OTTAWA COUNTY, MI – RJ Myler didn’t know what had happened when he came out of a drug-induced coma.
He had lost his left leg in a horrific crash. He bled so badly that rescuers put tourniquets on all four mangled limbs. All he knew was, he couldn’t move.
Then he was told his leg had been amputated.
“OK, that’s it?” he said. “I’m still here talking.”
Myler, 32, of Holland, suffered critical injuries in the June crash on East Beltline Avenue NE near Knapp Street. He had passed out in the heat while driving for Arrowaste when his truck crashed into an oncoming box truck.
He has undergone multiple surgeries but he and his wife, Kendra, say he has kept a positive attitude – with their daughters, Haven, 7, and Highly, 5, his main motivation.
“They know one speed, and it’s not slow,” he said Tuesday, April 18.
He spoke at The Hanger Clinic on Byron Center Avenue. The clinic had fitted him with a prosthetic leg, which includes a computerized, microprocessor-controlled knee. The device helps his leg plant firmly when he walks, and swing back when he steps with his other leg.
Myler will speak at the annual Hanger Clinic Limb Loss Awareness 5K in Kentwood on April 29. April is Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month.
Myler is determined to walk as far as he can and use a wheelchair if he needs a break.
He has a positive outlook and he’s stubborn – traits that have helped his recovery, Hanger Clinic prosthetist Jennifer Cryst said.
She recalled asking what he wanted when he was being examined for a prosthetic leg. She noted that he worked hard and had a stubborn streak.
He said he wanted to get back to where he was. He was an athlete at Holland High School, playing baseball, soccer and wrestling. He golfs and played beer-league softball in recent years.
He’s already swinging the golf clubs at his buddy’s indoor range and looking forward to kayaking. Mostly, he wants to be able to do everything his girls want to do, whether it’s playing tag in the yard or throwing a Frisbee or riding bikes.
He spent 3½ months at former Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital, followed by three weeks at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. He returned to his job at Arrowaste in February, working in dispatch.
It hasn’t been easy. He has learned how to fall. He has had bad days. But he reminds himself it could be a lot worse. His father died eight years ago in a workplace accident. He can’t imagine his girls growing up without him.
“I know how lucky I am to be able to be here with my girls,” he said.
He can’t do everything he used to do, but he’s going to try.
“Is it the same? No. I can still find enjoyment in things,” he said.
He feels “truly blessed,” from his family, his church family, co-workers and neighbors, to the doctors, nurses and therapists. He thinks about the off-duty police officer who saw his truck veer into oncoming traffic, and the U.S. Marine who stopped to help, too.
Rescuers used four tourniquets – including his seat belt immediately after the crash - while “the ‘blood bank’ was ready and waiting for me” at the hospital, he said.
He was grateful that the other driver, who suffered a possible concussion, wasn’t seriously injured.
Myler was in a drug-induced coma for nearly three days. He remembered hearing people talking in his hospital room and monitors beeping.
“I didn’t know what happened, I just knew I couldn’t move and that was scary. God is good and got me through.”
He hopes to inspire others. Having a positive attitude helps.
“Hold onto hope, because it’s powerful,” he said.
“You’re going to be faced with trials and tribulations and hard times in your life. I have a good support group. Faith, bringing me closer to God. I felt the love of God through other people.”
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