FORCE IMPROVING, FACES LONG ROAD AHEAD (John Force has moved from the trauma intensive care unit to the neuro intensive care unit. Prayers are most appreciated.)

John Force Racing Website ^ | 06/27/2024 | John Force Racing

[jughandle]

Always liked the guy...dirty drivers suit, excitable post-race interviews, colorful commentary. Didn’t know he’s already 75!

[Chode]

induced?

[mabarker1]

Not sure, I nor MamaBear have seen nothing confirming that or just heavy sedation.

when I read the part about Him trying to get out of bed and having to be strapped down I said to myself “That’s our John Force !”🤪

[mabarker1]

excitable post-race interviews, colorful commentary

I met John in person between Rounds years ago at Ennis, TX (Dallas). We had VIP Access via Motorcraft Regional Representative and got to be inside the barricade of the Force Pit and watch the Crew tearing down and refreshing the car for the next Round. It's a coordinated ballet at high speed. Anyway we were watching the Crew when John came from the trailer and walked right over to our group and started talking with us. I concluded at that moment that He's like that All the time and not just for TV interviews.

One of our group was celebrating his birthday and he and one more person were taken down on Track and stood between the lanes behind the Tree for the Final Round. When they got back to our (very jealous) group they had the biggest smile on their faces. They couldn't decide what was making the air in their lungs being emptied due to the lack of air because the engines were sucking up all of the air in the immediate vicinity or the pressure from the 2 engines exhaust was squeezing it out of them !!! The grins on their faces were still there at work on Monday morning.🤪🤠

Lord have mercy on His Nurses when He (hopefully) gets back to being John Force...

[mabarker1]

The only way I can see John and/or any other Drag Racers in a “assisted living facility” they would have the fastest wheelchairs ever made and they would take over the main corridor complete with a Tree and Timing Lights.🧑‍🦼‍➡️

[logi_cal869]

LOL.

As much as I dislike him personally, there’s a scene in Days of Thunder which is rather apropos.

[Note: I don’t rewatch the movie for ‘him’ ;-)]

[mabarker1]

Drag racer John Force shows improvement with brain injury.

Jul 4, 2024 Updated 10 hrs ago

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — NHRA drag racing great John Force suffered a traumatic brain injury in a fiery, 300 mph crash at the Virginia Nationals a week ago but is showing "daily signs of improvement" in a neurological intensive care unit, according to his team.

John Force Racing said Sunday that the 75-year-old Force initially couldn't follow commands to open his eyes, squeeze the hands of care providers or move his extremities following the crash. After five days of heavy sedation, he began to gain momentum, including being able to respond to commands such as giving a thumbs-up and to recognize family members, calling them by name and saying "I love you."

Force was transferred Wednesday from a trauma ICU to the neurological ICU, where he will remain for the immediate future and still faces "a long and difficult recovery ahead," the team's statement said.

"The biggest challenge has been managing his extreme agitation and confusion, which causes him significant distress," the statement said.

During the first round of Funny Car eliminations on June 23, Force's car had a catastrophic engine failure at the finish line, with the vehicle going across the centerline and slamming into the left concrete guard wall, then careening back across into the right wall.

Force was alert and talking to safety workers immediately after crashing at 302 mph. The Hall of Fame owner and driver was examined at the track by the NHRA medical team before being transported by helicopter to a hospital.

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[logi_cal869]

One tough son-of-a-gun.

[mabarker1]

Yes He is. Prayers for John, The Family and Medical Team. (Especially the Nursing Staff for when He gets feeling better.) They already had to restrain Him because He kept trying to get out bed last week.

That’s when I new John was going to be OK. I’m waiting to hear that He’s asking if He Won the Round !!!

[mabarker1]

FORCE OUT OF INTENSIVE CARE.
CONTINUING TO PROGRESS
Hall of Fame Driver Still Faces Long Road to Recovery
RICHMOND, Va. (July 5, 2024) - Less than two weeks after drag racing champion John Force suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI), among other injuries that included a fractured sternum and a right wrist injury, following an engine explosion that sent his Funny Car into a concrete guard wall at over 300 miles per hour, doctors acknowledged his positive response to treatment. He was moved out of neuro-intensive care and into acute neuro care at the hospital where he was transported by air ambulance on June 23.
The latest upgrade was welcomed by Force family members who have maintained a presence at the hospital since the 16-time NHRA
Champion’s arrival, but medical professionals emphasized once again that the journey ahead will be a long and difficult one.
Although Force is still dealing with cognitive and behavioral symptoms from his TBI, the fact that the Hall of Fame driver can converse with medical staff, family members, and John Force Racing president Robert Hight, who flew in this week, is an encouraging sign. However, there have also been periods of confusion, which doctors say require time and patience to treat.
Also noteworthy was the fact that the 75-year-old grandfather of five has regained his equilibrium to the point that he has been able to start walking with the assistance of medical staff members.
According to family, the next step for the man whose career has spanned six decades likely will be a move to a long-term facility specializing in TBI and associated symptoms. A time frame for that move has not yet been determined.

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[mabarker1]

Update above, good news !

[mabarker1]

Another Update:

John Force’s daughter Brittany shared an encouraging update on the recovery of the legendary race car driver.

Brittany Force posted a picture of her father surrounded by family, accompanied by a positive update on his recovery. Brittany reported that her father is making “some great progress” but will require time in a rehabilitation center.

“Thank you everyone for your ongoing prayers for my dad after his accident in Richmond,” Brittany wrote. “My family and I have seen the outpour of uplifting words and support over the last couple of weeks and we are so appreciative of you all. It truly means so much to us."

She then offered an update on her father's rehab.

“My dad has made some great progress here in Virginia, but he still has a long road ahead," she wrote. "The next step is getting him moved to a rehabilitation center. We are so blessed to be a part of this amazing racing community. Nobody is tougher than my dad, and I know it will be everyone’s support that helps him get through these next steps in his recovery.”

Force was involved in a frightening accident two weeks ago in which his car exploded in a fiery explosion. The 16-time NHRA champion suffered a traumatic brain injury and a fractured sternum as a result of the crash and spent time in the intensive care unit. Previous statements have warned that Force still faces a “long road to recovery” but has been able to walk with assistance and converse with friends and family.

[Chode]

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[Big Red Badger]

Go John!

[jughandle]

Great to see!

[mabarker1]

Yes it is !!!

It’s really amazing that it took this long to get to this level of injury considering that John is the King of Flambé and walked away from them.

[mabarker1]

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: John Force is now in California at Rehab Center.

John Force has left a Virginia hospital to move to a rehabilitation center closer to his home in California and the NHRA great celebrated the news by taking his daughter for ice cream on her birthday.

Brittany Force wrote on social media the stroll outside the hospital — Force appears to be in a wheelchair and has a cast on his right arm — was in celebration of her 38th birthday.

Force suffered a traumatic brain injury in a fiery, 300-mph crash at the Virginia Nationals last month. The 75-year-old was first in neurological intensive care and then moved into acute neuro care at the Virginia hospital. Among his other injuries is a fractured sternum.

Force’s car had a catastrophic engine failure at the finish line and his dragster slammed driver-side into the left concrete guard wall and then careened back into the right wall.

Force spent 15 days at the VCU Medical Center and on Tuesday boarded an AirMed ambulance for the three-hour flight to a neurological rehab center to treat his brain injury.

John Force Racing said in a statement that the 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion is still suffering from cognitive and behavioral symptoms from the TBI, but has been able to converse with family and staff. He’s still prone to periods of confusion, but enjoyed Monday’s birthday celebration with Brittany.

Graham Rahal, the IndyCar driver who is married to Force’s daughter, Courtney, said Tuesday he was watching the Virginia Nationals on television as he prepared for his own race in California. He said Courtney was asleep and he immediately awakened her because “unfortunately I’ve seen a lot of crashes in NHRA. Courtney’s explosion in 2017 and Brittany had hers and John’s had a lot over the last five or so years. But you know, you know when it’s different.”

He said it was an agonizing day in Monterey, California, as Force’s wife, Laurie, was also with them at the IndyCar race and the trio was desperately trying to get any updates possible. Rahal praised the IndyCar medical team for quickly scrambling into action to assist in Force’s care from afar, and once the IndyCar race was over, Rahal called in a favor from NetJets to get Courtney and her mother on a flight to Virginia.

“There were just so many questions to be asked, what was his condition? And it wasn’t until really a day-and-a-half later that we started to get some clarity,” Rahal said. “But you know, this is racing, and as much as I hate to be tone deaf to it — because I am not — these things happen.”

Rahal also added that it took him years to get over the 2015 death of fellow IndyCar driver Justin Wilson, something Rahal said he’s never before discussed publicly.

“He was a very close friend of mine and it took me years to move past the mental side of sitting in a car, particularly at Indianapolis or just a superspeedway, and not have a flash through me,” Rahal said. “And so on that given Sunday with John, it was hard. But you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do and go out there.

“From there, our focus is just get the girls to him as fast as we could.”

In 2007, at age 58, Force was seriously injured in a racing crash in Ennis, Texas. He has continued to race at the highest level and has two wins this season, including his record 157th NHRA victory in New Hampshire.

Force’s daughter, Brittany, is a two-time world champion, while Courtney stepped away from NHRA as she and Rahal started a family. They share two young daughters that Rahal has been caring for while Force was surrounded in the Virginia hospital by his own four daughters and wife.

Rahal is the son of Bobby Rahal, a former Indianapolis 500 winner and three time IndyCar champion.

His He said the Force family will rotate who is with John Force during his recovery as the family continues its respective racing careers.

[Big Red Badger]

Tough old Bird !
Go John !