Phillip Sherwood

Welcome to my website PhillipSherwood.com.  I was also known throughout my motocross adventures as “Gomez” and/or “El Gato Volador”. I took a real bad spill on October 20th 2007 while racing motocross at Pleasent Hill race track in Decatur, Alabama.  I was airlifted to the Huntsville Hospital ER and awaited multiple surgeries to try to fix my broken back but little did I know then that I lost a lot more than just the use of my legs and ability to walk that warm sunny October afternoon.  Thanks to your prayers and the comfort provided by my family and friends, I survived this terrible ordeal and this website documents our story.

I started racing in 1975 on a Honda XR-75 and moved up to 1982 YZ 125 B Class when I joined the Army at the end of that racing season. I picked the sport back up in November 1999 racing a 2000 Honda CR250R in Santa Cruz, Bolivia and supported by VISAL Honda. I then moved to Central Texas and bought a 2002 Honda CRF450R and received race support from Blackfoot Honda and Honda of Houston, I then went back to Colombia, South America and raced the Latin American circuit in the 250 A Class where I was given the name Felipe Gomez to draw less attention. I am now retired from the Army as a Black Hawk Helicopter Test Pilot Evaluator after 23 years of military service and have now made my home in Huntsville, Alabama.

ROLL TIDE!!!

Look how many people have stopped by!

ab workout

Yesterday afternoon my new motorized standing chair arrived and is now all set up. There’s a few things left needed to be done but for the most part, it’s functional and fast. The torque setting is tweaked up higher than on the demo chair and this one works much better on the grass. Last night I was really restless in my sleep but I was able to sleep in since Friday was my day off. I woke up in a state of mental meltdown over probably one of the worst dreams I’ve ever had and it took me a good part of the day to shake it off. I finally had to leave the apartment to try and gather my wits about me. I did an hour on the stim bike, made a sandwich then head off to my physical therapy appointment. I took my heart rate monitor with me this time and it doubled my normal sitting pulse rate. This bay far is the most grueling exercise I do in my fitness program. Another accomplishment I made today is that I finally shipped off my espresso maker to be repaired I’ve had in a box forever on my kitchen table. I will be back to cappuccinos in no time. I also went to Best Buy and got rid of my T-Mobile account and opened an account with Verizon. Rumor has it that Verizon will be picking up the iPhone contract from AT&T sometime between October and the Spring so I just got a basic model leaving me the option to upgrade later. My webmaster “Scooter” will be giving this site a facelift over the weekend so hopefully by Monday it will be even nicer than his original creation. I’m whooped and ready for bed. I was going to hit a local club tonight but I may just do that tomorrow night instead…phillip

“The success of a person probably has more with how they handle adversity than how they handle success. It’s easy to put on a smiley face when everything is going well, but what happens when you’re in a valley? That’s when you see the true mark of a person. Everyone has peaks and valleys. It’s how you manage the valley that defines your character and is what you’re going to be remembered for.”

Sundays’ swim was good as I swam several tough laps and when I woke up Monday morning, I could really feel it on my left shoulder. As the day progressed, my shoulder felt more and more like it was cramping up. I went to the gym Monday night and while using my heart rate monitor for the first time since my accident, I did the NuStep for 35 minutes getting my heart rate up quite a bit. Tuesday my shoulder was hurting to the point I didn’t want to stress it any more than the pain of doing transfers was already causing. I had a really grueling workout during my Physical Therapy appointment using my Frankenstein feet. I am getting better at using them and I feel my endurance improving with each visit but I just keep reminding myself that if it was easy, everyone would be doing it… right? I did a good stretch at the gym then came home and got on my e-stim bike for an hour. Between getting more judicious on the bike and stander, I’ve noticed my leg spasms reducing significantly so today I’m going to start reducing my baclofen anti-spaz medicine and see what happens. I am sleeping very well at night now too. Tonight I took a break from the gym and as a matter of fact, I’m writing this from the stander for the first time. Tomorrow my new motorized standing chair arrives so I will be messing around with it quite a bit; especially going around the apartment and get the things put up out of my reach I haven’t been able to access in quite awhile. I have an appointment Thursday with my physiatrist to review how the botox injected into my left calf is and possibly administer another. He also wants to see the chair and what it’s supposed to do for me to help me tailor its use. Today also marks the end of my third week of being on WeightWatchers so tomorrow I will slip by the VA clinic to do a weight check. My friend and former coworker Tom Huff and his family is here on their summer vacation so we all met up in south Huntsville for a fabulous sushi lunch. Afterwards, we drove out to the lot where my house is going to be built. Tonight a bunch of us met up at Rosie’s for dinner but I was still full from lunch. I’ve decided to get Bob a little buddy so I found this interesting pet adoption website http://www.petfinder.com that links into Humane Societies and Animal Shelters all over the USA to find all types of animals looking for a home. I called on one cute kitten today but he was already adopted. The first picture is with the Huff family and the second is my lot. Well, I’ve been in this stander thingy nearly 1½ hours now and I can feel my abs spaz so it’s time to get down and get ready for bed…phillip

Don’t count the days, make the days count.

This weekend I went exploring and dropped into the Monaco Movie Theater at the Bridge Street Town Centre and got a look at the V.I.P. Privé section exclusively for 21 years of age and up and was able to pop in and catch a movie (title withheld to avoid self-incriminationJ) and from the balcony, I could see the screen at a very appeasing angle. After the theater cleared out, I checked out one of the center front row leather reclining love seats for transferability from my chair. Low and behold it was not too difficult of a transfer even without the transfer board. The nice thing about these seats is that the center armrest lifts to become a couple’s loveseat. This opens another option for me to enjoy now. Another venture I took was to look at the bowling alley at the newly opened “The Station”. I was able to lift the ball and lean over adequate enough to launch it down the lane and there’s no problem with me wheeling my chair up to the throw line. Another bennie is that I don’t have to rent shoes! I met an amputee on Thursday during my last physical therapy appointment and she suggested to me to look into Bowling & Archery. Her first suggestion was to go to a firing range and shoot guns but I no longer find that enjoyable. When I was in the Army Special Operations, I would shoot until my fingers bled pointing countless numbers of rounds downrange and I just burned out. I look at a gun now as an extension of the body used for personal protection and nothing more. I received a phone call from the VA in Augusta, GA inviting me for an all expense paid trip to San Diego to participate in the annual summer games but unfortunately they conflict with another trip I have planned. Some of the events that caught my interest both competitive and non-competitive will be Archery, Scuba and Sailing. Speaking of my physical therapy, this week we concentrated on the Frankenstein feet and both Tuesday and Thursday I was able to exceed the previous visit’s distances travelled but it really wore me out. This was a tough physical week for me and every night within minutes I was out like a light. This weekend I really took advantage of not having any travel or anything else on my itinerary and rested. My pain levels have come way down and my leg spasms have been hardly noticeable. One odd thing is that my right leg and foot went numb and I have no idea why. It’s kind of disturbing and I don’t know why but it’s got my full attention. My WW diet program is going much better now that vacation is over and I am no longer exceeding my daily point’s quota. In fact, my appetite has decreased and I even have points left over at the end of the day. My weigh-in on Thursday at the VA clinic by my apartment, showed a weight loss of only one pound but I had to pee afterwards so I gave myself credit for an additional pound. I feel and can see my Buddha belly going down and although the scale didn’t reflect it this time, I think it’s because I came off the blood thinners 2½ weeks ago and my legs are retaining more fluid. This is evident because my legs are swollen by the end of the day and by the morning; I am able to see my ankles. Well, I need to head to the pool so L8R…phillip

“When you don’t feel you have the strength to make it, you borrow some.”

Life is like a train ride, it read. We get on. We ride. We get off. We get back on and ride some more. There are accidents and there are delays. At certain stops there are surprises. Some of these will translate into great moments of joy; some will result in profound sorrow. When we are born and we first board the train, we meet people whom we think will be with us for the entire journey. Those people are our parents! Sadly, this is far from the truth. Our parents are with us for as long as we absolutely need them. They too have journeys they must complete. We live on with the memories of their love, affection, friendship, guidance and their ever presence. There are others who board the train and who eventually become very important to us, in turn. These people are our brothers, sisters, friends and acquaintances, whom we will learn to love, and cherish. Some people consider their journey like a jaunty tour. They will just go merrily along. Others will encounter many upsets, tears, losses on their journey.  Others still, will linger on to offer a helping hand to anyone in need. Some people on the train will leave an everlasting impression when they get off…. Some will get on and get off the train so quickly, they will scarcely leave a sign that they ever travelled along with you or ever crossed your path… We will sometimes be upset that some passengers, whom we love, will choose to sit in another compartment and leave us to travel on our own. Then again, there’s nothing that says we can’t seek them out anyway. Nevertheless, once sought out and found, we may not even be able to sit next to them because that seat will already be taken. That’s okay …everyone’s journey will be filled with hopes, dreams, challenges, setbacks and goodbyes. We must strive to make the best of it… no matter what… We must constantly strive to understand our travel companions and look for the best in everyone.  Remember that at any moment during our journey, any one of our travel companions can have a weak moment and be in need of our help. We too may vacillate or hesitate, even trip… hopefully we can count on someone being there to be supportive and understanding… The bigger mystery of our journey is that we don’t know when our last stop will come. Neither do we know when our travel companions will make their last stop. Not even those sitting in the seat next to us. Personally, I know I’ll be sad to make my final stop…. I’m sure of it! My separation from all those friends and acquaintances I made during the train ride will be painful. Leaving all those I’m close to will be a sad thing. But then again, I’m certain that one day I’ll get to the main station only to meet up with everyone else. They’ll all be carrying their baggage… most of which they didn’t have when they first got on this train. I’ll be glad to see them again. I’ll also be glad to have contributed to their baggage… and to have enriched their lives, just as much as they will have contributed to my baggage and enriched my life. We’re all on this train ride together. Above all, we should all try to strive to make the ride as pleasant and memorable as we can, right up until we each make the final stop and leave the train for the last time.

I dedicate this writing to a very special person who came into my life whose stop came much sooner than I expected.

This is what happens when your daily agenda has a trip to the auto shop for repairs and after an appointment for physical therapy. I raced to get to my service appoint on time to have my passenger seatbelt system repaired after having been informed by the dealer last week that the parts were in. After waiting in the customer lounge for 1 hr 15 min, the service tech came in to tell me they have to reschedule me for another day that when they removed the old seat belt system and gone to the parts department to get the new system, it was nowhere to be found so they had to button everything back up. This was really perturbing to say the least. As I proceeded to my physical therapy appointment, I ate one of my 8-point powerbars to have enough energy to make it through my entire session. Today was Frankenstein shoes day and remarkably I set a new personal record of three times up and back the parallel bars. I left out of there with my tongue dragging and headed off to the gym for a good stretch session and a good session on the Nu-Step leg cycle machine. After reaching 160 calories in 35-minutes, I dismounted and called it a day. As for the rest of vacation, it was wonderful. Friday was spent again down on the beach and this time I didn’t goop as much sun block this time allowing a little more sun to penetrate a few layers deeper of epithelia’s. Later that afternoon, we headed down to Flora-Bama for a musical/comedy show. Flora-Bama got its name because it sits smack dab on the border of both states and the state line actually runs down the middle of the bar. When the Alabama side stops serving drinks at 1:30am, everyone switches to the Florida side to keep partying into the wee hours of the morning. This interesting redneck riviera looks like a shanty town from the street as you drive by but on the inside there’s a totally festive atmosphere that totally rocks. The Jimmy Buffett song Bama Breeze was written about this roadhouse. The house specialty is their own signature drink that has several types of rum mixed with Kalua and is called the “Bushwhacker” and I soon discovered how it came to be called that. They slowly hit you from behind like a freight train and has you ending whacking your way through the bushes on your hands and knees as you try to make your way back home at evening’s end J To top the trip off, I reconnected through facebook with my roommate and stick buddy from flight school. He is now a pilot for the airlines and is doing well. It was great seeing him and reminiscing about or time together at Ft. Rucker, AL in 1987 and all the crazy stuff we did back then. I can’t believe we were allowed to fly some of the Army’s most expensive and sophisticated aircraft in the inventory. I guess we were lucky we never got busted for the many antics we pulled during the week and the slipping out the back door after Friday’s last formation not to be seen or heard from until Sunday evening’s headcount regardless of whatever restriction to barracks we were under. Saturday morning we all head our own separate ways and I think the general consensus was that this was the best family vacation we’ve ever had. I was not really looking forward to the long trip home by myself but it had to get done. Just south of Montgomery, there was a huge traffic stoppage that went on for miles & miles. I called my friend Tom Huff and woke him up to get caught up on stuff when he suggested logging onto the web and vector me around the mess. It worked out great and I was on my way again. The six hour trip ended up taking me eight and I was wiped out by the time I got home. Sunday was spent running errands and resting. The pain level by now was peaking and I needed to get some good rest if I even was to think about trying to make it until Friday. Monday I suffered the illusion of reality that the beach was nothing more than a memory stored in my cerebral lobe somewhere in the gray matter. By Monday afternoon my pain was excruciating but I got to my massage therapist just in the nick of time. I left out of there like a limp noodle and slept like a baby last night. I woke up this morning feeling so much better…Phillip

This is a picture of my friend Mike Clemmons & I

The beach is going great and I’ve been accomplishing lots of new firsts. The other night I climbed seven flights of the parking garage in my chair. It was tough but the best climb I’ve had since leaving the Shepherd Center. Tuesday night was the family photo shooting on the beach and having two separate two year olds was proving the near impossible for the photographer. Our hotel is great and very accommodating. I’ve been resting so well that I haven’t had the need to take pain meds however my legs have begun twitching. I’ve taken the beach wheelchair out to the beach twice and even got into the water. It’s definitely not a one man operation as it’s really difficult to get back onto the beach from the water. Last night we went to play putt putt golf and I was actually doing good but I could not get passed the third hole because of the many stairs remaining on the course so I returned back to the clubhouse and pulled out my iTouch to finish watching my Larry The Cable Guy movie and watch the go carts. If there was a way to get into one of those and have it fitted with hand controls, this could be a really fun hobby. This morning was our deep-sea fishing trip that went from 6am to 1pm. The morning started out with clear skies and humidity so damp you felt like you were in a hot Turkish steam bath. We headed down the road in caravan to Zeke’s Landing to board the party boat for a six hour fish slaughter. The first obstacle was how to get me over the four foot side and onto the boat deck. It was tricky but doable. Once onboard, there was another eight inch lip to negotiate to get into the cabin. It too was tricky but was negotiated. As we proceeded underway, I was positioned center cabin facing port & starboard. As the boat passed the jetty and headed into the open water, the boat began to list and pitch making me wonder already if I was going to tip over onto the floor. I decided to change my positioning to get as close to centerline as I could and faced bow to stern. At the midway point, I felt an IC was needed so I did a U-turn to face the stern and did my first IC underway. Trying to maintain my balance while trying to thread the eye of a needle and keeping my balance is one exercise I’m not sure even the shepherd center could replicate but they gave me the tools to figure it out. After I finished, I quickly realized my wheelie bars had not been turned back around when the boat pitched up sending me toppling backwards. As I hit my brother Daniel’s leg, he quickly turned around and righted my chair before going completely horizontal. I went inside the cabin to facilitate doing my IC but mostly to avoid the overspray caused by the bow breaking the 1-3’ swells. We got to our first site in two hours and proceeded to drop our lines. The fish weren’t too hungry so we went to a new spot about 5-10 minutes away. We started pulling in some red snapper off the bottom but the spot quickly went dead so the captain called out on the boat’s loudspeaker to bring the lines back in. A short repositioning later we were cleared to drop our lines but within minutes, half our side of the boat got all our lines tangled and it took about an hour for the deckhand to undo the mess. There certainly is a disadvantage of having to fish shoulder to shoulder on a crowded vessel. When we were all finally untangled, we started pulling in the groceries. It wasn’t long before the captain called over the loudspeaker to pull the lines in and prepare for the two hour trip back to the marina. Although we got about 1½ hours of actual fishing time, we did pull in some nice keepers making the day’s catch worthy of bragging. The trip back went well as I was able to do better at keeping my balance and doing my weight shifts however I couldn’t lean forward to take the pressure off my back. We arrived back promptly at 1pm and unloaded the boat. This time it was easier for the guys to lift me up and get me over the side and back on the dock because we were in low tide and the dock height was a couple of feet to our advantage. We got our fish cleaned there on the dock by the deckhand and came back to the condo. As I write this, I still feel the pitching and listing of the ocean. Overall it was a great experience as I accomplished some new firsts in this new chapter of my life. A boat with a walk through transom and a little more maneuverability would have been nicer but the combined effort of everyone made it worth repeating again…Phillip

My 17 year old nephew and I arrived here at Ocean Beach, AL yesterday afternoon. We have a great condo that’s fully accessible to me and is really comfortable. The kitchen sink, stove and cabinets are of perfect height and made so I can roll under them. The oven even has a side hinged door. I’ve never seen that before. The wekkend before getting here was great too. On Friday, my brother Daniel and his family stopped over and we had a nice visit. His three year old daughter had so much fun chasing Bob around the apartment and trying to pick him up, we all got a kick out of watching her. The next day after they proceeded on their way to the beach, my nephew Matthew stayed behind. I noticed the shoes he was wearing had the toe section missing out of the right foot that meant they were the same ones he was wearing several months ago when he nearly chopped his entire toe off when his foot slipped under the mower while cutting a hill. I decided to take him to buy some new shoes but little did I know how difficult it would be to find a size 14! After going to 3-4 shoe stores, we finally found a place that specialized in basketball shoes. Mission finally accomplished. As we were leaving, I got a call from friends of mine from Florida arrived early and were waiting for me to get back home to the apartment. When I arrived, there was Kim, her husband Cos, two children, a friend and pet bagle named Possum (half beagle half basset hound). We went out to look at my lot and found the roads had been put in, sidewalks up and lot leveled and ready for the foundation to be poured. Next we all went to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner and had a great time getting caught up. I had met Kim while stationed in Panama in 1996. She helped soldiers with their taxes and we’ve had a special friendship ever since. Her husband Cos is a retired Special Forces Green Beret and now works as a high school history teacher. He is a trip and has some of the funniest stories his transition from a snake eating Green Beret to a high school mentor to confused but impressionable teenagers. Their bagle dog Possom took a keen interest in Bob and would howl at him causing Bob to raise his back and hiss. The funny part is that they were just as frightened at each other as the other. Saturday night we had a massive slumber party and we all had a great time. Well, the drive to the beach yesterday was a long six-hour journey and I was so tired for some reason that it made the drive exponentially that much more difficult. My copiloy whose job was to keep me alert slept himself for about half the trip. Last night we all arrived to include my father and his wife so now the entire Sherwood Family is enjoying a beach vacation together and the first time since I was thirteen. The beach wheelchair was here waiting so I’m going to give it a test drive this afternoon. It has big ole balloon tires to navigate in the sand with. Tonight the photographer arrives to take the family photos. Thursday we are renting a fishing charter to do some deep sea fishing. Gotta go because the crabs that Dad caught in his canal and brought with him are ready and anyone who knows me know I do not miss an opportunity like this…Phillip

My 4^th of July trip went great and my trip out I was fortunate once again to get a seat in 1^st Class the entire way. The flight home was on Continental and this was the first time I’ve flown with them. They had a small aisle chair that made transferring a real challenge. The flight attendant had to move some people around to accommodate me with an aisle seat near the front so I was seated next to the nicest lady who was also returning back to Huntsville. We talked the entire flight home as she was interested in hearing my story. It was a very nice flight back. Last night she and her friend who was on the same flight invited me to Bonefish Grill where we ate a tasty appetizer of ceviché. They both pledged to help me in the outside floral department when my house is finished. United returned with a response to my complaint saying they’d be willing to pay my taxi and hotel stay for the night for my inconvenience. I think it’s time to execute the next step. Yesterday was my first day of Weight Watchers. I have a really pretty weight watching partner with whom we will keep each other on track. For those not familiar, you get a set number of points you can eat each day with different foods each having their own point value. My point daily limit is 38 which takes into effect my height, weight, age, gender and physical activity level. By not exceeding this number, the weight loss is virtually guaranteed until your goal is reached; mine being 200 pounds. Although my Body Max Index says I should weigh between 147-179, this is unrealistic because six years ago when I was working out really hard, I weighed 181 pounds and was at 10.5% body fat and the doctor told me that was too low for me. If I can eventually get to 185 again one day that would be great although maintaining that would be very difficult. Apparently the raw veggies don’t cost any points because of their high fiber and water content however when I eat a bunch and I get that full feeling, it’s not but an hour later my stomach grumbles again as if it caught me playing a joke on it. Sort of the same thing you get after eating Japanese/Chinese food. My Mom is my WW coach for now until the WW company in North Huntsville moves to South Huntsville. I bought the home starter kit to get me going. Last night when I did my end of day skin check, I noticed a giant ugly bruise on my left outer thigh that I have no idea how it got there. Just three more days remain until our family vacation at Orange Beach. I’m looking forward to it and the big wheeled wheelchair I can take down to the water. This has been the first Tuesday and Thursday I’ve been able to work from home and it is so refreshing. That’s it for now. I need to calculate how many points left I have for the day so I can plan my next feeding…Phillip

Last night I drove to Augusta, GA for my appointments at the VA after finishing the contract on my house. It took much longer than I expected to do but I had a mountain of things to ensure was to be addressed. I pulled out of Huntsville at about 4:30pm to begin my near seven hour trip. I got in and to bed about midnight but it wasn’t until about 3:00am until the room was cooled and dehumidified enough to get comfortable. I started out the day by fasting and getting to the hospital at about 9am for my vitals check and draw blood for my labs. My BP was 126/75 which is pretty good since I didn’t have any coffee this morning. I was sent to X-Ray to get some pix of my right shoulder to help assess why I’m having so much pain. On the way, I ran into the local Paralyzed Veterans of America reps and chatted with them for a few. The gal was having her Levo manual standing wheelchair serviced and hers was very heavy and several versions older than the one I’m getting. They told me I am a very rare individual in the VA system to be doing as well as I am both personally and professionally and that I’m very blessed. I am blessed in the fact that I’m a Sherwood! After X-Ray, I went to Physical Therapy and saw Abby and met the folks from Permobile to test the demo chair they brought. We also had the wheelchair SME there to look over the mechanical fitting and adjustments that will need to be made. The chair is very lightweight and is made from magnesium, titanium and carbon fiber. The first time up into the standing position, I drooped over at the hips and couldn’t get myself upright because the chest belt was too low. After we fixed that, I tried a second time and it worked well. It only takes a couple of seconds to stand so I got a little dizzy since I’m not accustomed to getting up so fast like that. This took about 1½ hours to do all the measurements and complete the options forms. One great bit of news the PT told me is that I don’t have to turn in one of my other chairs! They just will no longer provide maintenance service to it. After lunch, I met with the doctor and it was a long afternoon. My cholesterol has come down from 237 in January to now 182 however I need to raise my good cholesterol. The podiatrist came to look at my toe and gave me some ointment and gauze to put on it to help with the drainage but said it looked good. We discussed my onset of osteopenia in my left hip and femoral neck and the medication I need to be on for the next six months. What I didn’t know is that if my condition worsens to become osteoporosis, being in a stander can actually fracture the weakened site.  They will take another DEXA bone scan at my next annual exam in January 2010 to see if increased standing accompanied with the medication helps. I also received a couple Foley catheter kits for long trips. As for my DVT’s in my legs, I can come off the Lovenox blood thinner and observe my legs for any signs of clotting and swelling. If so, I will have to be on thinners the rest of my life. I will be driving back to Huntsville in the morning after a good night’s rest. I will need to come back in six to seven weeks to pickup my chair and finish up on a couple things I couldn’t get done on this trip…Phillip