A parent's worst nightmare. On September 10, 2011, my wife and I went to bed as usual. It was a Saturday night around ten O'clock. Do you know where your children are? Chris, Amanda, and Jenn, were already living on their own, and Jonathon was away at college in Rhode Island. Ben and Zach, were the only two, still living home. Zach had just turned 21, and Ben 14 the month before. They were good kids. Ben's friend Ty was sleeping over, and the boys were all in Ben's room, playing games on the computer. Zach had just bought a pizza for the three of them, and they appeared to be settled in pretty good. I locked the doors, and said goodnight. I told them there was no more leaving the house, as their mother and I were going to bed. Okay dad, they said. We went to bed and soon fell fast asleep. Around 2 am, the phone rang. My wife answered it. It was Tyler's dad. He was camping down by the river, and had received a call from Tyler, that he and Zach had crashed the dirt bike. No said Janet, they are in Ben's room, at least they were. Janet and I scurried to Ben's room. It was empty. I hollered for the boys but got no response. I ran out the back slider door and they were not there either. As we hopped in the car to go search for them, a young kid named Roger, came out from the side of the house. Where are the boys I asked excited? Zach and Tyler are on the dirt bike, and I'm waiting for my turn. They've been gone a while he said. Where is Ben I demanded? I don't know he said. I told him to stay in the house and to keep the boys there, should they return before we got back. Zach was an excellent rider. He was always safe and usually careful. The moon was full, and everything was well lit, except, for where there were a lot of trees that is. Janet and I drove street after street looking for them. We live in a rural area, and there are not that many roads they could have been on. After scouring every road, and not finding them, we were going back to the house to see if they had returned. We rounded the corner to our hill, and there was Ben. He was headed home. Where are Zach and Tyler I screamed at him? I don't know, I was walking my friend home. Friend what friend? I told you guys to stay in the house. Yea, well he just showed up and I told him he had to leave. I walked him halfway. Get in the car Ben, I said frantic.I was hoping the boys got up and shook it off, and were now at home. As we pulled into the driveway, I jumped out and went to the door. Roger was still alone. I got him into the car, and off we went again searching. I was more worried than ever. I knew they must be hurt, or Zach would have come back. Where were they riding I asked Roger. It sounded like they were up behind the country club he said. We headed in that direction. About a half mile up the road, we came to another car and we both slowed down. It was Tyler's dad. Where did he say they crashed I asked him. Ty said River road, said Glen. I told him Janet and I looked all over, and they are not there either. Just then an emergency vehicle approached. He stopped and told us, it just came over the radio, they found them inside the country club, follow me. We followed him and came to a large washed out part of the road. It was twenty feet deep and about thirty feet across. It was washed out by hurricane Irene, and was not yet fixed. It only had saw horses and two by sixes, blocking the immense hole. On the other side, was a fire engine and two ambulances. I jumped from the car and looked down into the huge gully. I saw Tyler laying on a big drain pipe, and Zach was at the bottom. Ben looked too, and got sick to his stomach. He sat down on the ground and put his head in his hands. The medics were working on Zach. I heard him moan as they got the board under him. I heard Ty as he tried to answer the medic. It was a low inaudible whimper. It looked like a war zone. There was steam coming up from the hole. There was water running through the bottom. The bike was just a bent piece of metal. It was a Kawasaki kx 150 power band type. But worst of all, the boys were both in very bad shape. I heard the helicopters flying above us heading for the municipal parking area. It is the only place they could land. It took quite a while to get the boys up out of the hole, and into the ambulances. The wood barrier was broken in half. They had come around the corner fast, broke through the barrier, and slammed into the wall on the other side, head first. We got into the car, and followed the ambulance to the helipad. When the boys were loaded into the choppers, we dropped Roger at his home, and drove the fifty miles to the medical trauma center, as fast as we could. It being the middle of the night, the roads were empty and we made great time. When we entered the emergency room, they would not let us right in. I saw their helmets on the floor. The left side of Zach's was completely crushed in. Ty's was cracked almost in half. End part one. A Parent's Worst Nightmare. Part 2 and 3. After about fifteen minutes, we were allowed to enter the er room. Tyler was on one side of the room and Zach's empty bed was on the other. A long curtain divided the room. Ty was awake but in a lot of pain. Zach was up in x ray having an MRI. When he came back to the er, Tyler went up. Zach couldn't talk. The left side of his face and head was so swollen we didn't recognize him. He was conscious. He responded with his right eye as the other was swollen shut. The doctor came in and told us the results from the x-rays. His left femur had a compound fracture, he shattered his cheek bones, broke his jaw and nose, broke his left hand, and fractured some of his ribs. He was immediately put on a ventilator because the swelling was so sever. When Tyler returned The Doctor told Glen his results. He suffered a broken wrist, a ruptured spleen, and if I remember correctly a punctured lung. Both of them were put in the Intensive Care Unit. There was one unit for adults, and one for children. Ty was only fourteen so he went to the one for kids. We didn't see him again until he was in a regular room about a week later. He was recovering quickly. Zach had some troubles though. He was in the ICU a bit longer. The leg had been repaired the first morning in the hospital, but he needed surgery to repair the facial bones. They couldn't operate until the swelling went down. It took the better part of a week. When the Doctor finally gave the word, Zach headed for surgery. It was a fifteen hour wait. I'm still amazed how the Dr. was able to stand at the operating table for so long. But he did. He rebuilt Zach's facial bones with tiny strips of titanium. His jaw was wired shut, and his eye socket was rebuilt using some kind of Teflon, so the eye could slide around easily. His hand was not caste. For some reason, it just had to heal on it's own. His brain was fine. He stayed in the ICU another four days heavily sedated. The nurses were wonderful. I stayed at the hospital 24/7, until he was released to the rehab center. Tyler had a chest tube draining the blood and fluid buildup inside. He healed fast and was released and sent home. He stopped by often asking about Zach, and to hang with Ben. Zach worked hard in rehab and was out in no time. When he came home, he needed a lot of help for quite a while. The leg had a titanium rod inserted and he was not allowed to put weight on it. He used the crutches as best he could, but the broken left hand din't help. We used the blender to puree all his food. He ate anything we gave him with no complaints. We even did pizza once. In time he got better, though he did limp a bit. At about the ninth month, he was able to go back to work with my brother. He was now twenty two and lost nearly a year of his life. His friends Rachel and Ray, came and visited often. He was back. He worked all week, and on the weekends him and Ray would hang out. They either stayed at our house, or went to Rays and swam in their pool and ride the four wheeler s, and all was going good. On August 4th, just short of one year since the bike accident, Ray and Zach left my house to go to Rays. They had plans on going to dinner at a friends, and then to a beach to swim. I felt at ease when they left, as they were both great young men. They obeyed the law, and were very mellow, never giving us any reason to worry. The first time was a fluke. Kids being kids. It was again a Saturday night. My oldest son Chris slept over because we all planned on going fishing on the river Sunday morning. At 2 am, there was a hard knock on the front door. Sparky began barking and going nuts as he usually did when someone came to the door. I opened it and standing in full dress blue's, were two NJ State Troopers. End part two. One male and one female officer. Can I help you I asked? Are you Mr Wright, Zachary Wright's father? Yes I am I replied. "Sir, we regret to inform you, your son was involved in a multi fatality car accident, and did not survive his injuries". The female officer then handed me a card and said I needed to go to Chilton Hospital and identify his body. In shock I closed the door on them and went up stairs waking everyone up. Zach is dead, Zach is dead, we have to go to the hospital and identify his body. It was all I could manage to say. My wife looked at me sullenly. Chris, Jenn, and Ben, were frozen in disbelief. We all Got dressed and drove to the hospital. This one was forty miles away. All the way there the kids and my wife were praying and hoping it wasn't him. I kept telling them the entire way, that the police had to have Zach's licence and it was him. I needed them to be ready. When we pulled into the parking lot and parked, we got out and stood together and said a prayer. Please God said Jenn Please no. I asked God to give us all peace. With that we entered the hospital through the emergency exit. I told the policeman who we were. I had everyone stay in the waiting room while, I went with the policeman. I didn't know had bad he looked and wanted to spare them that if at all possible. I entered the room. The boy on the bed was Zachs best friend Ray. He was like a son to us also. I held his hand for a second and talked to him for a second. My heart was heavy. I told the cop, that this was Ray, and followed him out the door. He turned toward the waiting room. My son I said to him? The other fatality is a girl, the driver he said, your son must be the boy in Morristown medical in critical condition. We gave the officer and the hospital staff Rays parents contact information, and rushed off to Morristown. When we got there we rushed right in. Zach's eye's were partly open, his hands and legs spread out wide across the bed, and his tongue was hanging out. I thought he was dead. I saw his chest moving and knew he was alive and breathing on his own. A technician followed us into the room. What's happening I asked? He summoned the doctor, and he immediately came into the room. Your son said the Doctor, has a broken neck and a bad contusion on his head. His right femur is shattered in a couple of spots. Is he paralyzed I asked. We don't know, he has not waken up yet. We all talked to Zach and kissed him gently on the forehead. It was like deja vu all over again. Chis was leaving for Florida to be married. His wedding was in five days. I told Chris I was sorry, but I was staying here. You go get married I told him. I told my wife and the rest of the family, that there was nothing they could do here. The best thing they could do was to continue on with their plans and head to Florida also. I would call everyday with the latest updates. We all went home. It was five am. I showered and headed right back to the hospital. The others slept. Or tried to anyway. When I got to the hospital Zach had just gotten to ICU. Again. Some of the nurses knew him, and me all too well. You just missed him said the nurse. What? What do you mean I asked? She informed me that Zach had woken up and responded. He knew his name and even squeezed her hand on command. He also wiggled his toes she said. I stood there crying when she turned off the medication in the IV and called his name loudly. Zachary, Zachary wake up. He made a sound. Someone is here to see you she said. Zach I said, do you know me. Dad, he replied. That's right I said, and don't you give up or go anywhere. We have a ton of wood in the driveway to split and I'm not doing it by myself. Alright he said, and slipped back asleep. I saw the nurse turn the IV back on. They kept him in a medically induced coma for a couple days. Janet and the others came back that night, and the next morning as they left for Florida. They were back in a week and he didn't even know they were gone. His neck was braced with an Aspen Collar. They did not use a halo. The Spinal surgeon said he had shattered the c-1 and c-2 vertebrae of the spine, and he badly tore the ligaments in his neck. His head had a bad contusion on the back. We believe when he was thrown from the jeep, his head hit a tree. Again Zach healed. A little slower than the first time, but he healed. His leg was healed again in eight or ten weeks. The collar was on for six months. I remember in early spring spitting that wood. He helped. He now works with Ben, Chris and I in the carpenters union. Zach misses his dear friend and talks about him often. Chris and Samantha celebrated their 6th anniversary yesterday. Yes, life has many trials. Zach gets the give me grey hair award. I am a lucky old man to still have all my children alive, healthy and together. My heart goes out to all who suffer loss. I lost my kid sister when I was in my twenties. Time does seem to heal and hide the pain, but memories are forever. May you all find peace., Your friend, mike