UXBRIDGE, Mass. – Michael H. “Mookie” Wilson, 34, was standing in Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Cape Cod in Sandwich three years ago, just a few weeks after his Ford Explorer hydroplaned at high speed into a Jersey barrier on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Framingham.

The crash on Sept. 12, 2009, sent his SUV rolling over and the unbelted Wilson slammed his face through the driver’s-side window. He then caromed back to the bottom of the vehicle, hard against the pavement through the shattered window on the passenger side, where he slid in the moving SUV for 50 yards.

By most accounts, Wilson wasn’t supposed to have even survived the crash. He ripped open the left side of his face and lost one ear; his right arm was shredded; he had fractures and nerve damage and was put in a medically induced coma for six days to get whatever healing was possible started.

Ultimately, he underwent 13 surgeries in two and a half years, including skin grafts that required his right hand to be sewn into his abdomen for several months.

But there he was at Spaulding Rehab: alive, walking, talking and learning once again how to get from point A to point B.

Throughout his ordeal, Wilson remained upbeat. In the past year, he’s been spreading his message about attitude, acceptance and determination as a motivational speaker at schools, to business groups and others facing medical challenges.

“They chalked it up to medical miracles,” Wilson said about the progress he made against the odds. “The power of positive thinking is what I call it.”

Wilson said that according to his plastic and hand surgeon at UMass Memorial Medical Center, Dr. Fadi Nukta, his glass-half-full approach and determination were key factors in the medical team’s decision to go ahead with some of the complex treatment he received.

“Because of my mindset, because of my attitude, he (Nukta) had the highest regard for possible outcomes,” Wilson said. “It’s the same message I try to teach my kids: Stay positive.”

He said a member of his clinical team kept looking at his medical record to see if there was a neurological reason why he always came in smiling.

He joked, “My doctor thought I had brain damage because that’s how positive I am.”

Wilson said he’s always been an upbeat person — he used to tend bar and manage a restaurant in Medway. But when people heard him talk about his accident and all he had been through, they were inspired.

After a number of people, including perfect strangers, said he needed to share his story, he created a website, www.mookiesmiracle.com, and began going out on the speaking circuit.

Wilson said he has always been a big Red Sox fan and his friends in college thought it would be funny to give him the nickname “Mookie,” like the player on the 1986 Mets World Series Championship team, and it stuck.

“It was hard to wrap around that I was going to go into a career where I talked about myself,” Wilson said.

“Right now, it’s just me sharing my story. It really drove home after 30 or 40 high school kids came up to me (after speaking): ‘You’re gonna help me look at things differently,’ ” he said. “That’s why I’m doing this.”

Wilson said he’s very fortunate to have come through the way he did, with a good Samaritan who provided first aid at the accident scene; all-hands-on-deck attention from the head trauma unit at UMass Memorial in Worcester; support from family and friends; a surgeon who was willing to work with him through complex procedures; and exceptional responsiveness from his insurer.

But he distinguished between fortune and luck. “You win the lottery, it’s luck,” he said. “You live a good life, you’re a good person, you build up a bank of fortune.”

His support came from his parents in Mattapoisett, who cared for him at home after his hospital stays; his co-workers and friends; his then-girlfriend and now wife, Audra; his 9-year-old son, Gabriel; and his 7-year-old stepson, Tyler Erickson.

 

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