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Motorcycle Accident
June 8, 1997
It was Sunday, June 8, 1997. I was the General Manager of Myrtle Beach Fun Spot Action Park that John Arie owned, I have been working for John as a General Manager of his Amusement Parks since 1987. I don’t remember that day in detail but have put it together with what has been told to me.
I went to church that morning. Myrtle Beach Community Church with Pastors Ronny Byrd and Greg Anderson. Later they told me that I had told them that I had just had the best Christian week of my life.
I had lunch. I took my motorcycle to Oliver (Bubba) Owens warehouse and shop to see if he had some room so I could store some things out of my house. I needed to make room in my small two-bedroom trailer house. My fiancée Ellen Johnsen and my children Tayra, Carly and Carl were planning to spend the summer of 1997 with me.
Well, Bubba tells me that he was drinking beer and offered me one and I refused to say that I would not drink beer and ride my motorcycle. As I pulled out of his driveway and came to the asphalt road my motorcycle started sliding. Bubba says that I tried to hold it straight but it was sliding on the loose gravel then I hit a pothole in the road and the motorcycle fell overthrowing me about 12 feet. When I hit the asphalt, I broke my collarbone and hit my head hard. I did not have a helmet on; there is no law to wear a helmet in South Carolina. Bubba says that I was only going about 10 miles per hour and I was not showing off or trying to spin out, I was simply pulling out onto the road. When Bubba got to me, I was laying on the road shaking with blood coming out of the back of my head. He called on his cell phone the police and ambulance, then he took his pickup and blocked the road so no one would drive up and run over me. I was taken to the Myrtle Beach hospital and there they could not deal with such severe brain trauma. So, then they put me in a helicopter and transferred me to The University Medical Center of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. There I was put into a drug-induced coma and not expected to live. Calls were made to my family and they came to be by my bedside. Uncle Robert and Aunt Mikki Smith called Ellen and she came from Norway to be by my bedside. Ellen and I were engaged to be married. Ellen lived in Sandnes, Norway. Ellen spent two and one-half months with me; actually, Mom and Ellen shared a motel room then rented an apartment together. They got to know each other quite well. My name was put on several prayer chains throughout the world. The best I could tell there were over 15,000 people praying for me. I thank God that I am here and alive.
I was released from the Medical University of South Carolina and then sent to rehabilitation at Health South Rehabilitation Center. Things were very hard for me because I did not feel that I was that bad and really did not need their help. They finally released me from there and we went to Overton, Nebraska, where my Mom lived and this is where I grew up.
Then I went to a Neurosurgeon in Kearney, Nebraska and had a shunt put in. I was still having headaches and needed this shunt to relieve the pressure in my head. It was not easy for me. The surgery went well and was a success. I was very sick during the recovery. I had always thought that I was much better than I actually was. From the Kearney hospital, they sent me to a rehabilitation hospital in Lexington, Nebraska. I went through a few of the procedures, but still, I thought that I was ok and was just wasting their time and mine.
Ellen had to leave and go back home to Norway. I was sad to see her leave. I think mom was sad also. I know she was.
I spoke with John Arie often on the phone and he thought that I sounded ok. So, I finally went back to Orlando, Florida. I had been living in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and now I had moved to Orlando, Florida. John Arie offered to let me live at his and Lois's house in Oviedo, Florida. John was in the process of building Fun Spot Action Park in Orlando, Florida. Their website is www.fun-spot.com He asked me to put together the arcade and snack bar-restaurant. I had a very hard time doing this and did not finish the job. John asked me to take thirty days off with no pay and see a psychiatrist he thought that I had permanent brain damage. I went to see Dr. Brian Campbell a Christian psychologist. Dr. Campbell did a lot of test on me
and thought that I was fairly normal. John Arie also asked me to move out of his house and turn in my company van. Uncle Robert let me use his car and live in his house. Then Uncle Robert helped me get an apartment in Winter Park, Florida. During all of this time, I was praying a lot for God to see me through.
Ellen came to see me in February of 1998 and was still going to move to Orlando and marry me. We had a good time in Orlando while she was there. I was having a hard time at work and was working the tracks. I didn't mind that so much but I was made fun of a lot and I did not seem to have what it takes to continue on. So, after a lot of thought and prayer, I asked for a meeting with John. At this time, I resigned from my position and prepared to move to Norway. During this tough time for me, Uncle Robert and Aunt Mikki were a great help. I thank God every day for seeing me through all of this.
I moved to Norway and was married on March 14, 1998. I had applied for a General Manager job with a Norwegian Go Kart Senter. I was hired as a general worker and was happy with that. After just a short time I was released from working there. I hunted for a job and it was hard to find something. I took a summer job working at the International School in Stavanger as an assistant groundskeeper. Did outside work. I quit that job to take on a full-time job working in a factory. They made concrete pipes and manholes. While working there I hit my head on a steel beam and had severe headaches. I was on sick leave and had tried to go back to work four different times. The leader then suggested I should resign that this job is not good for me because of my health. Well, I did and I shouldn't have done that, as I was on sick leave and they could not fire or force me to quit. For the next year, I have had terrible headaches.
The Neurosurgeon offered to do plastic surgery on me. Ellen and I agreed and I was to have surgery on Monday. I just spent one day in the hospital and was released to go home. Well, they did surgery on me and when they cut my head open, they found four screws loose in my head. I have four plates and eight screws in my head. The surgery was successful. I have had headaches since then though.
I have tried to find other employment in all types of work and no luck. I do pray every day and thank God for what he has done for me and that I would find work and feel better. I have been a Disc Jockey / Entertainer since 1977 and I am trying to find work with my Mobil Disc Jockey Services.
Email to: cwfelker@gmail.com
