This Christmas marks a new beginning for Jeremie McCabe: the beginning of his life as a quadriplegic.
"I'm 21. I should be buying rims for my car," he said. "Instead I'm buying rims for my wheelchair."
McCabe lost the use of his arms and legs after surviving a car crash July 3 in New Braunfels, Texas, where he was living while attending Texas State University. Now he is back home with his family in Fenton, where he plans to live for the foreseeable future.
His father, Army Capt. Christopher Nordin, 41, is a career officer stationed at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis. Nordin said he played paintball with his son one week before the accident and still had bruises from their game when he first saw his son lying paralyzed in a Texas hospital bed, breathing through a respirator.
"It turned our world upside down," Nordin said. "Jeremie had been such an independent man. Now he was in a bad situation. We were not sure he was going to make it. We had to pray a lot."
McCabe broke his neck in the accident, sustaining paralysis in his legs and partial paralysis in his arms. He has limited use of his hands, with enough strength to push the wheels of his power-assisted chair. Having survived life-threatening injuries, McCabe said he is not feeling sorry for himself.
"It's amazing and a miracle," he said. "When something tragic happens, everyone pitches in and does their part. I'm thankful for everything everyone has done for me."
McCabe received help from several sources, including O'Fallon business owner Scott Lewis, himself the son of a paraplegic. Lewis arranged to have a handicapped-accessible van donated to McCabe three weeks ago.
Lewis, 47, is president and CEO of Winning Technologies, an IT outsourcing company in O'Fallon that he cofounded in 2002 with his wife, Army veteran Lynette Lewis.
The couple are active in veterans' causes, particularly the Fisher House Association, a charity that operates guest homes on the grounds of Veterans Administration medical centers across the country. The homes offer free lodging for the families of veterans receiving medical treatment.
Scott Lewis said he heard about McCabe through his connections with the Fisher House at the St. Louis VA Medical Center. Lewis said he could identify with McCabe's family, as their story had parallels with his own.
Lewis said his father was an Army veteran who served during the Korean War. While stateside, his father was injured in a car accident and paralyzed from the waist down. "He was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life," Lewis said. "But it was after he was paralyzed that his life really began."
After his accident, Lewis' father met his future wife, a social worker in Wichita, Kan. They married and had three children, Lewis being the middle child. His father received a doctorate in psychiatry and taught at Wichita State University. He died in 1976 when Lewis was 12.
Lewis said his father received treatment at a number of VA hospitals, forcing the family to travel around the country and pay for hotel rooms. Lewis said the hotel bills created a huge financial hardship, which is one of the reasons he helps promote and raise funds for the Fisher House.
In the fall, Lewis received an email describing McCabe's situation. The family needed many things, including a handicapped accessible van. Lewis had a disabled friend who had recently died, leaving behind a wheelchair-accessible van. The van was now in the possession of another friend, Bill Vance, owner of Carson-Natural Bridge Auto in St. Louis. Lewis contacted Vance, who agreed to donate the van. Winning Technologies paid to have the vehicle refurbished and the windshield replaced. Lewis said he is not finished improving the van. Lewis plans to pay to install hand controls so McCabe can drive the vehicle once he develops sufficient strength and hand coordination. T
he businesses donated the van to McCabe in late November. On Dec. 9, McCabe and his family visited the Winning Technologies office in O'Fallon to meet the staff and thank them. Making a van wheelchair-accessible requires more engineering than most people realize, Nordin said. The floor must be removed and a lower floor installed. Nordin said his son had been riding in the back of a standard van, but the ceiling was too low. McCabe had to tilt his head to enter the vehicle, then lean back and stare at the ceiling while riding, straining his injured neck. In the newly modified van, McCabe is able to sit up straight with his head in a comfortable position. "Jeremie feels normal in it," Nordin said. McCabe has had to make many adjustments since the summer night that changed his life.
He was a junior at the university, studying physical therapy. He had suffered a few injuries while playing football in high school and came to admire the physical therapists who helped him recover. McCabe was out late with two friends. All three worked at Best Buy and had to begin their July 3 shift at 10 a.m. It was past midnight. They headed home, a 20-mile commute. McCabe's friend, 18-year-old Nolen Paul Vargas, drove the car. Another friend slept in the back seat. McCabe started to nod off. Twice he woke up, asking Vargas if he was OK. Vargas said he was fine, McCabe said. About three miles from their destination, McCabe woke up to the sound of tires squealing. He saw the car was headed toward a drainage culvert.
It struck an embankment, became airborne and landed upside-down. "I blacked out from the impact for a couple seconds," McCabe said. "I woke up to the sound of gravel sliding, metal sliding. We were all wearing seat belts. We were hanging upside-down. I was not able to unbuckle my seat belt. I was paralyzed." Vargas died at the scene. McCabe's other friend, not seriously injured, was able to escape from the car, run to a nearby house and call for help. Nordin happened to be on a mission in Fort Hood, Texas, when the accident happened. He was able to arrive at the hospital quickly. Nordin telephoned his wife, Odie Nordin, to break the news about their son. She was driving when he called. "I told Odie to pull over to the side of the road," Nordin said. McCabe spent five weeks in intensive care. When Christopher Nordin's mission in Fort Hood ended, he had to return to St. Louis.
He and Odie wanted their son close by. On Aug. 12, the Air Force flew McCabe to Scott Air Force Base near Belleville, Ill. McCabe received 11 weeks of care at the Rehabilitation Institute of St. Louis. He was released Oct. 27. "As a mother, this whole thing has been overwhelming," Odie said. "It makes it easier for me to have a son with such a positive outlook on life. He says he is going to get through this. He is determined to get back as much movement as he can." McCabe said he wants to return to Texas State University in the fall, changing his major to psychology or sociology. He said the counselors who have helped him since his accident have inspired him. McCabe said he would like to become a counselor so he can help people in similar situations. Christopher Nordin said his son has come a long way since the initial weeks following the crash, when his survival was in question.
Back then, people visiting McCabe in the hospital left the room in tears, Nordin said. Now people who meet him walk away feeling a sense of hope. "Having a disability is not the end," Nordin said. "It is just a new chapter in your life."
