Jack Fletcher walked on to the stage on Monday, Oct. 24 at Legacy Emmanuel Hospital. That feat alone could be seen as a miracle, but then Fletcher, 20, shares his story – a speech he gives up to six times a month.

“And I got to tell you - I shouldn’t be here today,” Fletcher told the audience
at one point.

Fletcher grew up in southwestern Washington, the son of the high school’s
rugby coach and an avid snowboarder, who got involved with the local fire
cadet program at Clark County Fire & Rescue when he was 16 at Prairie High
School.

Fletcher frequented Mount Hood, heading up ten times or so each winter to go
snowboarding.

“Love that mountain, man, love it,” Fletcher told the Mountain Times during
an interview.

Fletcher landed a fire scholarship at Crook County Fire & Rescue in Prineville
for the summer of 2014, right before heading to nearby Central Oregon
Community College that fall. In July that year, Fletcher got a text from his
grandmother about some cousins coming from the east coast for a visit and
he made up his mind - head back home and surprise his family for the visit.

That day, July 30, 2014, fate intervened.

Just after 3:30 p.m., the Hoodland Fire District responded to a head-on
collision on Hwy. 26, near milepost 40. The accident featured a Ford F-150
travelling approximately 80 miles per hour, veering off to the opposite side of
the highway before turning back into traffic and striking Fletcher’s Subaru
Outback on the passenger’s side.

Fletcher was trapped in his car, unresponsive. The driver of the truck, who
was driving under the influence at the time, was conscious with no obvious
injuries and would later be released from the hospital. But Fletcher’s fight had
just begun.

He required a trip on a Life Flight helicopter to the Oregon Health & Science
University hospital, odds stacked against him and arriving in a coma with
numerous injuries, including a broken arm, an injury to his right hand
requiring amputations, traumatic brain injury and damage to his face that
shattered most of the bones and caused blindness in his right eye. The hours
ticked by as the initial critical periods elapsed, offering some hope to his
family, and then Fletcher awoke five days later.

“For a while I didn’t remember Prineville,” said Fletcher, who noted his short
term memory, focus and attention are still affected. “I thought I was still in
high school.”

The recovery was just starting, from drilling holes in his skull to relieve the
pressure to a 13-hour facial surgery, and weeks of rehabilitation before he
was released on Sept. 27, 2014. On his way home, his family stopped at a
local Winco, where Fletcher was greeted by his fire instructor on a cadet
engine to drive him to his neighborhood, where a welcome home sign and
friends were waiting to greet him.

“That was super cool,” Fletcher said.

The following months included physical therapy, occupational therapy, brain
injury rehab and more. He also reconnected to his firefighting roots, stopping
by Clark County Fire & Rescue for a visit, where at first he wasn’t
recognized by Battalion Fire Chief Dean Lange. Lange brought Fletcher in to
see some of the staff, and was moved by not only how much it meant to
Fletcher, but also how much it meant to the other firefighters.

“It overwhelmed me so much, that I thought right then and there we’ve got to
do something,” Lange said.

Lange spoke with his bosses and they offered Fletcher the chance to pass a
test to become a specialty volunteer, helping with auxiliary duties. The test
included physical agility, and Lange was impressed by Fletcher’s performance.
“He whipped right through it,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it.”

Lange noted that Fletcher was assigned to a captain, Jason Leavitt, just as
any other probationary firefighter would be, while the administration has been
very supportive of the plan.

“It kind of makes you reevaluate not only your life, but faith in the human
heart and the human drive,” said Lange, noting the members of the fire
district wanted to go out of their way to do the right thing for Fletcher. “Here’s
a kid that could have just laid around and felt sorry for himself.”

And while Fletcher’s future as an emergency responder may be unknown, he
is making the best of his situation, volunteering his time as a speaker at
driver’s education classes, at churches, at proms and elsewhere about the
dangers of DUII and reckless driving.

“It definitely feels good to be able to help,” Fletcher said. “I don't want to
plateau with recovery. I hope I never stop.”

Hoodland Fire District Senior Firefighter Scott Kline was one of the responders
during the fateful call, tending to the other driver. While he tended to the
other driver, he’s been impressed with Fletcher’s journey from the accident in
what was once known as, “blood alley.”

“He’s kind of one of our honorary members,” Kline said. “It’s awesome. He’s
doing a really good job with his recovery.”

Fletcher’s parents, Kelly and John, also try to keep positive about the
accident, pointing to where he is in life now and not dwelling on what
happened.

“If you save one person, it’s worth it,” Kelly said about Jack’s public speaking.
“He’s busy, and he’s at his best being busy,” John added.

Jack’s journey is also one of forgiveness, as he noted he was able to forgive
the driver who caused the accident, including reading from the Bible at the
sentencing hearing.

“Be kind and compassionate,” Jack said, adding that he hopes the driver who
hit him will join him for speaking engagements when he is released from jail.

“God forgave you.”