Sam Schmidt opens a paralysis center in Indianapolis to rehabilitate trauma victims

Paralyzed in a racing accident nearly 25 years ago, Sam Schmidt has spent much of the last quarter-century trying to prove to others that it is possible to lead a meaningful life after a spinal cord injury.

That was the last thing on his mind when he crashed at Walt Disney World Speedway in the early 2000s. He suffered C3 and C4 spinal cord injuries, was unable to breathe for almost four minutes and had to be airlifted to Orlando.

His wife was at home in Las Vegas with the children, and when she arrived in Florida, the prognosis was grim.

“We’re lucky he survived the night, and if he survives a week, let’s just find him a nursing home,” Schmidt told The Associated Press, detailing what doctors told his wife. “He will be on a ventilator for the rest of his life.”

Schmidt’s injury at the time was compared to “Christopher Reeve’s” in that, like the “Superman” actor, Schmidt was paralyzed from the neck down and required a ventilator to breathe. Reeve reached out – whose doctors he worked with urge them to find ways to help trauma patients build meaningful lives after their accidents – and Schmidt credits Reeve’s work with changing the trajectory of his life.

“There was no internet. “My family sat at the end of the hospital corridor and used payphones and just called, called, called and all they were told was, ‘We’ll teach him how to live with it, but that’s it,’” Schmidt told the AP.

It was Reeve’s doctor who demanded immediate action, and the NFL team’s surgeon performed the surgery immediately.

“It’s either that or wear a halo for a year, and I haven’t worn a halo for a year,” Schmidt said. “So they performed surgery and after three weeks they took me off the ventilator. This is Christopher Reeve, the first known person to say “No.” Why? Tell me why we can’t fix this. And I thank God he did it, because I would never have lived to see a year.”

For almost 25 years, Schmidt has tried to give back and help others with similar injuries find some normality in their new lives. He first opened the Driven NeuroRecovery Center six years ago in Las Vegas, where Schmidt lives, and then set his sights on something bigger.

Tuesday arrived with the ribbon cutting of the nonprofit Conquer Paralytic Now facility in partnership with NeuroHope, a nonprofit outpatient physical rehabilitation center based in Indianapolis.

The center, located in the former Five Seasons Sports Club, is a 114,000-square-foot building dedicated to helping people with spinal cord injuries and other neurological disorders. As a former professional athlete, Schmidt knows his situation was very different from others who suffered similar injuries.

He can cite divorce statistics, he understands the hopelessness that appears when insurance ends and the lack of funds and access to rehabilitation are so difficult to find. He experienced it again in 2018, when Robert Wickens, who was then driving for Schmidt’s IndyCar team, crashed at Pocono Raceway and was paralyzed from the waist down.

Even though Schmidt was able to make contacts, and the team’s sponsorship from technology provider Arrow Electronics provided resources that were not generally available to the general public, Schmidt saw a need for more of them. After leaving the hospital, Wickens had to move to Denver to undergo rehabilitation at Arrow’s headquarters.

“The statistics are pretty ugly. We just get stories every week of people trying to overcome these challenges, and it’s not very pretty,” Schmidt said. “How do they adapt their home? They get a bed for the living room and the insurance money has been spent and no one has any idea what to do next.”

That’s the goal of Driven in Indianapolis, which starts with a Yard of Bricks like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Roger Penske was the first person to buy the founder’s brick.

Tuesday’s ceremony was attended by several current IndyCar drivers and IMS track president Doug Boles, and when guests entered the facility, it was already packed with patients under the care of physical therapists.

Driven has been designed to help with more than just spinal cord injuries. It can accommodate 25 different neurological conditions, ranging from strokes, brain injuries and Parkinson’s disease. NeuroHope plans to move its operations to a facility serving 200 customers.

Schmidt has made an agreement with a nearby hotel to provide discounts for patients seeking treatment at the Driven center, which has water pools, rehabilitation equipment and equipment for wheelchair basketball, rugby and tennis.

Ultimately, the upper floor will be the center’s customer base and will be used for wheelchair repairs, mental health services, K9 care, financial assistance and more. Schmidt said there is also a demonstration apartment and kitchen to help patients learn to adapt to their new lifestyle.

“Many of these people do not have money to adapt their houses or apartments,” Schmidt said. “They will have to adapt to conventional space.”

Schmidt took a long pause when asked if working to help others with similar injuries would be his legacy. Seven years before Wickens’ accident, Dan Wheldon was killed at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway while driving one of Schmidt’s cars.

Both events still evoke emotions in him today. But both only fueled his desire to do more for the community – and some of those conversations started with difficult conversations.

“It’s a lot of work, so I tell them, ‘You have a choice. Do you want to stay at home and do nothing?” – said Schmidt. “’You’ll probably have a pretty short life because your body will degrade. Or maybe you want to find out what your next passion in life is? And if so, we will help you.’”

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AP Auto Racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing