I was always the type of person that lived life on the edge. Since I was young I had a passion for off-roading and one thing I knew was that this life changing accident was not going to take that away from me.
About a year after my accident I got to talking to some old friends and they were asking "how I was doing", "how things are going", you know the normal stuff. I proceeded in the conversation that I was looking for a Jeep to get back out and do what I loved. Well a few weeks went by and I received a phone call from a local garage... The gentalman on the other end of the phone said " Hi Zac, we have a Jeep Wrangler over here for you already paid for" I will never forget that call! I had no idea what was going on, I was speechless to say the least. Later that day I had found out that those few old friends I was talking to a few weeks prior bought me a Jeep and had a lift kit put on it as well. That day changed my life forever, there are some amazing people out in this world.
Now here is where I took the off-roading to a new level.. I had to get hand controls put in the Jeep from a company in Jamestown NY, mind you since my accident all I had drove was my Subaru Impreza. When I had the opportunity to jump up (well not jump) into that Jeep for the first time I completely forgot I was injured... All my worries went away, that feeling was one that I will never forget. After about a month of just driving on roads it was time to hit some trails. A few buddies and I decided to load up and head to Rausch Creek Offroad Park in Pine Grove, PA. I was pretty nervous when we arrived because this was a totally new ball game, I would be driving completely with my hands. If you off-road at all you know how difficult this would be. We hit a few easy trails and I was getting pretty comfortable so we proceeded to the more difficult trails... These trails definitely tested my limits, but I was able to do them! When I am out doing what I love I completely forget about everything, but your going to say "Its soo much work to get up in your Jeep" or "How can you forget about your injury?" Truth is when you are doing something that you absolutely love all your worries go away. Yes, it is a pain in the ass to get up into my Jeep I will never say its easy, but things are so much more rewarding when you work for them.
The moral of this story is if you are scared or nervous to try something new DON'T BE! I have failed so many times at trying things.. For example transferring up into my Jeep... I used to have to be picked up and set into the seat. I was nervous to try to transfer up that high myself, so I took the easy way out for way TO LONG!. Until one day my wife said we are going for a ride and no one is here to pick you up.. so there is only one way to do this. We figured it out.. Created a system that worked.. Never looked back.. TRY SOMETHING NEW, YOU MAY SURPRISE YOURSELF!
Here is how I get up into my Jeep on 37" Tires.
