[thewraith]

As a few of you may know, I work for a government agency that does some pretty "hands on" tasking overseas. I was recently in a pretty bad situation and got banged up pretty bad. The basic gist of it was that I had to relearn how to move my left shoulder and relearn how to control my right leg (along with a few other basic motor functions). I'm at about 95% now with running/working out, but hand/eye coordination has to also be relearned. Enough of the boring details:

After being cleared by the safety crew and in car instructor to do so, I recently went to a track day and as someone who has maybe gone to about 100 track days in the past, felt comfortable trying again for the first time in the GT-R. Boy was I wrong! Although the laps were timed (no cars in my vicinity- if I saw them I'd let them pass), my body just didn't react fast enough. I was at about 35% of where I was previously. The GT-R felt great to me, but my coordination and reaction time has been visibly affected. I'm told it can be relearned, but it's pretty damned disappointing.

Just a heads up, if you see a white GT-R at a track anywhere near VA- please don't laugh too hard when I'm being passed by Mustangs and GTI's. I'll be back, this I promise

 

[SCCAForums]

Glad your back at it, regardless!

 

[[email protected]]

Sorry to hear of your injuries. Glad you are on the road to recovery. I am sure you will be back up to speed in time

 

[DocNrock]

Sorry to hear about the injuries, but it sounds like you're making huge progress. Keep at it!

 

[thewraith]

You guys are great! Thank you for the words of encouragement. I'm going to get back into it slowly, the season is almost coming to an end and so hopefully it won't be so crowded. I refuse to put others safety at risk (although instructors told me there would be no issue). It just sucks that my entire life I played college football, basketball, boxed, and scored very high on my hand-eye coordination training for my job. Now having to relearn how to tell my body to move when you have reacted way before in your mind is quite a task.

Cheers

 

[DocNrock]

If you aren't a gamer, consider getting some computer games like first-person shooters or driving games. Those will be a great and fun way to work on the hand/eye coordination!

 

[jaspergtr]

If you aren't a gamer, consider getting some computer games like first-person shooters or driving games. Those will be a great and fun way to work on the hand/eye coordination!

+1.

I also suffered injuries overseas (neck and lower back were the worst). Video game playing helped a lot. The only drawback was - because I was immobile for a period of time, my left wrist became arthritic, and I cannot play the Playstation for long periods of time. XBOX is a little better (for the controller). I found that the Wii (Wii Sports, etc...) was the best at getting my body to learn to feel again. It is like I had to reprogram my brain... Bizarre feeling, cannot explain to someone who does not understand (I'm sure you also get this).

Little things like opening toothpaste were quite a chore for a while.

The GT-R allowed my recovery to exist in more places than just home. I don't think I would have been able to track many other cars a few years ago.

I wish you well on your recovery, and track those times!!! It's rewarding to one's self to see marked improvement (it was to me).

 

[[email protected]]

If you aren't a gamer, consider getting some computer games like first-person shooters or driving games. Those will be a great and fun way to work on the hand/eye coordination!

You beat me to it....or karting.
As others have mentioned, I hope you make a full recovery with respect to your coordination and things like karting and video games and make a huge improvement in your on-track performance.

 

[Santorican]

As a few of you may know, I work for a government agency that does some pretty "hands on" tasking overseas. I was recently in a pretty bad situation and got banged up pretty bad. The basic gist of it was that I had to relearn how to move my left shoulder and relearn how to control my right leg (along with a few other basic motor functions). I'm at about 95% now with running/working out, but hand/eye coordination has to also be relearned. Enough of the boring details:

After being cleared by the safety crew and in car instructor to do so, I recently went to a track day and as someone who has maybe gone to about 100 track days in the past, felt comfortable trying again for the first time in the GT-R. Boy was I wrong! Although the laps were timed (no cars in my vicinity- if I saw them I'd let them pass), my body just didn't react fast enough. I was at about 35% of where I was previously. The GT-R felt great to me, but my coordination and reaction time has been visibly affected. I'm told it can be relearned, but it's pretty damned disappointing.

Just a heads up, if you see a white GT-R at a track anywhere near VA- please don't laugh too hard when I'm being passed by Mustangs and GTI's. I'll be back, this I promise

I know this sounds crazy but I'd suggest playing a lot of driving simulator games. They help tremendously in rebuilding hand eye coordination.

Edit: should have read the entire thread lol

 

[thewraith]

Thanks for the support/suggestions guys. I am currently doing all kinds of different rehab. This does include simulations and gaming as well as field training.

 

[1 Matt]

Keep at it man!!!

 

[AutoXGTR]

I hope your recovery keeps going well. It takes time.

1+ on video games or karting.

some other ideas for improving general eye hand coordination-
http://www.bodyomics.com/articles/hand_eye_coordination.html

I especially like ping pong.

 

[thewraith]

Thanks everyone, todays h2h pt was HELL. I'm getting back there thou

 

[cynep]

reading between the lines here, just saying "thanks".... and good luck, hope you're back in the saddle in full form in no time... though you may just need to get a custom seat made - to hold your big shiny brass pair.

 

[mistacheese]

^^
Cynep, well said. Agreed from the Great White North!

Cheese

 

[MadeInSweden]

So glad you're back in the game. Never give up - that's the key to success!

 

[drjpwaldo]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY and good luck getting your skills back!!!!

 

[thewraith]

Thanks all! Doing well.

 

[BDASooner]

Good news is you have the fastest color GTR. Good luck with the recovery, and thanks for your work overseas.