Life to the Max Podcast

"Paralyzed From a Drive-By" Ft Leo

• QuadFather & Erratic • Season 2 • Episode 3

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 1:01:28

Leo bravely recounts his harrowing encounter with violence, getting shot four times in the backseat of a car, on his way home from a party, an incident that left him paralyzed.

As we move through this raw and unfiltered story, you'll hear Leo candidly discuss the aftermath of his shooting and the life-changing paralysis it caused. From confronting daily physical challenges to coping with PTSD and negotiating an able-bodied world, Leo's resilience is nothing short of inspirational. Yet, his story doesn't stop at survival. Leo and the QuadFather delve into aspects often overlooked when discussing paralysis - the daily routines, relationships, and intimacy, shedding light on his experiences with medical devices and treatments that aid him in navigating his disability.

In this riveting episode, Leo's story transcends from a survivor's tale to an embodiment of strength and hope. He shares his journey to sobriety, sparked by his accident that forced him to grapple with his addiction. His insights and wisdom, whether you're battling addiction or adjusting to life with a disability, will offer a fresh perspective on resilience. Tune in as Leo unravels his story, bearing testament to the human spirit's indomitable will to survive, adapt, and ultimately, inspire.

Speaker 1

You hit that, though. Except me and Max in the cut, we don't give to shit and we don't give a fuck. It's what we do, and shit to prove.

Speaker 3

We live in life, live in life to the max, living life to the max, just like my bad girls. Just like my bad girls.

Speaker 2

Alright, alright world. We are back On life to the max. We got Elias pulling up the good agua. I almost say this say what you're drinking.

Speaker 4

Salud. This is agua mineral.

Speaker 1

All right, all right.

Speaker 4

That's just spring water.

Speaker 2

If y'all didn't notice, this is Elias. Usually he got the guitar with him. Shredding that shit, he came rolling in with a special guest, his cousin Leo.

Speaker 3

What's that? Called he the first man?

Speaker 2

on the show with a fro Uh oh, and last but definitely not least, it's the quad father. If y'all ain't noticed something different about the quad father, he ain't got no motherfucking headrest. He out here free heading it. That's not even. I'm not even gonna say that ever.

Speaker 1

He's always paused.

Speaker 2

He's free head, not gonna say that ever. He's free doing something Leo came in unannounced, To our surprise. But that's the beauty of the show Everybody and anybody's invited to tell their story and share their story. Unannounced but I brought presents.

Speaker 1

You brought presents with open arms. I got some goodies.

Speaker 2

Right after the intro we gonna dive into his interview, max.

Speaker 3

Paralyzed from neck to neck, breathing through a machine, but that does stop me from following my dreams and doing what I love to do. I don't got any excuse in, neither should you. Let's get into this.

Speaker 2

Every time you say it, it gives me chills, man.

Speaker 1

Chills. It kind of stopped me a little bit Kind of stopped me a little bit. Come on with it, man. You gonna keep a reel up in this right A reel.

Speaker 2

So I gotta ask the first question, Leo, since I just met you how did you end up in the wheelchair?

Speaker 1

Man, long story short. I was shot four times in my back. You was shot, yes.

Speaker 2

Were you running away I was.

Speaker 1

I was actually trying to get home from a party, from a birthday party, so I got hit by it in the drive, by shit. All right, that's basically a long story short. I was trying to get, we were at a party and my friend's birthday party, and we left at three in the morning and I was there. We were in the west side of Chicago.

Speaker 2

Yo, the people want to hear the long story.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 4

We're here for the long story People want to hear the long story.

Speaker 1

Let me explain Time to light that joint Let me explain something to you, okay, what's? Good.

Speaker 3

You can hit someone's life Like that I can't snap my fingers. You can literally hit someone's life like that.

Speaker 2

I believe when you say hit someone's life, you mean like influence.

Speaker 1

Oh, you mean like right now? Yes, like with my story.

Speaker 3

Yes, so there are maybe a thousand, I don't know. There are a lot of people listening to our podcast, so it helps a lot All right, I'm going to keep it real.

Speaker 1

It's kind of hard to talk about because I didn't really talk about it in therapy. I'm just going to go through it the way I'm going to go through it.

Speaker 2

You like to keep it natural. Yeah, you ain't going to force nothing.

Speaker 3

No.

Speaker 1

All right, I don't know how did I start from the beginning? The night started, we were supposed to go to a Wu-Tang concert. We went to a Wu-Tang concert right, it was two artists that were performing. They canceled one of the artists and they asked us do you want to refund or do you want to see the artist that's going to perform? So everybody decided they want to refund. So I'm like, all right, we're going to get a refund.

Speaker 2

Am I being in that situation going?

Speaker 1

Yeah. So everybody, you know what I'm saying. They decided we're going to get a refund, what we want to do. My guy's girlfriend is like oh, we want to go to Mojie's house, right, mojie's my dad's friend, I mean my dad's my friend's dad. So we're like, let's go to Mojie's house. He's like let's go to Mojie's house. I'm thinking damn, mojie's house again. I want to go over there. Man, all we do is get fucked up there and get drunk. You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2

Whatever, so you already had the bad feeling.

Speaker 1

Man, I didn't want to go over there because we were doing that every weekend, every weekend. And I'm like man, I do my drugs, they do their drugs and I'm not really happy and shit, I didn't want to do that. We won anyways. So, whatever, and mind you, too, I got an addiction. You know what I'm saying. I got a history with addiction. That's another story. The long story with that is we were at the party, right? I already know the West Side, whatever. I know where we at.

Speaker 1

I'm going around looking for drugs, me and my friend. You know what I'm saying. It's his dad's house. We used to live in the basement. Whatever, I'm going around, I'm looking for what I'm looking for. We don't find it. The crazy thing about it is that his girlfriend's like come on, stop walking around. I'm getting mad because I know this name, man, whatever, you know what I'm saying. She's like stop walking around. And shit, people are out all the way. You don't get shot. Like man, whatever, man, I'm good at doing this. Man, we go long story short. Man, man, I keep saying that. But anyways, we're inside the house and I'm already high. I never give my drugs, but I'm high, right, I'm already intoxicated. My friend. He decides to go in the bathroom and do his drugs, so we end up leaving late. His girlfriend's bitching at him and said let's go, let's go. I'm like man, whatever Late, like three in the morning, man I don't even remember, it was like two, three in the morning. I like to tell you I was on the couch.

Speaker 1

I was kind of passed out. The birthday boy wanted to keep going the night was over with. So we leave, we take the birthday boy with us because he wanted to keep going, like nah, you coming with us. So we leave and I tell my guy go, hey, tony, don't let her drive, just like that, flat out and from everybody. Man, you don't say loud. I go, hey, man, don't let her drive. Ralph, tony, man, she hears me. I'm like man fucking whatever, let's get in this motherfucker.

Speaker 1

We going, we get in the car. So who's driving? Man, she's driving. You know what I'm saying, because my guy don't want to drive and he likes doing this shit. You know what I'm saying. But whatever, you know what I'm saying he fucking lets her drive. So I'm like Jacob, you know what I'm saying. That's the birthday boy. He gets in the seat, you know what I'm saying. He gets in the passenger seat. We're in the back. My guy gets in the front. He passes out. Jacob passes out. I'm like, fucking, I'm going to follow suit. You know what I'm saying. We're going to go home and the funny thing about it is like, man, we're going to go home. I got a bag of drugs. You know what I'm saying At home, let's go. So I pass out. I'm not enough.

Speaker 1

I wake up because the car wakes me up. You know what I'm saying. She's driving all erratically and I wake up. She's like I don't know what's going on. She's like, you see, that's why I didn't want to leave all late. Oh, what the fuck? They're chasing us. They got guns, they got guns and I don't know what the fuck was going on.

Speaker 1

So I get up, man, because she's moving the car. The car is swerving. I'm like man, she's going to flip us over. You know what I'm saying. I already got into an accident. You know what I'm thinking. I go, I already got into an accident before and this Honda, I totaled the Honda. I went to the hospital because I fractured over here and they told me if it would have been closer you would have been paralyzed. So I'm thinking, bro, this bitch is going to flip us over. Whoever is chasing us, they're going to catch us. If she flips us over, they're going to light us up. So I don't know what the fuck is going on. So I'm like Janice, chill, stop, stop, they ain't nobody chasing us, stop.

Speaker 1

I look back. We're at the stop sign. I look back, man, I was dead wrong. Man, I was dead ass wrong. I look back Jacob goes, a car, I heard him say a car. I go, what I look? And sure enough, man, they just pulled up my fucking car. What I remember was an old-smobile I work on cars too, so it looked like a white old-smobile, bravado, whatever, I'm not sure. But that man they pulled up and there's two guns hanging out the back seat. There's two fucking hands like that. I just look at it like that man, they just opened fire. That simple, they opened fire. I remember.

Speaker 3

So you were in the car man, we were in the car when it got shot. Yeah, I was in the car.

Speaker 1

They pulled it right next to us.

Speaker 2

So did you get hit right away, or did you duck and hear some shots, man? No, I got hit right away.

Speaker 1

I got hit right away, as soon as they opened fire. I remember the first one got hit. I got hit in the arm and it was like a thump.

Speaker 3

It felt like a thump. It was like side to side, what the car?

Speaker 1

Yeah, they pulled up right in the turning lane. We were at the parking, we were at the light and I don't know.

Speaker 2

You said the first one hit your arm. And then what?

Speaker 1

Man, yeah, the first one came and hit my arm and I remember inside I was like no, and I remember the first one hit my arm and then I was like no man, the first one hit my arm and then I just remember another one hitting my back and I remember another thump. Is that thump? And I heard, I guess, my spinal cord snap. That's what it felt like. As soon as that happened, I felt that my legs going numb. It was just right away, man. I knew right away. I was paralyzed. Then nobody had to tell me nothing. The doctors didn't tell you. They had to tell me nothing. I knew right away. I didn't want to say nothing.

Speaker 2

So before I ask you to continue the story after you got hit and how things happened since then, I want to ask you about that fighter flight feeling as soon as those shots started going off. What was your first thoughts in that situation?

Speaker 1

Man, my first. Look, that was it, my first man. I told my friend too. I said no, and then I turned to him Check this out. I ended up turning to him and in my head I go I'll die for you. Man. I told him I'll die for you and shit, because prior to that we were talking about it had to come up because this is my long. I've known this guy since I was 13. It had to come up before that. His cousin was like for real, you guys would die for each other. And my thing is like, man, I'll prove it. You know what I'm saying. I don't like to talk about that shit.

Violent 90s Chicago Shooting Experience

Speaker 2

You know what I'm saying. So in that moment that you thought, about that man in that moment.

Speaker 1

I just try to remember man, because I also remember jerking. You know what I'm saying. I'm like, damn, I got hit more than I go. It was more than once in my head. I'm like I turned around, I go, it's more than once I go. They're raining on us Like the raining bullets. It won't stop. Then I turn and I remember. I say I'll die for you and I didn't want to say nothing. I didn't want to say anything because I knew I was paralyzed. I knew if I were to say nothing they'd panic. But after it was over, my friend turned around. He's like anybody hit. I didn't really want to say nothing, I go damn.

Speaker 1

I'm leaking, I go, I'm leaking Tony, I'm leaking bad, and yeah, man, they take off and shit. I don't really want to talk about that, but she took off. You know what I'm saying and yeah, it was kind of fucked up. They're right over there.

Speaker 2

So were you the only one that got hit.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 2

And after they sprayed up the car they pulled off and then it was right to the hospital man after they sprayed the car.

Speaker 1

I don't know what happened. All I know is she took off. She took off.

Speaker 4

They never found them. They never found them, no.

Speaker 3

It's like a different type of.

Speaker 1

No, I don't even got a question about that shit. Cops never questioned me. I got interrogated while I was laying down Damn, you're dying. You know what I'm saying? They're like man. What happened?

Speaker 3

Don't lie to us, because they probably thought you had a.

Speaker 4

We're not the police.

Speaker 1

Look, man, I'm going to tell you right now, man, I'm 41. I keep saying that shit, man. You know what I'm saying. But that's just because I was born and raised in Chicago. You know what I'm saying. The 90s, that's some 90s shit, right there. You know, what I'm saying, that's some 90s shit right there.

Speaker 4

That's some.

Speaker 1

People don't like for me to say that shit, but it hurts you to fucking hear it. It hurts me to live through that shit. You know what I'm saying? That's some 90s shit In the 90s, whatever the cops didn't give a fuck.

Speaker 3

I mean explain the 90s man hold it.

An Accident and Its Consequences

Speaker 1

Yeah, the 90s man. They didn't give a fuck. The cops didn't give a fuck. You know what I'm saying? Whatever, it's complicated man. Look, when I was shot, they wanted basically Because the cops were supposed to be out they didn't do shit, they wanted to be. That they were killing each other is what they wanted to hear. They wanted to hear that I was gangbanging, that the cops came up to me. Ain't shit. Nothing like that man, I can't even tell you.

Speaker 2

So you're 41 now. How old were you at the time?

Speaker 1

Man, I was 37.

Speaker 2

Oh so this wasn't that long ago. Oh, you're a car.

Speaker 1

Yeah, you know what I'm saying. So the fucked up thing about it is that I'm laying there and they're like what happened? We're not the police, you don't have to lie to us. I'm sitting there like I don't know. My people came to the house but I'm like why? Why? I kept asking why what the fuck happened? Man, you know what I'm saying. But the police, it's fucked up because I see the police behind the partition. There was a little partition and I could see the police sitting there and he's waiting to hear what he wants to hear. He's basically wants the Spicks and Niggers to be killing each other, because this happened in the west side of Chicago. You know what I'm saying. There was plenty of cameras.

Speaker 3

I mean they're trying to clean it up to make it like a Starbucks and like nice condos.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 3

I mean, yeah, they're probably trying to let you see what happens with Chicago, chicago's corruption city.

Speaker 1

man with a K With a K yeah. With a K man. That's all I say, and that's corruption, seeing it goes to the highest bidder. That's just how it goes, man. That's how it is. That's how Chicago works.

Speaker 3

Because the west side wasn't seven years ago, but it's starting to clean up, like it's not as bad as it was.

Speaker 1

I've been fucking with the west side for 16 years. If you was fucking with me on the west side, you're going to hear it. You know what I'm saying. If you can't get that shit through your head, I'm going to tell you how naughty by nature said it, man. You know what I'm saying. If you've never been to the ghetto, don't ever go to the ghetto. You know what I'm saying, because you ain't going to understand the ghetto. So stay the fuck out the ghetto. I fucking that shit would go through my head all the time and I didn't grow up in the ghetto. I'd be sitting there like man. How the fuck I learned all this shit? By fucking around. I'm telling you right now when I was doing what I was doing, man, I never got shot, but the moment it's fucked up. Man, you know what I'm saying. But then I don't know. I was just trying to get home from a party, you know.

Speaker 2

Like it happened anytime waking up from a nap or while napping.

Speaker 1

I got a history, but that don't mean I shouldn't fucking be in a wheelchair. You should have been out patrolling but they weren't, and that's pretty much it. I got shot. Trying to come home from a party I got shot four times.

Speaker 3

But once they were after in the hospital, did you man?

Speaker 1

it sucked when I got into the hospital, my friend was. He was going to take me out of the car, but as soon as he took me out of the car, my arm bent back and I started screaming. So I grabbed and he said you want me to grab somebody? You want me to grab somebody? I go, yeah, get somebody. The security guard came, he put me on a wheelchair and I kept telling him I go, I can't hold myself up, I'm a fool. I'm a fool, I can't hold myself up. I didn't know how bad it was, man, they started cutting all my stuff off. They started cutting my clothes off. They're asking for permission. I'm like man, cut it, cut it. I'm screaming man. I'm like Jesus Christ.

Speaker 3

What the fuck, jesus, we're talking about paramedics Ambulance yeah, when I was at the hospital. Every one of you are at the hospital.

Speaker 1

Because they don't know what. They got to check everything. You know what I'm saying I'm bleeding. They got to see how many shots I were. They got to see the damage. But I remember the nurse. She grabbed my arm Because now I'm screaming my arm was hurting. I remember her grabbing my arm and putting the bone together. She put the bone together. Oh, I was like I was thinking. I was like, oh, please, don't let go, please don't let go, man, because it was hurting man. But I felt her grab the bone. She put the bone together and then she passed because she was quarterbacking the whole thing. So she grabs my arm and she passes it to the nurse next to me. And then she, he was grabbing it, but I guess he grabbed it too soft and she goes. No, she pressed his arm and he again pressed my arm. He put it back together and I'm like, oh, please, don't let go, please don't let go, man. I'm telling you, man, I was screaming, that I was just. I went from screaming to crying.

Speaker 2

When you got to the hospital, was anybody with you in the waiting room?

Speaker 1

Man, my, my friend's father was there, mo Jane, I think.

Speaker 1

It was there Like a month. I kept asking him why, why? And he didn't know what happened, man. But yeah, my sister ended up there because it was Mo Jane, and then my friend's cousin, tangi. She was like do you want to call anybody? And I forgot who I called. I called them, my sister and my brother. But my sister showed up and she was kind of arguing with Mojang because she didn't know who he was and they thought he was my dad or whatever. But he was the first one there. So they were telling him that and my sister was like no, I'm his sister, that's it. Man, I was just laying there. They got me, I guess, stable, as much as they could get me, because they didn't have a trauma section there, which was kind of fucked up because in the meantime that's when they were interrogating me and I didn't know I had my lung had got shot too, so my lung was filling up with blood too at the time.

Speaker 3

Dang.

Speaker 1

That was kind of fucked up. And they were taking their time. They didn't give a fuck. They had to wait for another ambulance to take me to another hospital where they had the trauma unit and whatever the fuck.

Speaker 2

And it took you a long time.

Speaker 1

They were waiting for their Where'd you go Northwestern. I forgot. I think it was Northwestern, so I forgot what hospital it was.

Speaker 3

Were you like in the city.

Speaker 1

Oh yeah, it was a nice hospital.

Speaker 3

Yeah, it was a nice hospital.

Speaker 1

Northwestern Rush Layla, no I think it was Northwestern, northwestern, yeah yeah, nice One of those.

Speaker 3

Then, when the doctor came in and told you you were paralyzed, how did you feel?

Speaker 1

Man, I don't remember them telling me I was paralyzed, really.

Speaker 2

I mean, you said you already knew right, so you forgot to ask yeah, I didn't even.

Speaker 3

I didn't ever ask, I never asked, so let me tell you a little about me yeah. It's good, so you asked right before the podcast.

Speaker 4

Yeah.

Speaker 3

I was like what happened to you? What do you think happened to you? You probably think I got shot Actually yeah.

Speaker 3

Yeah, no, I didn't get shot, I was doing everything right. It's kind of like you you were going home, you didn't want to go to Mojito's house, you wanted to go home do your drugs. That's fine. I was doing everything right. I was in the military. I was getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan. It was my birthday, it was the week of my birthday. At the end of the week I was able to go home for four days, because you get something called a four day pass, right. So I go home with a friend of mine, our soldier.

Speaker 3

I remember saying can I drive last. Then I was like no, I'll fuck that, I want to wake up to my hometown. It was okay, fine. So I drove half way. I drove half way and then we switched seats. I leaned the seat back and I'm like all right, wake me up when we get to Chicago. Three days later, I wake up to this bright white room with just doctors all around me and family around me. I can't talk, I can't move, I can't feel, I can't breathe. That's how it hit me.

Speaker 1

Damn. Three days later, you woke up. Three days later.

Speaker 3

I was in a coma.

Speaker 2

Damn what you saying. He skipped the part where he got into a car accident because the driver also fell asleep.

Speaker 3

Oh shit yeah fine.

Speaker 4

The driver also fell asleep. I thought it was a slumber party. He was getting there. He was getting there, damn it.

Speaker 3

No, I told him. I told him the story. He fell asleep and flipped the car and that's like literally what happened the roof collapsed on Maxwell. The roof collapsed and I was sleeping. And the doctor said if I didn't have my seat down, they would have been like you, would have been decapitated you know, but now I'm dealing with this. I'm 20 years old. Right, I just turned 20. March 21 was my birthday. March 24 was the accident. This was in 2016.

Speaker 1

Yeah, man, you don't feel sometimes that you got decapitated, Of course, Like, in a way, Because I'm going to keep it real? I'm going to keep it real. When I got shot, I knew it was bad man. I kept telling myself one thing that I told myself I was like, if I go numb, I'm going to go with it, I'm just going to go to sleep. Whatever happens happens. I know they're going to take care. I know they're not going to leave me on the street and let me die on the street. You know what I'm saying. You were just going to give it to us. No, I was going to give in If I was going to go. Man, I kind of didn't want to live like this.

Speaker 3

So I kind of had a really, really eerie and shadowy kind of like in the accident. I woke up in the accident just for a little bit, Like literally probably like a minute, and all I saw were just fluttering lights which are red and white, having red and blue lights, sirens. That's all I saw and all I was doing was this.

Speaker 1

You couldn't talk.

Speaker 3

Because I couldn't talk, I couldn't breathe, I didn't even know what to do. My body was in shock. I couldn't move. I was trying to move. You know what? I couldn't. I went to sleep and I actually was pronounced dead. I saw the white light and I've asked a few people if they've seen the white light and they haven't.

Speaker 1

I ain't seen no, that shit. I ain't seen no white light.

Speaker 2

Both of you guys, I mean Max, stayed asleep, but you went to sleep and just woke up to the chaos.

Speaker 4

You know what I'm saying, so it's crazy that you know she hit the fan after taking a nap.

Speaker 2

But, yo, I got a question for both of you guys and I want Leo to answer it first and Max to answer it second. You've been in the wheelchair for four years, right? Yeah, max has been in yours for seven.

Speaker 3

Almost eight yeah.

Advice for Dealing With Paralysis

Speaker 2

Almost eight. So if you guys were to go back in time and give yourself advice right when that freshly happened, what would you say to yourself Before that?

Speaker 1

happened.

Speaker 2

When it freshly happened, you laying in the hospital bed, paralyzed. I already know what would you say to yourself, leo.

Speaker 1

Shit. I don't even know If it would freshly happened now.

Speaker 2

Knowing what I know now. Yeah, knowing what you know now. If you went back in time and seen yourself in the hospital bed.

Speaker 1

You could have asked me that shit man, you're better off dead now.

Speaker 4

Are you asking me that now?

Speaker 1

That's what I'm trying to ask, bro. I'm still not there.

Speaker 3

I can't man when that guy shot, I was ready to fucking die, bro.

Speaker 1

That's why he kind of said man, I'll die for you. Oh man, if you ask me that, I'd be like man, you're better off dead. And shit.

Speaker 4

Oh, this shit sucks man. What would you say, max?

Speaker 3

Since I wasn't getting shot at, I think, at the gas station when I first was about to drive, like when we first left the base, I would have drove first. That's what I would have done. I would have said like you know what, actually I'll drive first and then you can no.

Speaker 2

I'm not saying go back in time right before the accident.

Speaker 1

No, yeah, I know what you're talking about.

Speaker 2

That's the hardest. I'm saying go back in time as soon as you feel the news of the weight on your shoulders, like this isn't real. You know like I'm paralyzed, what you know like going back to that Max when they told you you're paralyzed.

Speaker 4

What would you tell that person?

Speaker 3

Yeah, it's going to be a long, long, long fucking road.

Speaker 4

It's going to be a long road.

Speaker 3

You're going to be dealing with endless nights of sleep. You're going to be dealing with endless depression. You're going to be dealing with so many things. You're going to be dealing with stuff that doesn't even like partake with your disability. You're going to be dealing with mental shit.

Speaker 1

You're going to be dealing with emotional shit You're going to be dealing with relationships.

Speaker 3

You're going to be dealing with deception. You're going to everything. You're going to be like. You're going to be a target. But, just make the best of it. I mean, that's what I would tell myself. I'm going to say you're going to go through a lot of stuff. You're not going to be able to talk for like a month, 15 days. You know You're going to your girlfriend's going to fucking leave you. Oh man that's shit.

Speaker 4

I was fucking my nurse's shit.

Speaker 1

I miss that man. I'm going to keep it real.

Speaker 3

I was dating my nurse man, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1

She was sitting on my face and everything. She sat on my shit, but I couldn't feel her. So I'm like man, I like eating pussy. So she ended up being on some bullshit too. She ended up being on some bullshit too, but I'm grateful for that because I learned from that. You know what I'm saying. I want to talk about your nurses.

Speaker 2

My nurse I wasn't fucking her but it's kind of it's not like you.

Speaker 3

Okay, cause I was still really really fragile at the time, like if anyone like touched me, I think they could break a bone or something. So I was dating a nurse. I'm not concerned, I mean, but let's call her Stacy or something. You know, I was dating her and I would go through these like. Ptsd. I'd go through the PTSD and she was a night nurse and she would always stay by my side and like you know, like rub my hair and like kiss me and stuff like that, and that always that always helped me forget about you.

Speaker 3

Know the accident and shout out to Stacy. And she's watching and it helped me out too.

Speaker 1

You know what I'm saying, and it was.

Speaker 3

it was looking a month or two after my girlfriend broke up with me, a girl that I thought I was going to marry, so it was um broke your heart Shit.

Speaker 1

Hey, that's shit. She got fired.

Speaker 3

She got fired and I'm bogus because I stopped talking to her and I stopped. I started talking to someone else. I don't talk to my exes and I'm paralyzed from the back down, and I, I'm just like you know what. Actually I'm going to go with someone else. You know, you know what?

Speaker 1

Yeah, man, I don't feel bad and I don't talk to none of my exes because I got my heart broken plenty soon.

Speaker 3

I just move on. So when you were at the hospital, did you go out of visitors?

Speaker 1

Oh man, I hated that man, oh man.

Speaker 2

When I, when I first got, shot.

Speaker 3

Some fucking person okay.

Speaker 1

Visitation no, yeah, you get that. They come and visit you the way you started the whole year you hated visitation. Yeah, I did, because when I first got shot it was hard to hear everybody Like. It took a lot out of me. You know what I'm saying Everybody coming in and out, everybody talking to you Like you're going to get through this.

Speaker 3

It's going to be great. I just just have faith. And listen to that Like you're going to be good. And then on social media. All the people are probably blowing you up.

Speaker 1

See what people don't understand is it takes energy to listen to people. You know what I'm saying. Like it's exhausting. It's like I talk a lot. You know what I'm saying, I'll exhaust you. So imagine you ain't got energy. I ain't got energy.

Challenges and Gratitude in Paralysis

Speaker 1

I like in my head, I'm like, oh, my god, I'm trying to get through, I'm trying to you know what I'm saying Like I wanted somebody to lift me up. I was in pain, my back felt like I had a hole in there and it was burning. So I had to get through all that. And then people you know what I'm saying they kept talking and my mom was like oh, the people in the church, they didn't want to say this, they didn't want to say that. And I kept telling my sister. I said that's it, man. Tell mom, no, no, I had my. My god sister came and she was like oh, you know, we think about you and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. She was saying, and I know what she was trying to tell me. But in back of my mind I just man, I just want to tell her man to shut the fuck up and leave. Just leave, everybody leave.

Speaker 3

Yeah, it just not that that was different for me. Sometimes I was like that, but sometimes I was like I want to, like you know, talk to these people, but you know her was not talking for 15 days to someone like not like just asking to scratch your head and you have to like like try to explain it for like five minutes. So, you should be grateful that you were able to talk, my friend see he could tell me that anybody else I'm not fucking you should be super grateful you were able to talk Because the power from the quad father.

Speaker 1

No, yeah, because I like the talk you should be super grateful.

Speaker 3

in the position, You're my friend because I was and even though I wasn't talking to people, I was bitching at them Because that's you could have been like me, I mean that, if that bullet decided to go up instead of stay where it was at, you know.

Speaker 2

I could have got hit in the head.

Speaker 3

You could not even head. You could have just been paralyzed, like me. You know, you could all you. All I can move is my neck, my friend, it's it.

Speaker 1

I like my neck, it's good thing I'm not like you, then I'm not saying no.

Speaker 3

It's not to say that man, it's a and I'm not trying to like compare, I'm just no, no, I feel it's a harsh reality.

Speaker 1

man, we got a harsh reality.

Speaker 3

What I'm trying to say is, like I know you, you probably got a lot of problems like outside, right, but being very fully, you can go outside and you can take a nice breath, fresh air. Yeah, I mean, because that's one thing I missed terribly is breathing, and I can't, you know, but you can and you're paraplegic, right, that's what your Asia test, uh, america American spinal cord injury association, your Asia test, your Lumbar?

Speaker 1

a T for so the rest. I'm a Cuban, so your T for, so I'm a C one.

Speaker 3

That's the end man. Usually C ones don't live. They die in the car accident or at the hospital. I didn't die, but I'll tell you one thing. I go through fucking hell every single day. But I have pain in my throat. I have nerve pain, it's like it's called fiber melasia.

Speaker 1

What on your throat? Yeah, the nerve pain. I get a lot of nerve pain on my back, but so, let me, let me, let me finish right.

Speaker 3

So. So I mean, like when you, you were probably like you know, let's, let's say you when you first got paralyzed, you're like this sucks, I hate my life, I want to die, right, that's probably what happened, if I correct, that's how I was, to same way you know, it's like fuck this, like I can't do anything, I just lost my girl.

Speaker 3

Like I literally couldn't do anything. Bro, I was in a hospital I lived in. I lived at rehabilitation in Steve, chicago for a year A year in the hospital. How long were you in the hospital?

Speaker 1

Out of year.

Speaker 3

And you know about those girls are coming. You have to take your vitals and all that stuff.

Speaker 2

Yeah, let me answer your question.

Speaker 1

No, I was in a hospital for another year though, but uh, should I even tell you what are you? A month maybe?

Speaker 3

A month?

Speaker 1

Yeah, probably.

Speaker 3

I would have died for that, so be grateful for that. Okay now.

Speaker 1

I can't, I don't even know, I can't.

Speaker 3

You're right, like no one can say it other than me.

Speaker 2

Like Swamisek, full advantage to drill your ass right now.

Speaker 3

It's not that. It's not that. It's just some people tell me, some people have the audacity to say, oh, I know what you're going through, like no, you don't know what I'm going through.

Speaker 1

You haven't been able-bodied and then disabled and shit yeah.

Speaker 3

I'm disabled. I can only move my head. You're disabled, you can move the half of your body.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 3

You know what I mean. So just like from me, like for a person that wasn't doing anything fucking wrong I mean I'm not saying you were doing anything wrong, you were doing you, you know just be grateful because it could have been a lot a lot worse Does that mean I learn from mechs when it comes to people that hurt themselves.

Speaker 2

You know, like a lot of people that end up paralyzed because they're going fucking 100 on their motorcycle or you know they're doing something extreme and they get themselves into an accident. So then in that morning process, with their new life in the back of their mind, they could kind of accept it like I did, this being stupid, you know, but you woke up to it.

Speaker 1

That's what I'm saying. That's who fucks me up. I know I should be grateful, but I don't feel like that.

Speaker 2

Yeah, it's harder for you guys, because that shit was brought to you.

Speaker 1

Because man, yeah, that shit sucks, man, oh, the pain fucking is horrible man.

Speaker 3

The fucking dead.

Speaker 1

You know what I'm saying? The sleepless nights.

Speaker 3

Just lift it up, just lift my arm up, lift it up, come on you know what I'm saying. Look at this. Do you see that? Do you see it?

Speaker 1

And it still sucks being us.

Speaker 3

No, no, look at me?

Speaker 1

No, I feel you.

Speaker 3

Lift your arm up.

Speaker 1

He said fuck you, no, I'm, you know what. Yeah, I'm grateful, I'm grateful I could do that, but I'm still not man. It's still hard to accept. I feel like time.

Speaker 3

I will never accept it either, so you don't have to accept it.

Speaker 1

It's just hard to accept it. I can't, you don't think I can't, fucking Can't bust a nut in there. I keep thinking about that shit man.

Speaker 3

But you gotta think about things that are more important than busting a nut. Yeah, that's good. Every now and then I miss sex too, bro. This happened when I was 20 years old. I just started, not just started. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1

I'm young as hell. I miss that like a million. That's the first thing I said to my brother. I got a look down. I was like man nigga, I ain't gonna get pussy again. I was dead ass wrong man.

Speaker 3

That's how I felt, too.

Speaker 1

I miss bussing or not, I don't miss pussy.

Speaker 2

That's how X talks about it all the time.

Speaker 1

That sounds fucked up to save it man.

Speaker 2

I've actually said it before, but like okay so let's take busting on the other way.

Speaker 3

What do you really miss and what are you going to do to improve your?

Speaker 1

life. I miss being athletic, I miss running around.

Speaker 3

That's what I miss, too. I miss playing basketball. I used to be a runner. That was the only thing.

Speaker 1

I miss being able to run from the police.

Speaker 2

I challenge you to get your upper body crazy swole. I challenge you to climb rope and something.

Speaker 3

That's what I would do honestly. I would be like Joe from Family Eye if I was in your position. I fucking envy you.

Speaker 2

I want to let you know that you could climb up the steps right With your arms. Yeah, I could.

Speaker 1

I could go up the steps. It's a pain in the ass, man. I could do it, have you tried doing any handicap sports.

Speaker 2

I don't know We've had somebody come on, shout out to Chuck Shit.

Speaker 1

I'm surprised I'm doing this. And I told man, I'm surprised I didn't fucking cry telling you the story and I haven't told the story yet. We appreciate you I didn't even tell my story to my therapist.

Speaker 4

And now it's a whole whole world.

Speaker 1

My therapist don't even know this story. We appreciate you, doc. It's a good story.

Speaker 3

It's a story that's going to impact a whole people.

Speaker 2

Think about those people that are in a similar situation as you, that don't have a therapist, that don't even have a family in their support system and they're just fucking giving up. Maybe they'll tune into this and maybe, just maybe, you'll see them sleep her up.

Speaker 3

You can still be athletic. You still have half your body.

Speaker 2

Yeah, at the end of the day, everyone could try to tell you the right answer, but the biggest battle is within your own head, and the bigger battle is backing that with action, and I truly believe that time heals most wounds, and one day you're going to wake up and be like yo, I want to do this, and you're going to do such and such, and you're going to find a different brand of happiness.

Speaker 1

Maybe I couldn't tell you Right now.

Disabilities, Neuralink, and Intimacy

Speaker 2

I still feel like you're a second episode. Leo's second episode. He's about to jump on like yo, I'm doing this and I did this, and in the stands there was a bitch and I told her to sit on my lips and he's going to be like another joint bigger than the last one. I'm going to be walking. Shout out to Neuralink.

Speaker 1

You and Max going to walk together.

Speaker 2

It was Neuralink. It's Elon Musk's. Go ahead, max, tell him.

Speaker 3

You know, neuralink is basically a brand ship they're going to put in your brain that allows you to walk.

Speaker 1

Oh shit, I'm in. It's going to help you walk again. Who is it the?

Speaker 3

owner of Tesla, the creator of Tesla Elon.

Speaker 1

Let me in.

Speaker 3

He's not going to do a guy like you for a while. He's only doing upper injuries.

Speaker 1

Shit, you ain't got his number, but we also shoot him a text.

Speaker 2

If you tune into our 50th episode, we know we interviewed someone named John who's been running a study for 20 years, sanctuary monkeys. Long story short, he's starting human trials at the end of this year or next year.

Speaker 3

And yeah, he's going to start trials.

Speaker 1

You heard a rewalk. What's that? They got this exoskeleton, that's. You know what.

Speaker 3

Exoskeleton you know what. It's just like a robot to help you walk.

Speaker 1

Pretty much. They strap you this.

Speaker 4

It's like artificial legs, but you got to be a T.

Speaker 1

You can't be a T4. You got to be lower than a T4. I don't qualify because I'm too high up.

Speaker 3

So you miss bus turn or not, most out of everything.

Speaker 1

Shit One thing.

Speaker 3

I want to say the most what's the most you miss?

Speaker 1

Shit, being able to use my legs, being able to fucking climb.

Speaker 3

shit man Breathing.

Speaker 1

I just miss breathing, alright.

Speaker 3

Yeah, Different perspectives right.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 3

That's true.

Speaker 4

Does the? The the cough assist vent, give you more air. Yeah, simulates breathing for you.

Speaker 2

It's an artificial cough Think about it?

Speaker 4

Can you have like a euphoria type machine, like where it just mimics you fucking having like a sprint Like Shit Fucking?

Speaker 1

No, Can't hook up a bong to that motherfucker.

Speaker 3

No, you can't. I mean you're nice, but no, you can't.

Speaker 1

You're like don't hook up no weed to that motherfucker.

Speaker 4

Fucking head rush man, Do it again.

Speaker 3

Yeah, it's just so like I know I'm just some guy you met today, but you know, be grateful for the little things. You have like to be able to be here right now, to be able to hold that mic right now, to be able to drink water on your own. I know there's things that have been taken away. The biggest thing that hit me when I first got injured. I didn't know what they were doing, but they were doing something called a bowel program and I didn't know what the fuck that was.

Speaker 3

And then I'm like you do what you have to do, what you know, but and I couldn't even talk at this time they were like oh, we're just, you know, we're doing the results, or whatever you know. And now, every day I get a finger up my ass and I freaking have to.

Speaker 1

I do the same shit, you know, sucks.

Speaker 3

Yeah, but I mean.

Speaker 1

You have blue open shit in your life like what the fuck?

Speaker 3

That's life. That's what you have to do to like get through it.

Speaker 2

Do you have assistance or do you do it yourself?

Speaker 1

I do it all myself, man, you know.

Speaker 2

I bet Max would prefer to do it himself if he could. Yeah, 100% I bet he should.

Speaker 3

I don't like showing. It's weird. It's like everybody's showing. It's like Eric's pushing on my stomach and gas out at me. It's weird, it's a weird thing. And when I'm your bladder, you use catheter. You have a super pubic, or do?

Speaker 1

you, the catheter, and I self-cath, self-cath.

Speaker 3

Yeah, it's like every four hours.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 3

Yeah, I see what you're going to say Straight cath, straight cath. Okay, yeah, no.

Speaker 1

Yeah, I got to be on it because I'll piss myself. No, exactly.

Speaker 3

Exactly. And then, like I saw you lifting yourself up, you were giving yourself a pressure break because you don't want to get a sore, yeah, yeah. So I mean there are things we haven't come in 100%. And there are things you got to be grateful for, there are things I have to be grateful for but like just no, that's true.

Speaker 1

You just got to.

Speaker 3

I'm not there yet, I get it. But you just got to tell yourself, like, what do I want to do and what am I going to do? That's going to help me and it's also going to help other people.

Speaker 2

Do you enjoy being on this podcast? Shit, I don't know, Like I'm wondering if you would like to join us for other interviews not about you, but like if we got another interview.

Speaker 1

Oh yeah, that's cool.

Speaker 2

You see where Elias is and you ask them questions and shit. Oh no, yeah, that's cool Because it sounds to me that you just need something to do with us. You know, maybe, maybe something to get your mind off things, I don't know.

Speaker 1

Fuck, yeah, man oh there's a lot of people it could be. I couldn't tell you. I just I want you. I just feel the way that you know what I'm saying. That's how I feel.

Speaker 3

That's how I can tell you, I want you to ask questions for me. Ask me any questions. You can ask me literally anything.

Speaker 1

Shit, I don't know. I don't know what to ask.

Speaker 2

Ask them some funny shit.

Speaker 3

Ask me anything. You ask me serious shit. You guys already talked about eating out together.

Speaker 2

You know, ain't no boundaries with these questions.

Speaker 1

Eating pussy and shit you like eating pussy. That's the first bell You're going to ask me.

Speaker 3

So I mean I do, I mean like I miss fucking. More obviously, yeah, I do, it's fun, I guess you know for the moment but that, but it's weird at the same time, because they can't go crazy. I got this on my neck you know, so they can't like go crazy. So you're lucky in that aspect as well.

Speaker 1

I feel you. I'm little, though I got a weight limit too so I got a big one.

Speaker 4

It can't be too heavy, man. I got to tap out after a while.

Speaker 3

The thing is you can lift up on that. I can't. I have to deal with that weight. It fucking sucks. So next question I feel you One time Max almost suffocated under the booty.

Speaker 1

Yeah, I literally almost died.

Speaker 4

I wouldn't mind dying like that. I'm not a podcast anymore.

Speaker 2

So he knocked out his tube so he had to bite down to get her off.

Speaker 1

Oh, yeah, so.

Speaker 3

I did. Damn it what happened.

Speaker 2

He almost died under the.

Speaker 4

Damn literally I he fucking Eric's dying over here.

Speaker 3

I got this girl, you know. She came over like she started to sit on my face. I turned on the music. I had nice lights on, you know.

Speaker 1

Stuff like and she knocked it.

Speaker 3

And she was just fucking rambling my face.

Speaker 4

Oh feet man and I was like yes, yes, yes, yes, oh, my God.

Speaker 3

And then, all of a sudden, I hear and. I'm like fuck, I'm not breathing. Literally ramming me to the point where my head rest just came off like for real and what. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1

And what'd you do? You bit her.

Speaker 3

No, I was trying to click, so my thing is, and that's what we are trying to do.

Speaker 1

Yeah, that's what I'm trying to do, but I couldn't do that she thought that was your trick and she was like oh shit, he knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing.

Speaker 3

You can't hear it because it's like a suction, it's like a type of suction.

Speaker 1

So you can't hear it.

Speaker 3

So I'm in this post scene and I'm like, fuck, I'm gonna bite. I'm gonna bite I'm gonna bite the pussy. Fucking bit her and then she came off. I know the song we were listening to and everything. It was 21 Lil.

Speaker 2

U's who heard?

Speaker 1

It's so funny, damn. Who was it? Matt or 21. Luke, luke, she hooked you up, no, she didn't, she didn't.

Speaker 3

No, she was fucking having an orgasm on my face. So I bit her and she was like what the fuck? And then Luke came in and he put the vent back on me. I was like I was like.

Speaker 1

Shout out to Luke. He's on the second episode.

Speaker 2

There's two things I think about. I was like I was like it's good there's two things I think about with his story, One one.

Speaker 1

That's a wingman right there.

Speaker 2

If he died, you're gonna get high fives in heaven. That's my first thought. Second thought if you die, how's the girl gonna react? How would she go to live with her life?

Speaker 1

She knows, she just killed somebody, she got that fire pussy she's never, gonna let anybody hear it.

Speaker 3

She might be too high or too high, but you don't even know my whop too.

Speaker 1

Yeah, that's what I'm saying it might be the opposite.

Speaker 2

She's gonna be traumatized bro.

Speaker 1

I'm like I wanna die like that. Sex will never be the same for her.

Speaker 3

So do you think she'd be traumatized, even though she wasn't a prostitute?

Speaker 2

So, like you didn't have to say that yeah, but what I'm saying? Is she was just a normal prostitute. Now I know she's a prostitute.

Speaker 1

She was just a normal person. How much, how much.

Speaker 3

She was just a normal person, but she was just fucking all the time.

Speaker 1

Yeah, prostitutes is normal people too.

Speaker 3

I know what she was because I paid for her, but anyways yeah yeah. I mean, I like. No, I was afraid of her. No, I did, but she wasn't like a prostitute. No, that's fine. It's just so funny.

Speaker 2

I don't know if you heard yourself, but you said she's not a prostitute. I said you didn't have to say that Now we know she's a prostitute.

Speaker 4

Now we know she's a prostitute I paid for her services.

Speaker 3

Okay, she was in.

Speaker 1

As long as it hooked your two back up, you good she hooked it two up and she's like freaking out.

Overcoming Addiction and Adjusting to Paralysis

Speaker 3

I'm like chill. I'm like chill, relax, okay. And then we started up five minutes later again and I turned down the music, because they kind of hear me because I turned down the music but my friend Luke apparently has like super hearing or something, because man shout out to Luke man, that's the wig man he was able to save my life. He saved my life at the street?

Speaker 1

Did he get you the escort or whoever he was probably like?

Speaker 4

looking at the doors that like the doors like creaking.

Speaker 3

I was like shit now you get an egg he saved my life at the strip club too, a few times, like I was at the strip club and girls used to do stuff and the tube would come out and I would sort of click in and the girl would know what to do and then Luke would come, especially the young girls that I had to do. No, I always told the girl and they would always be fucked up on coke or fucking like drinks or whatever, but I always told them.

Speaker 1

You know what I'm grateful.

Speaker 3

I'd be like, listen, if I do this, if I do that, I gotta let them know the sign. Get my brother or get Luke. They'll be like, okay, they do it, they do it, and then I would just go out for a close-back. I didn't even Do you know what an amboobag is.

Speaker 1

What.

Speaker 2

Hell. No, he don't know what an amboobag is. He doesn't have a trick. About 20 seconds ago, you said you were grateful for something.

Speaker 1

Oh for not getting high.

Speaker 2

In that moment, no just period I should have.

Speaker 1

If I gotta be grateful for something, I feel like I'm grateful for not being high, for my sobriety, oh nice. Shut up you're sobriety, I got four years one month and I don't know how many days and shit.

Speaker 2

Dang. So as soon as your accident happened, you just went cold turkey I went cold turkey.

Speaker 1

Yeah, I went cold turkey like a month.

Speaker 2

I was under the impression that after your accident, you would probably do more.

Speaker 4

Like you ain't got a warrant.

Speaker 2

You ain't got a warrant, you're just chilling in the wheels here.

Speaker 1

It's tempting like a month. I don't want to drive. Because of that, I'm not driving.

Speaker 2

Can you still drive? Do you have a handicap? Accessible driver's seat?

Speaker 1

I haven't tried driving.

Speaker 2

I think you can, you got handhands.

Speaker 1

I haven't tried shit.

Speaker 2

My grandpa's basically a paraplegic and he got the brakes in the gas right here on one hand and he got a ball in the steering wheel like this I can drive.

Speaker 3

He knows he can drive bro.

Speaker 1

I don't know what he wants to, because I don't want to drive myself to the spot. Oh, I feel you.

Speaker 3

He knows he can drive, he just doesn't want to drive.

Speaker 1

I got to eventually.

Speaker 3

You got to face your fears and fight the demons and just get through it. Because when you drive, that means you're going to be able to do much more. Yeah, I'm trying to think Do you play video games? What do you like to do?

Speaker 1

I like to draw, you draw, yeah, I draw letters and shit.

Speaker 3

You could be a fucking tattoo artist, you could.

Speaker 1

I like it, but right now, man, that's shit. What did you?

Speaker 3

do before? Did you work at all?

Speaker 1

Yeah, cars.

Speaker 3

Cars. Did you have insurance? Like, did anything? Where were you fucked? Basically what?

Speaker 1

do you mean, we got a mechanic shop?

Speaker 3

When you got injured did you have insurance or anything.

Speaker 1

Oh no, I didn't have insurance. I had to get insurance.

Speaker 3

So you got insurance. Obviously it's way more because you're paralyzed, right you?

Speaker 4

still have insurance.

Speaker 3

right yeah. Does the state take care of you at all? Yeah, yeah, they do.

Speaker 1

I got disability.

Speaker 3

Yeah, and I was not doing anything for you, I know.

Speaker 4

Little bit. I started working for him today.

Speaker 2

Today. It's the last day on the clock yeah man.

Speaker 4

First day on the clock, nice Sure.

Speaker 3

Yeah, he started working for me too and he didn't realize that. Well, he probably realized. But Eric brought him in and I was paralyzed from the neck down and he probably walked out the door like, damn, I'm lucky I can drive out there, drive off.

Speaker 4

I was playing the stupid SDY.

Speaker 1

Fuck that.

Speaker 4

DIY ain't nothing.

Speaker 2

Yeah, fuck that don't do drugs, don't do drugs.

Speaker 3

Straight up.

Speaker 2

Don't do drugs set out to being sober and again we thank you for for sharing your story with us. That's what the podcast is all about. Hopefully, we can reach people in similar situations and influence them, motivate them in any type of way you know. So, yeah, we appreciate you again.

Speaker 1

Leo, I'll definitely come back and talk about you know, then, my drug use. It show like that Hell yeah, or even if we're interviewing somebody else.

Speaker 2

You could be a third wing or somebody else, because I got how to Excuse me. I got a couple other people that wanted to talk about overcoming a heroin addiction, and so yeah, maybe you're a good person, it's not like you can relate with them.

Speaker 1

I don't sniff heroin for 16 years. No, I don't a lot of other shit to be besides that shit. That's just heroin.

Speaker 3

Do you have anything to say to me or the people? Do you think I was a little hard on you?

Speaker 2

He was shotgunning you with questions. He was oh, I've been, did you?

Speaker 1

I've been to rehab shit in and out of rehab. I've been a fucking. So rehab they got this rehab. Where they put you? They literally put you in a chair and they tell you all the shit that you've done wrong. Oh, you're bullshit. That's a part of the rehab.

Speaker 2

They just did, just drown you in your mistakes. Oh, you're bullshit, you shit, you know shit.

Speaker 1

That's why you here the fuck you doing and getting a high, fucking idiot. I gotta give you a reality because the fuck you hurt in your parent. You know stupid shit. That's just one.

Speaker 3

Like, were you able to like move your arms and everything like normal when you were, when you first got paralyzed, or did you have to do physical and occupational?

Speaker 1

No, you know what? I had to wait on this one because it's one of Well, they had to do a surgery. I got, I got a. I got two bars and screws holding it together. Dang yeah look, I got you. I don't know if you could see, but I got a nasty scar.

Speaker 2

Oh, we get some footage of that, bro.

Speaker 1

I got a scar the scars to it's. Two scars in one. Is it I got? I got a.

Speaker 3

I got two injuries, like they open it up twice to separate, so you have Like, so you have to work for that left arm man, that's right. Yeah, cuz they gave me a wheelchair where I could move it with Just one arm right so I couldn't Got about that now look at you're using wheelchair with two dad, they told me I wouldn't be able to straighten it out.

Speaker 2

Look at you, look you're doing it, show them on camera.

Speaker 3

It's still little crooked but yeah, that's something to be proud of.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 3

I know it's little, it's little for. Not straighter yeah but that's something to be proud of like. Right now, my neck is killing me. Yeah but I have no head rest. You know, that's something to be proud of.

Speaker 2

That's a little way to think it got to the point where, like I be feeling good, like I get a rush of dopamine whenever I see max whether it's him getting in the van and Turning and getting himself in the middle of the small ass van successfully without scratching anything I'm like. Yeah, like we had somebody over who's showing us a new van and I'm like max, I don't think you can get in, bro, let me drive you so.

Speaker 2

I go and then he's like nah, let me drive. So he does it. You know he tries and I see him get in. He gets in successfully. He grazed the thing like a little bit, you know, and I'm like, and I laughed to myself and I smiled to myself and the dude that brought the van is like, he looks at me, like he notices me laughing, and he's like, am I missing something? And I'm like, nah, I'm just happy for max right now.

Speaker 1

You know yeah why are you?

Speaker 2

and max looked at me. He goes I fucking did it.

Speaker 3

I did it, you know I knew he was gonna get a rush. Yeah, because they were like you can't fit in the van. I was like, I was like what, you know what, let me. Let me try this.

Speaker 1

What the van you got in the garage.

Speaker 2

Different man was a smaller van.

Speaker 3

I was like okay, so I like getting there, I do a little twist drive, for this is like his spatial awareness is crazy.

Speaker 2

I'm driving in myself and I'm barely getting them in there. And he did this shit did that shit. So I was like golf clap, because that was that was the make or break those.

Speaker 1

You can move your wheelchair.

Speaker 3

You have to suck me up with a joystick. Be lucky for that too. You can get your wheelchair and just move around.

Speaker 2

Yeah, now that you put it like that so so, on this note, I'm gonna talk to the people for a little bit. Happiness, sadness, anger, all these basic emotions, it's the same chemicals in everybody's brains. It's just different reality in different circumstances. You know, I'm saying so, max getting that rush of dopamine Just by rolling his chair successfully in the van. Some motherfuckers out there got to jump off a ramp with a skateboard to get that rush you know, some people out there got a hit on their motorcycle on the highway for 120 miles per hour to get that same feeling.

Speaker 2

You know I'm saying so like bro, I don't know. It's about the little things.

Speaker 4

We say this on the podcast all the time.

Speaker 2

It's about the little things because it there's some people that are numb in life. And those crazy people are the ones climbing cliffs with no safety gear just to get a rush, just to feel something. You know I'm saying so right now and you and Max's position, I know, is I know it's hard and sometimes you could feel numb, but you're gonna find these things that you could do to get that rush again. You're gonna find something that fucking pushes you. You gonna get that natural high.

Speaker 3

You went from one wheel to two wheels right, one arm to two arms. Tonight, you got two arms right, you got things.

Speaker 1

Oh, that's right, we're from one wheel, yeah.

Speaker 3

You can do that also. You can. You can breathe and you can get up and you can go somewhere. Like for me, I have to get set up and it takes like Just fit 10, 15 minutes to get set up to drive, and then I always have to have a position and then when I'm like at a restaurant, I have to take it off. You know when if you want to go to a restaurant, you could just roll it.

Speaker 1

I Still don't like going to restaurants, though my sister be wanting to take me man.

Speaker 3

That's something you gotta think. I can still smoke you can still spark up, like I can spark it. Yeah you can still play video games. You can still you do yeah.

Speaker 1

I'm not being on video games. I'm gonna get him there. I'm gonna get him. I'm big on street fighter. Oh yeah, I like street fighter.

Speaker 4

I'm big on street fighter.

Speaker 1

It's funny.

Speaker 2

I said you look like a street fighter. Okay, we're real, I like street fighter.

Speaker 1

That's about it though.

Speaker 3

Yeah, so yeah, where you can, you can even play guitar like you learn guitar. Oh yeah, I didn't give up on guitar.

Speaker 1

I was young. I was young and smoking a lot of weed.

Speaker 3

Oh, you know the basics. I couldn't remember. You have so many it was.

Speaker 1

It was a purple guitar.

Speaker 4

We go, we go, wrap up the episode.

Speaker 2

It's been an hour. Thank you, leo, for opening up and we we kind of we blanket it. Thanks for having me. Yeah, hell yeah.

Speaker 3

I'm sorry if I came off, like you know, like grateful this, be grateful that big growth, because obviously I wish. I was all I'm.

Speaker 2

We're gonna continue to tell Leo what he could do after we wrap up this episode. But yo, do us a favor, look in your camera right here and tell the people your name. I'll say you live in life to the man shit my full name.

Speaker 1

I'm gonna go my phone a my phone in the Leonardo R Reyes Montenegro.

Speaker 2

Say it again Leonardo Reyes Montenegro.

Speaker 1

What else you want?

Speaker 2

So you live in life to the man.

Speaker 1

I'm living life to the man.

Speaker 3

Thanks for coming on. Show everybody like subscribe.

Speaker 2

Oh, yeah, oh, and give it up for a life. One more time for bringing Leo on.