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Sprint Cup
CUP: Injured Shane Hmiel Moves Legs
Shane Hmiel is continuing his road to recovery since an Oct. 9 racing accident...
Shane Hmiel is back in North Carolina at a rehabilitation facility, with a plate in his broken neck, a rod in his broken back, a broken right shoulder and a bruised spinal cord. (Photo: LAT Photographic))
Shane Hmiel did at least two things in the last few days that has made his father, Steve, smile.
He moved his legs and he complained to the nurses.
Those were two things that showed Steve Hmiel that Shane is continuing his road to recovery since an Oct. 9 accident in which his USAC Silver Crown car flipped during qualifying and hit the top of the roll cage first into the wall at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track.
Shane Hmiel is back in North Carolina at a rehabilitation facility, with a plate in his broken neck, a rod in his broken back, a broken right shoulder and a bruised spinal cord.
Originally, it was expected that Hmiel would remain in intensive care until Christmas. Now he’s already out of intensive care and has six hours of therapy six days a week.
Steve Hmiel, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing’s competition director, said he was called to the rehab center Saturday after Shane had moved his legs, and Shane was able to pick his feet up off the floor while bending his knees.
“That’s a huge step in the right direction,” the elder Hmiel said Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. “The original MRI didn’t show any damage [to the spinal cord], only bruising. So, they kept saying, ‘Oh, he’s fine, he’s fine.’ Well, you’ve got to kind of prove it to me. … To see that, that was a huge relief that it can be done.”
When he saw Shane move his legs, Hmiel said he tried not to show his excitement because he didn’t want to look like he was gloating in front of others in the rehab center.
“It’s too much good news, it scares me,” Hmiel said. “When you’re in a rehabilitation facility, you see a lot of people that aren’t getting good news and you don’t ever want somebody to be bragging about the good luck that you have.
“You want to do cartwheels down the hall when your kid moves his leg, but there’s people all over the place that aren’t ever going to do that.”
Shane still has a feeding tube and while he is breathing on his own, the tracheotomy tube will remain in place until he is able to show he needs no assistance breathing for a few days.
Coming out of his sedation, Shane Hmiel has begun to show signs that he is slowly returning to his normal 30-year-old self. Once considered one of the top NASCAR prospects, he was banned from NASCAR in 2006 after three violations of NASCAR’s substance-abuse policy.
Shane, who can mouth his words to communicate, watched the Nationwide race Saturday with his father.
“He remembers sitting on the pole here, he remembers running Busch cars and he says, ‘Why don’t I run Busch cars anymore?’” Steve Hmiel said. “I said, ‘You remember.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, drugs.’
“And then I said, ‘Do you know where you got hurt?’ And he said, ‘Yup, Terre Haute.’ I said, ‘What happened?’ And he said, ‘I tried to run wide open.’”
Medical bills already have surpassed $1 million and have been paid by USAC, Steve Hmiel said. He said the family should be able to pay for what isn’t covered by insurance, and he hopes the funds being raised for Shane can be passed on to other racers.
“He’s yelling at his brother for not getting him a pack of cigarettes,’’ Steve said. “The nurses are all too slow. They told him the other day, “Shane, you can’t eat. You can have eight ice cubs every two hours.’ He said, ‘That’s bull----.’
“It does sound like Shane.”
Although it sounds like Shane and shows that he continues to progress, Steve might have one more idea to request another operation.
“What we’re actually doing now is rehabbing everything else and trying to remove his vocal cords,” Steve said, laughing.
SceneDaily.com • Jeff Owens: When it comes to Texas Motor Speedway’s ‘No Limits’ campaign, there’s no monkeying around
He moved his legs and he complained to the nurses.
Those were two things that showed Steve Hmiel that Shane is continuing his road to recovery since an Oct. 9 accident in which his USAC Silver Crown car flipped during qualifying and hit the top of the roll cage first into the wall at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track.
Shane Hmiel is back in North Carolina at a rehabilitation facility, with a plate in his broken neck, a rod in his broken back, a broken right shoulder and a bruised spinal cord.
Originally, it was expected that Hmiel would remain in intensive care until Christmas. Now he’s already out of intensive care and has six hours of therapy six days a week.
Steve Hmiel, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing’s competition director, said he was called to the rehab center Saturday after Shane had moved his legs, and Shane was able to pick his feet up off the floor while bending his knees.
“That’s a huge step in the right direction,” the elder Hmiel said Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. “The original MRI didn’t show any damage [to the spinal cord], only bruising. So, they kept saying, ‘Oh, he’s fine, he’s fine.’ Well, you’ve got to kind of prove it to me. … To see that, that was a huge relief that it can be done.”
When he saw Shane move his legs, Hmiel said he tried not to show his excitement because he didn’t want to look like he was gloating in front of others in the rehab center.
“It’s too much good news, it scares me,” Hmiel said. “When you’re in a rehabilitation facility, you see a lot of people that aren’t getting good news and you don’t ever want somebody to be bragging about the good luck that you have.
“You want to do cartwheels down the hall when your kid moves his leg, but there’s people all over the place that aren’t ever going to do that.”
Shane still has a feeding tube and while he is breathing on his own, the tracheotomy tube will remain in place until he is able to show he needs no assistance breathing for a few days.
Coming out of his sedation, Shane Hmiel has begun to show signs that he is slowly returning to his normal 30-year-old self. Once considered one of the top NASCAR prospects, he was banned from NASCAR in 2006 after three violations of NASCAR’s substance-abuse policy.
Shane, who can mouth his words to communicate, watched the Nationwide race Saturday with his father.
“He remembers sitting on the pole here, he remembers running Busch cars and he says, ‘Why don’t I run Busch cars anymore?’” Steve Hmiel said. “I said, ‘You remember.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, drugs.’
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“And then I said, ‘Do you know where you got hurt?’ And he said, ‘Yup, Terre Haute.’ I said, ‘What happened?’ And he said, ‘I tried to run wide open.’”
Medical bills already have surpassed $1 million and have been paid by USAC, Steve Hmiel said. He said the family should be able to pay for what isn’t covered by insurance, and he hopes the funds being raised for Shane can be passed on to other racers.
“He’s yelling at his brother for not getting him a pack of cigarettes,’’ Steve said. “The nurses are all too slow. They told him the other day, “Shane, you can’t eat. You can have eight ice cubs every two hours.’ He said, ‘That’s bull----.’
“It does sound like Shane.”
Although it sounds like Shane and shows that he continues to progress, Steve might have one more idea to request another operation.
“What we’re actually doing now is rehabbing everything else and trying to remove his vocal cords,” Steve said, laughing.
SceneDaily.com • Jeff Owens: When it comes to Texas Motor Speedway’s ‘No Limits’ campaign, there’s no monkeying around
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