PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
JUNE 2015
requested by puckering his lips. After
he was finally able to talk, using a
speaking valve that attached to the
tube in his throat, they sat for hours
talking, sometimes laughing, and just
trying to make it one day at a time.
Gary’s recovery seemed anything
but, as surgery to repair the tiny
broken bones in his face and upper
jaw was delayed due to fever, and
each time he made progress it seemed
like a new challenge or problem was
waiting. The big, tall man would be
on his back for nearly a month, losing strength in his muscles with each
passing day. Doctors said 60 percent
of his muscles had atrophied, and that
he could be too weak to get successful rehabilitation.
Uncertain of what the future would
hold, Cheryl stayed by Gary’s side.
After facial surgery, infections, feeding tubes, and the loss of 70 pounds,
Gary was finally released from the
hospital. Paralyzed from the nippleline down, he had to go to the Baylor
Institute for Rehabilitation in Dallas
where he learned to live life as an “incomplete quad.” That term is used for
people who have a spinal cord injury
in the cervical spine area but still
have some function below that mark.
With broken vertebrae in his neck
and in his back, Gary was lucky that
his spinal cord injuries did not completely remove his ability to use his
arms or breathe on his own. As for his
head, a large scar remains, but there
seems to be no lasting brain injury.
After 77 days in hospitals and rehab, Gary finally returned to his home
in Weatherford. There was little doubt
that Cheryl would return with him.
During the time he spent in the hospital and rehabilitation facility, their
love grew stronger. The bond they
formed during and after the tragedy is
so strong that they decided they didn’t
want to let another day go by without
celebrating their lives together. And
so, on Easter Sunday, they announced
to their families that they would be
getting married on Sept. 13, 2015.
See, someone was right. It is all going to be OK. Absolute faith. Absolute
love. Absolute life.
12
Gary Grote getting kisses from his aunt, Lorine Metz