Derek Powers

That day began like a typical weekday for Derek Powers. He began his day by enjoying his morning coffee, then jumped on his Harley and hit the road to help a buddy with his tow truck company.

Unfortunately, Derek never made it to his destination.

Derek awoke a week and a half later in a hospital bed, having been in a medically induced coma. While on the freeway, Derek was rear-ended, causing his bike to slide 250 feet. Derek slid another 150 feet on top of that. Unable to even roll over by himself, Derek had sustained fractures to his right hip, left leg, and right arm and multiple compression fractures to his spine. In addition, massive areas of road rash covered his body. As a result of his injuries, Derek underwent extensive back and leg surgeries.

It was a miracle Derek even survived the accident.

Given the significant trauma, Derek understandably had a long road ahead. In need of extensive physical therapy, Derek admitted to San Joaquin Valley Rehabilitation Hospital.

“I couldn’t even roll over on my own when I first got to San Joaquin Valley Rehab,” Derek recalled. “I needed help to do everything. Now I can stand and shower on my own. I can transfer.”

While Derek progressed significantly during his inpatient rehab stay at SJVRH, he still has a way to go. His goal is to be back on a Harley in a year’s time.

“If this ever happened to me again, I would definitely come back. You have an exceptional staff. There are a lot of outstanding people here. I can’t even begin to name everybody, but it’s just an amazing staff. They make you feel like you are family.”