where the boys are I feature story
“Mitchell is an
amazing man.
His smile lights
up the world,
and his attitude
is an inspiration
to everyone he
sees. I am truly
blessed to have
him in my life!”
-Mitchell’s wife,
Pam McCaskill
Story by Ashley Elvington • Photographed by David Childers
Mitchell
McCaskill
The Road to Recovery
P
Mitchell McCaskill has been a “motorcycle kind of guy” ever since he was a
teenager. In the early 70s, he purchased his first bike, a 450 Honda Chopper.
When he became older, however, he switched to Harley Davidson. In fact,
he is well known around the small town of Mullins as the Red Harley Man.
“My Harley was a part of me. Everyone in town knew the red Harley was
Mitchell’s. They were all used to seeing me ride.” In addition to the thrill of
maneuvering the iron hog, he admits that the freedom was the best part of
it all. “No phone, no computers. Just you and the view!” As long as weather permitted, he was on his bike, no matter if the journey was to work or
on out-of-state trips with his wife, Pam. “We have ridden to Savannah and
Maggie Valley. We also went to Charleston and the beach as much as possible. If she was home and the motorcycle cranked up, she was ready to ride.
It was our time together.” One of his most memorable rides was taken with
his friend, Jimmy. “We took a road trip to Highway 90 and traveled along
the Gulf Coast through Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana
into Texas and Arkansas, and back the same route. It was one of the most
beautiful trips I have ever taken.”
Mitchell had no idea just how much his life was about to change on December 18, 2013. “I was on my way home from work to meet Pam. We were
taking our daughter, Brittany, out to eat in Florence for her birthday. I normally would not have ridden my bike to work because it was a little cold, but
a friend had given me a new seat the day before and I wanted to try it out.
While passing KFC and Burger King in Mullins, a car turned in front of me. It
seemed to happen in slow motion. I remember hitting the brakes and the
bike skidding a little, so I had to decide whether to lay it down and risk being
run over or try to get in the other lane and possibly slip by.” As he got into
the right lane, he was struck by the car. Flying 20 feet in the air, he bounced
on the ground twice on his left side, landing on the sidewalk.
Because of the impact, he lost his left foot. Thankfully, God was with him
the entire time and sent an angel in the form of his friend, Junior Watts.
“Junior saw the accident and - thanks to him and the grace of God - I am
here today. He ran to me and applied his belt as a tourniquet to stop the
bleeding. I found out later his belt had broken the night before, and he almost waited to fix it. At the last minute, he decided to go ahead and not
put it off. If he had not taken the time to fix the belt, it would not have been
strong enough to assist with my leg, and I could have bled to death. Thank
you, Junior! And thank You, God, for putting Junior in the right place at
the right time.” Mitchell was sedated in order to endure the helicopter ride
to McLeod Regional Medical Center. During the trip, he bled out 95% of his
blood supply.
Mitchell McCaskill resides in Mullins with his wife, Pam. For 38 years, Mitchell has worked
as a supplier quality engineer for AVM Industries. He and Pam have six children - Mitchie,
Tiffany, Kelly, Trey, Brittany and Kayla - and three grandchildren - Lizzie, Lawson and Lawton.
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June 2014
shemagazine.com