
loved collecting and playingguitar for forever since I had
like, my bought my first guitarwhen I was like 14 years old.
And my two or three by the timeI was 16. And then like five, it

(47:04):
just it's like a like a passion.
I just can't stop it and itcan't. It's hard for me to get
rid of one you're supposed tohave a rule when you get enough
that like one comes in one goesout. But it's usually like two
in one out or three in one out.
And I've honestly only sold onein the last couple in the last
decade. I've only sold one.
And I'm always so impressed by acollection. That's insane. How

(47:26):
many guitars Do you haven'theard? Quite a few
I think I think there's probablylike maybe 15 in here and
17 that I've counted there's inthere 19
Then there's then there's fourmore in my in my bedroom. So you
got like 24 guitars, garage andthen in like workshop, there's
probably about 20 more. Oh wow,that's

(47:51):
insane. Do you have a favorite?
Yeah, they're my favorites arein my bedroom. So what do you
see out here? It's just theseare. These are just for for
love. I have like, I have mysection on my Jose section over
there.
Yeah, dude, I noticed I was likediggin the graphics on a couple

(48:12):
of those other guitars.
Those are the Alvarez those madein Mexico. They spoke to me.
Yeah, so let me go. And yeah, soI know which ones are your
favorites and one that are theones that you keep in the
bedroom. I havea guitar that that Liz and her
mom got me for Christmas. That'sit's a taco meanie nylon string

(48:33):
acoustic guys, it's so easy toplay because my fingers are
still recovering with my myhands. I mean, there was a time
in when in the hospital, Icouldn't even grip a tennis
ball. So that and my fingers areyou know, kind of burns on my
hands. So my fingers are still alittle gent a little soft. So
that's that nylon string. Talkto me he's really nice on the

(48:55):
street on my hands and easy toplay. And then I have a I have a
Paul Reed Smith, John Mayersignature, which is it's just
like playing a Strat but faster.
It's really fun to play. And Ihave a Fender Jazz Bass in
there. So because you gotta havea bass you know, the bass is

(49:16):
just like a guitar but with fourstrings
I mean, do you think that the Imean other other than the
emotional aspect of music Imean, there's no denying that
music aids and mental recoveryand depression and mental health
Do you think that helpphysically with your hands as
well? Like practicing you werealways practicing the guitar
Yeah, every single time I sawyou Yeah.

(49:38):
I just I think my playing gotanything got better. My job this
accident my my. My patientsimproved greatly. My guitar
playing as as compounded inskill greatly because you know,
there was a point when I was wasjust really different. And I

(50:00):
wasn't leaving the house. And Iwould try to, like, you know,
medicate myself to sleep. Mostof the day, when the sunlight
was out, I just didn't want tobe outside, I didn't want people
to see me. I didn't, I didn'twant people to see me without my
full body the way I used to lookbefore cuz it's hard to be, you
know, so active and, andeverywhere and so full, you

(50:23):
know, so happy and full life andI wasn't acting I was really
happy and I had a great lifeand, and have that all just
disappeared was really, reallyhard. And I still feel a little
self conscious, definitely selfconscious. Like if I'm out in
the wheelchair, I feel like youknow, really staring at me if I
go to if we go to Costco, I haveto ask people to help get me

(50:43):
stuff. So I'm really trying toget out there with the with the
crutches and the walker. Anothermeant mentally I think so. The
guitar definitely helped gettingmy my, my hands back in order in
my brain and then give me apurpose, right. Like, I wanted
to write some new music and workon melodies. And I've been

(51:04):
spending a lot of time takingsome my favorite songs that I've
ever played from, from everyonefrom Van Halen, to the Grateful
Dead just named like, even likeSkid Row. I mean, like, I've
just been taking all my favoriteguitar players in bands and just
mashing them changing the tuneof the key of some of the songs
and just mash them all intomadly so I can, I can run

(51:26):
through like 10 to 15 songs in arow, but medley them all
together. So it sounds like onelike 15 minutes on, which I
think is kind of fun. Yeah,that's cool. Yeah, I am. I saw
some guys that when I was I wasflying helicopters around the
Lake of the Ozarks in I believe2012 Summer of summer of 2012, I
believe, or 2011. I can'tremember. But I would go to this

(51:50):
bar at night. Buy my house, justlisten some music and these guys
would be there. And they theyplay. They'd medley some tunes
together these two guitarplayers from from St. Louis. And
I was like, I never thought toput those two songs together.
And the guys playing like a songwe even had in the helicopter by
lights by Ellie Goulding.
They're playing lights on theguitar, like, right into some

(52:15):
poisoned song or something. Butthey were they were and they
were singing the lyrics to onesong over that song. And it was
I was like, Damn, that works.
Yeah, I mean, I've seen DJs dothat. But I've never seen like
guitar players to live with withtaking country and, and hip hop
and rock and like mixing ittogether. I thought was pretty

(52:35):
cool. Yeah, I think I thinkwhatever gets you by for
therapy, whether it's if it'sanything, whatever is going
wrong in your life, if it'smusic, if it's working out if
it's just going for walks byyourself, if it's watching TV,
like a vegetable, like watchingall 84 episodes with the
Sopranos. What? Whatever it is,that was you didn't know before.

(52:58):
Yeah, that's how I know there's84 of them. That's a good show.
Yeah, get like 10 pounds a week.
That's when you're eating yourwine pizza.
Those are some good Tony Sopranowould roll in his grave.
I love pizza. I do love. I dolove Tony. Man. That's a great
character. Yeah, yeah. Rest inpeace. I couldn't. You couldn't

(53:22):
ask for a better show. We usedto
have it literally just playingon a boat when I was in the
Coast Guard just on a loop thoseanytime you went out to the
maesteg would just be on the TVat all times.
Always set the intro to thatshow was like the best. Yeah,
you know what I'm talking about?
Yeah,there's a lot of interviews
where people say, you know, Iheard that. I heard that. I
heard that music start and thenI get excited. I get the drink.

(53:42):
Get my drink, right. I get onthe couch. Get it going. I get
excited. get amped up.
Yeah. Yeah, it just I don'tknow. Every time I heard that
song, I was just like, dang.
Woke up this. Yeah, I love it.
That's great. I mean, I don'teven remember that those guys

(54:03):
are but I know like one of theproducers or show runners of
that show found that song andthey're like, this is the song.
Gosh, thank you so much forsharing. I actually think that
this could really help a lot ofpeople. You know, it's a going
back to kind of kind of somethings that you were talking
about with just maintaining yourmental health and your survival.

(54:27):
And I know you said you can'treally pinpoint exactly what
helped to get you through it buthaving things to look forward to
like you had you guys I had myparents. I had you know, I have
a daughter that I want to seeher
finish school and we even talkedabout Kendall Yeah,
I want to see you're about tograduate. So I want to see your

(54:50):
finish school. Get married, allthat stuff. So those are those
are things you know, someday Icould actually With the
technology that we have now thatI'm using, and just keep, keep
pounding, keep grinding, Keepwalking, keep trying, I could
actually, like with someassistance, maybe at least like
Walker, down the aisle, shechooses something like that.

(55:13):
Which would be, which would begreat because, like, in the
hospital house was people weretelling me like, you need to
hang on for this person and thisperson. And, you know, maybe I
was being selfish, I probablyonly thought about, I don't even
I can't even really tell you, Iwas thinking well, but yeah,
there's, there's, there is a lotto live for. And, but it's okay
to be depressed too. It's okay.
Because bad things happen. Andit's okay. Like, there's no

(55:37):
reason why you can't be sad orsoccer be or go through hell,
because you are going throughhell. So you don't have to,
like, try to fake it, just ownit. And, and hopefully, you
know, you'll pull out of it.
And, I mean, I think that if Ican help other people that have

(55:58):
gone through similar things, tome that that survived horrific
accidents that shouldn't behere. If I could help motivate
them to not stay in bed all day,just like, Okay, stay in bed
today, but get out tomorrow forlike one day. You know, that
would be, that would be great. Ithink that's important. Because

(56:20):
I don't need to motivate youguys, you guys are you guys are
motivated, I don't need tomotivate people at the gym, like
the guys at the boxing gym. LikeI'll get Scott, he can stand up
and hit the speed back. I'm notthere to motivate those guys.
Like I need to help people thatare like me, that see, they have
think they have no way out.
Because when I was in thehospital, and so sad and

(56:42):
depressed, some guys came in tovisit me that I've been through
house fires, and been throughlike a really tragic accidents.
And they had lost, like arms andlegs. And sometimes like both
that came in about lost botharms and legs in the fire. And
he's showing me like, he's like,Look, man, if I can do this

(57:06):
liquid, you're gonna be able todo and you have like, you know,
you have your knee. And youknow, you have both hands,
you're going to be good. And Ididn't see it until and then,
but it sure helped like it. Itjust brightens my day. So I
mean, now with them. COVID It'shard to go and see people that

(57:26):
are in bad places because theyjust won't let you in. But when
this gets sorted out, I wouldlike to start to start doing
that more. Because I do know alot of people will work in the
hospitals around here in theburn units. And they they want
me to come in. And people fromNevada from UMC in Las Vegas
still reached out to me. Andthey say they say we have a

(57:48):
patient in here that's prettydown, like would you be willing
to talk to him? And I'm like, ofcourse, give him my number. And
so I've done that a couple oftimes, which is which is cool.
One one even survived was asurvivor on a plane crash and in
Vegas. And so I I talked to himfor a little bit. And I said
what he was I said, Man, I'veever talked to him. I said,

(58:13):
Wait, you got burn, but you gotboth your legs, both your arms
and your face is good. He'slike, Yeah, you got to get a
good amount. I'll text you thewhole pictures of me and you'll
you'll see. So that helped himlike seeing it's it's strange,
but seeing someone that's worseoff in you in your time of need.

(58:35):
Seeing someone that's worse offthan you. Surviving. That's
showing you you can do it. Ithelps you because it helped me.
Yeah, I don't know. I don't wantto sound morbid or whatever. I
don't mean to put that in a badway. I don't think that you
know, that way at all. Yeah,it's like you're like look at
the special kid. He's trying toshoes you should be to tie your

(58:59):
shoes to I'm not saying that.
That's, that's, that's over thetop. No, but I mean, on a deeper
level of like I said, I thinkjust seeing not that you're live
and living but you're thriving.
I like just seeing where you'reat right now. You have a

(59:19):
beautiful, beautiful wife, Liz.
Hi. She's connected in thehouse. He just got a dog. It's
really really freakin cute dognamed Phil.
Liz's son. So cute.
This amazing house. All of thesebeautiful guitars. A passion
that you're living for. We havea golf cart and a golf cart.

(59:41):
Living in a really primeneighborhood in Long Beach.
Yeah, I want to check it out.
I am we I used to ridemotorcycles and before I got
hurt, I was a big motorcyclelover and had a boat little
small it wasn't a big it wasnice to cruise cruise around the
bay in so Things that could nolonger do is ride my my Honda

(01:00:03):
6/53 Bike dual sport licenseplate and my my Harley 2003 Dyna
Super Glide it was it's a it'sJax tellers bike before there
was a Jax teller. Nice. I didn'tbuy it to be no sons. Okay Jax
Yeah, but it didn't look likethat. But he had it he had that

(01:00:26):
bike modified to look like itlike the way he's does, which
would look cool. It look cool.
But after he did it, I couldn'tdo it. I couldn't do it. But
anyway, though, I sold them myfriends. My friends helped me
out and sold, sold all my thingsthat I couldn't use anymore. And
we bought, we bought the golfcart, because I can cruise that
really easily. And you know,it's nice. It's nice to you

(01:00:47):
could still get a little wind inyour, in your hair, which is,
which is what's really nice. I'mactually looking at motorcycles
again. They make an automaticone, because like, I think I'd
have trouble shifting with myfeet. But they do make an
automatic one by Honda. And, andthe only thing would be how do

(01:01:08):
you how do you stop it? And youdon't have to write it stop it
at the stoplight. Because thereyou know, it's about 600 pounds,
right? So I'm looking at likeside cars, and things like that.
And then you could put sell onthe side and put film. So cute.
Yeah, he's crazy. He lovesputting his hair. He'll stick
his head out the window at thegolf anything. He's he's

(01:01:31):
supposed to be what's called apomsky. So a Pomeranian husky.
But we think we got ripped off.
We think he's a full husky. onlyweighs 60 pounds. He looks just
like a husky. So we think thatthe Craigslist people
can bamboozled Yeah, he's he'sgot these eyebrows that are just
the cutest oh my gosh, I'm gonnahave to put a picture of him on

(01:01:53):
the post.
But it looks a lot like my olddog. He's got pretty blue eyes.
We're being shamed often becausewe got his hair cut. He loves
his hair cut. But people thinkthat they need to tell us that
you should never cut the Huskiescare. And we just say, Okay,
thank you. Like at this point.
It's like if the 20th persontells you that you shouldn't cut

(01:02:15):
their hair. Yeah, for too bad.
He likes it. And it keeps ourhouse super clean. Yeah, and
it's hot here. Well, theargument is that the top coat
keeps them cooler cooler.
Yeah, I mean, I used to have aborder collie mix, and people
would tell me that all the timetoo. But we lived in Las Vegas.
And honestly, he was so muchhappier when we shaved him. So

(01:02:38):
yeah, no, I get it.
So I'm gonna have to start goingto the dog park with her so I
can use my, my wit on them.
And you have that in spades.
Not as much as Jose does. But Noway dude. Every time every time
we met over there in the pilotlounge, I always come back with
a witty comment. He's gonnatranslate yours from Spanish to
English. There's the guy. That'sreally good.

(01:03:10):
So do you have any plans offlying in the future? Are you
thinking you want to get back upthere?
Yeah, my friend Paul, who's waswith me so much in the hospital,
he's been a good friend forever.
He's got a he's got a couplehelicopters in his hangar in
Fullerton. And so we're justfiguring out right now. Like,
how can I get in, because he'sgot a, he's got a 500 that's

(01:03:34):
literally impossible for me toget into with the suprise kids,
and then he's got a, b two, thatthat actually could be something
I could fit in. So we'll justsee, I'd like to, um, I don't
think flying by myself is everan option. Again. Also, I don't
have a medical. So there's acouple of steps I'd have to take

(01:03:57):
to to even get a third classmedical again. That requires
obviously look, do some moreresearch into it. But for what I
understand after go do a flightwith with an AMA Yeah, with a
with a with someone from theFisto and show them that I can
manipulate the controls. That'sif you want to get a second

(01:04:19):
class. But if I just want to geta third class I think I can just
get one from the get go back andget one which was would you be
fine.
It's more fun to fly withsomeone else anyway,
I I never, you know, it reallyis I never liked flying by
myself and then, which I rarelyhad to do anyway. But once in a
while I'd have to ferry anaircraft by myself. And I was

(01:04:41):
just like, No, this is kind ofcool. But I really like
having company you know?
Absolutely. Absolutely. I'd loveaviation so amazing. It's so fun
and it's so we're so blessed andfortunate to be able to do what
we do or did It's I'm so happyyou guys are still doing it. And

(01:05:03):
hopefully you do it for as longas you want and have a long
successful career I wish I wishI was, every day I wish all my
friends that are flying the EMSships around the country and
world I wish that I could, I canbe there with them I something I
was wanting to do. And, but thatdoesn't mean that you can't

(01:05:23):
still find new passions and, andyou know, there's a term that
they always use in the hospital,it's a well, this is gonna be
your new normal and I'm like, Idon't wanna hear that shit. I
don't hear anything about newnormal, like, don't tell me what
I can't do. Like, I neverthought I'd be able to, you
know, use my hands again,because I couldn't even grip a
tennis ball. And, you know, Inever thought I would stand up

(01:05:44):
again. I never thought I'd walkagain. So I'm doing things that
pretty much um, didn't feel likeme. People don't even feel
alive, right? So, you know, youjust have to be listen to other
people or worry about what otherpeople say you're just gonna be
miserable and sad and be whereother people think. And even I
have to do a better job at that.
Like, I don't like going out inmy wheelchair now that I can

(01:06:05):
walk. I don't want anyone to sueme see me in the wheelchair
because I'm like, I don't wantpeople to think I'm in a
wheelchair. I want them to seeme walking. So but you know
what? Who cares, right?
Everybody is on their ownjourney. Everybody cares what
other people think. Andyeah, for all the helicopter
pilots future helicopterslistening, it's no shame to do
DoorDash to drive Uber to Icannot tell you how many pilots

(01:06:28):
I know have delivered fooddelivered pizzas drove an Uber
in the last decade becausethey're just we're not getting
the hours or the pay in theindustry. So suck it up and you
will get your you will get whereyou want to go.
Yeah, there's no shame even thisyear, like I said, I was driving
DoorDash and Postmates. And butit was more, more so to fund my

(01:06:52):
skydiving endeavor. This is asupplement the money for that.
But yeah, no shame is actuallykind of fun. You just throw on
your favorite tunes and drivingaround and find actually, it was
a great way to find all the goodrestaurants in town because once
you started getting deliveriesfrom the same restaurants,
you're like, oh, man, it smellsreally good. When I go like,
found the best spots to get anice burger, whatever.

(01:07:15):
I got my flight instructorrating. I think my first job was
driving a town car, pickingpeople from the airport in a
white suit with a black tie.
Nice fancy with my collegedegree and everything. I'm like,
This is what I'm gonna do,because this is what lets me
work at night. And then I can dolike flying during the day. I
didn't know that you like don'tget paid to sit around the
office waiting for a student tocome in. I thought like, Wait, I

(01:07:38):
gotta be here all day and notget paid. Yeah, that doesn't
work. Oh, yeah. Does. Everybodydoes it. That's what you gotta
do.
This has been absolutelyincredible. Thank you so much
for sharing your story.
So glad to see that. Thank youfor coming. Your, your
mental strength, your yourcourage, your just sheer

(01:08:01):
willpower to survive and thriveand starting to you know, do
amazing things. And I knowyou're going to be an
inspiration to a lot of peopleout there. And thank you for
trusting us with your story.
Yeah, thank you. Yeah, we loveyou. Love you guys.
Love you too big dawg.
Let's talk crash resistant fueltanks. This is a very important

(01:08:23):
subject, we want you guys to beinformed of what crash resistant
fuel systems are, why they'reimportant and a little bit of a
history behind them. So what weare using for reference is the
Federal Aviationadministration's helicopter
occupant safety Toolkit, whichcan be found on the FAA website,

(01:08:44):
you can just Google it. Andwe're literally just going to
read off of this document. Soall of the credit goes to the
FAA for providing thisinformation. helicopters
equipped with Crash resistantfuel systems crash resistant
seats and structures provide thehighest level of protection for
pilots and passengers. A crashresistant fuel system increases

(01:09:05):
the likelihood of surviving ahelicopter crash due to reduce
threat of injuries from fire.
Crash resistant seats andstructures increase the
probability of surviving theinitial collision from an
accident. And now Jose is goingto tell you guys a little bit of
a background about the CR Fscrash resistant fuel systems
increase safety for occupants bydecreasing or delaying a post

(01:09:27):
crash fire, which is amazingsystems that meet the FAA
regulatory requirements,minimize fuel leaks and lessen
fuel ignition sources. Crashresistant fuel systems are
required for all helicoptermodels that were built certified
after 1994. However, therequirements did not apply to
newly built helicopters if theoriginal design was certified

(01:09:50):
before 1994. Most newly builthelicopters continued to be
those certified before 1994. Asa result, nearly 25 years later,
a low percentage of ushelicopters about 15% Meet the
regulatory requirements.
Question one, which helicopterswill require a crash resistant

(01:10:11):
fuel system.
So all helicopters manufacturedafter April 5 2020 will require
crash resistant fuel systems nomatter when the models are
originally certified. So that'sa big change.
Question number two, do olderhelicopters need to be
retrofitted with Crash resistantfuel systems?

(01:10:34):
The FAA reauthorization law of2018 does not require retrofits.
Question number three is doesthe legislation address the
installation of crash resistantseats in older helicopters?
Nope, the legislation does notaddress this. However, all
helicopter models certifiedafter 1989 must have crash

(01:10:57):
resistant seats and structures.
And question number four, howmany fatalities have occurred
because of a post crash fireafter a helicopter accident.
So there were 58 deaths from2009 to 2017, attributed to fire
that occurred after a helicopteraccident, a number that could
definitely be way reduced withthe installation of these

(01:11:20):
systems. And again, operatorsmight be hesitant to install
these into their aircraftbecause they're very expensive.
And they also add weight. Sothat decreases the amount of
useful load that they can put inthe helicopters, which in
helicopters is a pretty bigdeal.
And also takes the aircraft outof its active role with the
company because of how long ittakes to retrofit the aircraft.

(01:11:44):
Yep, so there's always thatpotential to lose revenue for
the company. But I knowmanufacturers like Airbus are
implementing a lot of incentiveprograms to incentivize
operators to retrofit theiraircraft such as trading
programs, etc. So hopefully,we'll see an increase in that
percentage in the near future.
We really hope you guys enjoyedthis episode. That concludes

(01:12:07):
season number one. Thank youguys so much for your support,
and your listens and yourdownloads, your comments, your
reviews. This has been so muchfun doing this for you guys.
We're gonna recoup we're gonnaget some more interviews on the
books for you and we'll announcewhen we release season number
two. Thank you guys again andenjoy the rest of your days rest

(01:12:31):
of your week. We love you andwe'll catch you next time on The
forever on the fly podcast. Bye