Andr\u00e9 Greene<\/a> set out on his bicycle to train for the Ironman Austin 70.3 triathlon. A pickup, traveling 60 miles per hour, struck him from behind on an access road between San Marcos and Austin.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn-channels-pixel.ex.co\/events\/0012000001fxZm9AAE?integrationType=DEFAULT&template=design%2Farticle%2Fplatypus_two_column.tpl\")
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He doesn\u2019t remember the crash. He doesn\u2019t remember the sound of screeching tires or pain as his body struck the ditch. He doesn\u2019t remember standing amid smashed bicycle parts, staggering several yards before collapsing into the grass.<\/p>\n
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A 22-year veteran of the Air Force, Vincent T. Davis embarked on a second career as a journalist and found his calling. Observing and listening across San Antonio, he finds intriguing tales to tell about everyday people. He shares his stories with Express-News subscribers every Monday morning.<\/p>\n
Greene learned these facts later from a police report and witnesses who came to his aid. Three minutes after the accident, EMS responders arrived and transported him by helicopter to St. David\u2019s South Austin Medical Center.\u00a0The 25-year-old man who hit Greene called for help and stayed with him. Police considered it an accident and the man wasn’t charged.<\/p>\n
Greene, who was a peak-form triathlete,\u00a0suffered a traumatic brain injury and vocal cord paralysis. His left toe is paralyzed and surgeons had to remove pieces of glass from his legs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was put in a medically induced coma for a month.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Family and friends traveled to be at Greene\u2019s side, praying for the former high school prom king and speech and debate champion.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything seemed like broken pieces,\u201d said Greene, 53. \u201cBut once you put them all together you realize you have a beautiful story to tell.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018It was a miracle’<\/p>\n
Ten years to the day of his life-altering accident, Greene self-published his memoir, \u201cKeep Calm & Live On \u2013 This Wasn\u2019t the Life I Planned For, It\u2019s the One I Fought For.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cI couldn\u2019t keep it to myself,\u201d Greene said. \u201cIt was a miracle meant to be shared.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Speaking about accessibility for those with disabilities has now become his mission. Greene serves on the city of San Antonio’s\u00a0Multimodal Transportation Commission and advises city officials on accessibility standards, inclusive civic planning and infrastructure.<\/p>\n
With help from the nonprofit\u00a0disABILITYsa, he’s been a substitute teacher for the past three years. Greene has a master’s degree in political science from Jacksonville State University and a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Bethune-Cookman University.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His past roles include assistant director of residence life\/marketing and conference services at St. Mary\u2019s University.<\/p>\n
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Before the accident, movement defined his life. He got up before dawn to run, swam against strong currents and rode his bike for miles on open roads. Before the crash, Greene had run several sprint triathlons, 11 half marathons and regularly cycled the 70-mile\u00a0roundtrip from San Marcos to Austin and back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ten years ago, when medics wheeled Greene into the hospital, a miracle awaited \u2013 Dr. Davida Manor, his high school prom date, and her husband had rushed to the emergency room when they heard about the crash.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Manor, an ER physician, became his voice. She was able to explain what was going on to his family members and speak the same language to the doctors about his treatment. “They treated me as someone who took care of his body,” Greene said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After weeks on a ventilator that breathed for him, Greene slowly opened his eyes. His body didn\u2019t respond to his thoughts, and his voice didn\u2019t have a sound. Medical and rehabilitation teams helped Greene with short-term memory and speech therapy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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His initial therapy took place in Austin at Texas\u00a0NeuroRehab. Weeks later, his mother, Eleicia Eva, took him for treatment in Clearwater, Florida, not far from St. Petersburg where his grandmother, Ethel Eva, raised him from middle school to high school. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Eva, a petite woman and a pillar of the neighborhood who often rode her three-wheeled bicycle near the beach, inspired Greene’s love of biking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018You’ve got this, Dre’<\/p>\n
When Greene returned from Florida to San Antonio, Brett and Jessica\u00a0Cortese, friends from St. Mary\u2019s University, became his caregivers. At\u00a0NeuroRestorative, he pushed his body through exercises in the gym where the smell of cleaning supplies and rubber mats filled the room.<\/p>\n
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It took him two months after the accident to walk without aid. It took him three years to ride a bike again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Not being in control of your own time is the biggest theft of a disability for me,” Greene said.<\/p>\n
Social media and technology became lifelines. His Facebook page opened his life to the world. People donated to help pay medical bills. When his confidence flagged, followers sent uplifting messages.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPraying for you,\u00a0Dre.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re still here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got this,\u00a0Dre.\u201d<\/p>\n
The artificial intelligence\u00a0chatbot ChatGPT helped him write about his recovery. A Google voice assistant did tasks such as switching on lights, playing soothing music and helping him cook again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The device helped him overcome his fears and return to cycling. He now rides an\u00a0e-bike, purchased with help from\u00a0disABILITYsa and the city’s sustainability department. A smart communications bicycle helmet broadcasts music and GPS navigation during his rides.<\/p>\n
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Chevelle Freeman, the sister of Greene’s close friend Cynthia Freeman\u00a0Gibbs, gave Greene a virtual reality headset that changed his life. It became part of his healing, allowing him to cybernetically travel the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gibbs said faith kept Greene going during the tough times<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has this determined spirit as a competitor,\u201d Gibbs said. \u201cHe knew nothing, his brain was completely empty. He\u2019s smarter than before the accident.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘I felt seen’<\/p>\n
Greene credited\u00a0Gibbs and her husband, J. Maurice Gibbs, for helping him rediscover\u00a0his faith. On Sundays, he\u2019d accompany them to Resurrection Church in\u00a0Schertz, having heartfelt conversations during the drive.<\/p>\n
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In his book, Greene recounts how he was moved during a service when the pastor\u2019s sermon focused on dreams. Greene said he had been writing about how he never seemed to dream \u2014 or if he did, he couldn’t remember them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the pastor spoke, tears began to fall from Greene’s eyes.<\/p>\n
“It felt as though God was speaking directly to me through him,” Greene said. “It was a reminder of something I thought I had lost. And for the first time, I felt seen in a\u00a0struggle I had never fully shared with the world.”<\/p>\n
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