Leo
05-15-2003, 02:53 PM
Van Wert native has no plans of giving up life to paralysis
VAN WERT (AP) -- A man left paralyzed when a tornado hit his factory said he is determined to walk, work and play with his children again.
Mike Thomas had to be cut from the rubble with a saw after the twister wiped out an industrial park on the edge of town and killed two people six months ago. Van Wert, about 80 miles southwest of Toledo, was hardest hit in the storm that cut across northwest Ohio.
"I still hope to walk. I haven't given up on that," Thomas said. "I haven't been called back to work yet but once the plant is completed, I hope to step back into my job."
Thomas, plant supervisor, was alone at National Door and Trim Corp. on Nov. 10 when he heard a noise that sounded like a bomb going off.
Within seconds, he found himself wedged between the rubble, with an air compressor on his legs and water rising near his neck.
"I heard stuff hitting the building, and I grabbed on to a steel staircase," he said. "The building ripped down around me. I remember being drug around on the floor with all kinds of stuff hitting me. Then something hit me in the back, and I was in terrible pain."
Thomas said he was fighting for breath as water from a broken main rushed around.
"I tried to stay conscious until help arrived," he said. "The survival instinct kicked in."
His spine had been severed, and he was unable to move his legs.
Two rods were placed in his back, and he spent two months undergoing rehabilitation therapy at the Shepherd Spinal Center in Atlanta.
"I remember the first time I tried to sit up," Thomas said. "I was shocked. My whole center of balance had changed.
"Even rolling over was a tough task. Everything I had always taken for granted was now a big deal to me."
Thomas said his wife, Christina, and his four children have been an inspiration.
"I realized that I could sit around and be angry because this happened or thank God because I was alive to spend the rest of my life with my wife and children," he said. "I chose to take the latter approach."
Now he looks forward to walking and playing with his children.
"We always did so much together. I'm going to find some way to play basketball and pass the ball back and forth to them," Thomas said. "Every day of the season there was a new sport. I'm looking forward to getting back into that with the kids."
Originally published Wednesday, May 14, 2003
VAN WERT (AP) -- A man left paralyzed when a tornado hit his factory said he is determined to walk, work and play with his children again.
Mike Thomas had to be cut from the rubble with a saw after the twister wiped out an industrial park on the edge of town and killed two people six months ago. Van Wert, about 80 miles southwest of Toledo, was hardest hit in the storm that cut across northwest Ohio.
"I still hope to walk. I haven't given up on that," Thomas said. "I haven't been called back to work yet but once the plant is completed, I hope to step back into my job."
Thomas, plant supervisor, was alone at National Door and Trim Corp. on Nov. 10 when he heard a noise that sounded like a bomb going off.
Within seconds, he found himself wedged between the rubble, with an air compressor on his legs and water rising near his neck.
"I heard stuff hitting the building, and I grabbed on to a steel staircase," he said. "The building ripped down around me. I remember being drug around on the floor with all kinds of stuff hitting me. Then something hit me in the back, and I was in terrible pain."
Thomas said he was fighting for breath as water from a broken main rushed around.
"I tried to stay conscious until help arrived," he said. "The survival instinct kicked in."
His spine had been severed, and he was unable to move his legs.
Two rods were placed in his back, and he spent two months undergoing rehabilitation therapy at the Shepherd Spinal Center in Atlanta.
"I remember the first time I tried to sit up," Thomas said. "I was shocked. My whole center of balance had changed.
"Even rolling over was a tough task. Everything I had always taken for granted was now a big deal to me."
Thomas said his wife, Christina, and his four children have been an inspiration.
"I realized that I could sit around and be angry because this happened or thank God because I was alive to spend the rest of my life with my wife and children," he said. "I chose to take the latter approach."
Now he looks forward to walking and playing with his children.
"We always did so much together. I'm going to find some way to play basketball and pass the ball back and forth to them," Thomas said. "Every day of the season there was a new sport. I'm looking forward to getting back into that with the kids."
Originally published Wednesday, May 14, 2003