COMEBACK MAN; DETERMINATION, GOOD FRIENDS HELP BOB LA CATTIVA HEAL.Byline: Jenifer Hanrahan Daily News Staff Writer It's hard on a man, taking the bus when he used to drive a red Trans Am Trans Am may refer to:
Sometimes he goes down to the garage where it sits, eases in, grips the wheel and revs the engine. In the cool darkness, the rumble comforts him. He's tempted to take it out for a spin. Instead, he backs it up a few feet, then pulls forward. He does this again and again. It's been hard on Bob La Cattiva, 40, since he fell off his bicycle and hit his head against the pavement. He shattered shat·ter v. shat·tered, shat·ter·ing, shat·ters v.tr. 1. To cause to break or burst suddenly into pieces, as with a violent blow. 2. a. his skull, damaging the labyrinth of soft folds and whorls of his brain. When he woke up two weeks later, he couldn't move his right side. When he tried to speak, no one understood what he was trying to say. Even though the thoughts were clear in his mind, he kept repeating a single, meaningless phrase: ``A and I. You and I ... goddammit.'' He yelled it over and over again. It's hard on a man when his words come out mixed up and garbled or not at all. ``It. Was. An. Accident,'' La Cattiva says, while sitting in front of his computer, where he plays a simulated driving game, complete with a gas pedal and steering wheel. ``I have no idea .... what the hell happened. Riding on. OK. 7 in the morning. 8. Whatever. OK. 7 or 7:30. I am riding this way here to go to work. Riding along and hit me on the rear-end wheel. Hit my head.'' The video car crashes. He guides it back onto the track and keeps going. La Cattiva has always loved speed. He used to pump the pedals of his $3,000, handmade Italian racing bike as fast as he could, logging 100,000 miles on Los Angeles streets Los Angeles Street is a historic avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Traffic on the street travels northbound only, from the I-10 Freeway in the south of downtown, through the Fashion District, and on through Little Tokyo, where it ends after passing between LAPD . The police report says he slipped on gravel on his way from his apartment in Studio City to work at Autoparts Unlimited in Van Nuys. Paramedics found him the morning of April 30, 1996, lying unconscious and bleeding on Oxnard Street with his feet still in the toe clips, just a few blocks from his destination. A head injury happens every 10 seconds in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . About half a million require hospitalization hospitalization /hos·pi·tal·iza·tion/ (hos?pi-t'l-i-za´shun) 1. the placing of a patient in a hospital for treatment. 2. the term of confinement in a hospital. , and 70,000 to 90,000 result in long-term or permanent disability, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the National Institutes of Health. Half are caused by motor-vehicle accidents, 21 percent by falls, 12 percent by assaults and 10 percent by sports or recreational activities. Many of the latter can be prevented by wearing a helmet. La Cattiva didn't have a helmet on the morning he fell. He can't remember what happened the day he fell, but he feels sure it was no mere wipeout. He's certain he got clipped by a car, but no witness came forward who saw him go down. Mario Vazquez This biographical article or section needs additional references for verification. Please help [ to improve this article] by adding additional sources. Unverifiable material about living persons must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. , La Cattiva's co-worker, drove past the scene of the accident on his way to work. When La Cattiva didn't show up, Vazquez relayed his fears to the other guys that the man on the gurney gurney /gur·ney/ (gur´ne) a wheeled cot used in hospitals. gur·ney n. pl. gur·neys A metal stretcher with wheeled legs, used for transporting patients. might be their friend. It's hard on a man's friends when one of their own gets hurt. They sat hunched hunch n. 1. An intuitive feeling or a premonition: had a hunch that he would lose. 2. A hump. 3. A lump or chunk: "She . . . , rubbing their temples in the waiting room of North Hollywood Medical Center The North Hollywood Medical Center, (), was a hospital in the city of North Hollywood, CA. The now decommissioned hospital, which is at 12699 Riverside Drive in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, is the location while La Cattiva underwent emergency surgery to reduce the swelling in his brain and remove the shards of skull that pierced the soft tissue. La Cattiva's buddies aren't the kind of guys who cry. Ever. Not even when doctors said they could finally see him, with all those tubes sticking out Adj. 1. sticking out - extending out above or beyond a surface or boundary; "the jutting limb of a tree"; "massive projected buttresses"; "his protruding ribs"; "a pile of boards sticking over the end of his truck" of his veins and a hole in his neck, his head enlarged, his eyes swollen shut and his face bruised. But they are the kind of men who help without being asked, because it never occurred to them to do anything but. Eddie Jauregui, 29, and Matt Trait, 29, and a few other guys held a vigil at his bedside, taking turns to make sure someone was always there, in case he woke up. Jauregui collected several thousand dollars from dozens of Autoparts Unlimited employees to pay La Cattiva's bills and rent so if he ever came home, he'd have a home to come to. They hung his photos of race cars by his bed. Before the accident, La Cattiva spent weekends at auto races, soaking up the smell of gasoline and grease, snapping photos of the powerful machines, steely-eyed drivers and beauties in short shorts and bikini Bikini (bēkē`nē), atoll, c.2 sq mi (5.2 sq km), W central Pacific, one of the Ralik Chain, Marshall Islands. It comprises 36 islets on a reef 25 mi (40 km) long. tops who hung around near the pits. He captured speed, those thundering Indy cars zooming past, with the rapid-fire click of a shutter. ``It. Is. My. Love,'' La Cattiva says. It had taken him a long time to find his passion. His mother died of breast cancer when he was 10. When his father remarried, La Cattiva rebelled. He smoked Marlboro Reds. Came to California from Long Island in '81 and got kicked out of airplane mechanic school for fighting. He went back to New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , then tried California a second time. He made his father, Anthony, proud when he called to say he had found an apartment and a job at an auto parts Auto parts are components of automobiles. They mainly are, in alphabetic order (only car specific articles or articles with car section):
At Autoparts Unlimited, he worked his way up from clerk to coordinator of purchasing and inventory. He was doing pretty well. Then a friend lent him her camera, and a dream developed along with those first images. He wanted to become a professional photographer. He shot photos for the Los Angeles Valley College LAVC redirects here. For the software library, see libavcodec. The university is adjacent to Grant High School. Often called "Valley College" or simply "Valley" by those who frequent the campus, it opened its doors to the public on September 12, 1949, at which time the campus was newspaper and won numerous awards for his feature and sports shots, including a 1992-93 Photographer of the Year prize for overall excellence. He had several racing photos published in magazines and advertising brochures. He had ``La Cattiva Photos'' business cards printed that he never got to use. ``Nods `yes' to all questions. Unable to follow simple commands. Patient (has) severely impaired comprehension and expression,'' his medical charts said. He spent six weeks in the hospital, then went to a residential care facility in Goleta, where for safety he was monitored even in the shower. He hated it there. He wanted to go home. But first he had to prove that he could handle ``full body dressing, grooming & hygiene, bathing & toileting.'' Two months later, Jauregui came to get him. Driving to the facility, he wondered if Bob was still Bob. It didn't take him long to find out. La Cattiva had always been stubborn, even surly at times. That's what the guys liked about him. He was tough, unafraid. He'd shout at rude motorists from his bike. Jauregui drove La Cattiva's Trans Am to a car wash. When he turned the windshield wipers
The Wipers were a punk rock group formed in Portland, Oregon in 1977 by guitarist Greg Sage, drummer Sam Henry and bassist Dave Koupal. on, La Cattiva got furious, worrying he would scratch the glass. ``A and I! You and I ... goddammit!'' he shouted. Another time, at a Taco Bell Taco Bell Corp., a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., is a Mexican-style quick service restaurant chain based in Irvine, California, United States. The restaurant has locations primarily in the United States and Canada, but also operates outlets in several other markets. , the menu usually on the counter in front of the register was missing. La Cattiva used those menus to order by pointing at pictures of food. ``A and I! You and I ... goddammi!'' he shouted, as the counter guy's eyes widened. A line formed behind them. La Cattiva wouldn't budge. He used gestures, a few words like ``yes'' and ``no,'' until the fast-food worker guessed the order correctly. Another time, the driver of a bus for the disabled upset him by mocking his speech. ``He. Was. Making. Fun. Of. Me.'' He made the driver stop and let him out on the street. Jauregui came to pick him up. My name is Bob La Cattiva. I have a head injury. I cannot speak, but I can understand you. It was hard on La Cattiva, having to carry those survival phrases on cards everywhere he went. He also took his camera everywhere he went so he could exercise his fingers by focusing the lens, loading the film, hitting the shutter, taking shots of faces and flowers and fire hydrants. If he was going to shoot race cars whizzing by at 200 mph, he needed his right hand. Several times a week, he saw a speech therapist speech therapist Speech pathologist, speech/language therapist A health professional trained to evaluate and treat voice, speech, language, or swallowing disorders–eg, hearing impairment, that affect communication. See Speech pathology. , a physical therapist and n occupational therapist occupational therapist A person trained to help people manage daily activities of living–dressing, cooking, etc, and other activities that promote recovery and regaining vocational skills Salary $51K + 4% bonus. See ADL. . He did tongue exercises: sticking it in and out, moving it from left to right. He did lip exercises: puckering, smiling, kissing, opening his mouth wide and closing it tightly. Then he learned to say the ABCs. He learned to make a grocery list by cutting out pictures of food from coupons. He played a tape-recorded message into the phone receiver when he needed to request a pickup from the bus for the disabled. When La Cattiva started working with Tarzana speech pathologist Lauri Aud, he was terribly frustrated, she said. The more frustrated he became, the more times he said ``A and I,'' interspersed with the occasional simple word, like ``car.'' Then Aud told him she was a fan of car racing, and ``his eyes lit up,'' she said. They practiced sounds using racing terms. ``Michael Andretti Michael Mario Andretti (born October 5, 1962 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) is an American retired CART and Formula One driver with Italian heritage. He now co-owns the Andretti Green Racing team in the Indy Racing League. .'' ``Grand Prix Grand Prix n. pl. Grand Prix Any of several competitive international road races for sports cars of specific engine size over an exacting, usually risky course. .'' ``Laguna Seca.'' ``He just took off,'' Aud said. His occupational therapist, Raj Narula from Head Injury Rehabilitation rehabilitation: see physical therapy. Services in Marina del Rey Del Rey may refer to:
He couldn't use the phone or computer anymore, but he could help keep track of inventory. His first day back, they greeted him with handshakes and slaps on the back, even a few awkward man-to-man hugs. When someone gets sick or hurt, it's usually women who are the care-givers. But with La Cattiva, it's been men. The owner of Autoparts Unlimited, John Christie John Christie may refer to:
When La Cattiva has a seizure, which happens every few weeks, the guys from work grab him and lie him down on his side, put a shirt under his head and hold him while his body convulses. During the last one, he fell and hit his head before they caught him. Blood trickled from the scar left by surgery in October to cover the hole in his skull with a plate. Cesar Salazar put his face close to La Cattiva's and prayed into his ear. ``Senor Jesus, este es tu hijo. Y yo vengo ante ti, Senor Jesus, pidiendo misericordia.'' ``Lord Jesus, this is your son. I come before you, Lord Jesus, begging for mercy.'' La Cattiva woke up and thought he heard God. ``No man,'' they told him, relieved. ``That was just Cesar.'' La Cattiva's brain will never fully heal, said Dr. David Hovda, director of brain injury research at University of California, Los Angeles UCLA comprises the College of Letters and Science (the primary undergraduate college), seven professional schools, and five professional Health Science schools. Since 2001, UCLA has enrolled over 33,000 total students, and that number is steadily rising. . The most dramatic progress usually happens within the first six months and, more slowly, for up to five years. La Cattiva remains convinced his memories and his speech are returning. He went to the Long Beach Grand Prix
The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is the premier circuit in the Champ Car World Series. It is an open-wheel race held on a temporary road course in Long Beach, California. last year with Jauregui and shot some of his best work. ``Way. Down. The. Line ... Step. By. Step ... I'm. Back,'' he says, giving the thumbs up sign. He hardly ever says the ``A and I'' refrain anymore. What was he talking about? Probably nothing, doctors say. A common though little understood result of head injuries is the automatic repetition of a word or phrase and often a profanity Irreverence towards sacred things; particularly, an irreverent or blasphemous use of the name of God. Vulgar, irreverent, or coarse language. The use of certain profane or obscene language on the radio or television is a federal offense, but in other situations, profanity . But La Cattiva's friends think his brain was trying to help him remember who he was before the accident. La Cattiva used to get film processed at A & I Color Laboratories in Hollywood. If doctors can control his seizures by tinkering with his medication, he may one day be able to drive again. ``When. No. More. Medicine. I. Am. Free,'' he says. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos Photo: (1--Cover--Color) STARTING OVER One fall fractured his skull and shattered his life (2--3) Still recovering from a head injury he suffered while bicycling in 1996, Bob La Cattiva takes the bus from his Studio City home to his Van Nuys job at Autoparts Unlimited. La Cattiva's passion for photographing auto races remains strong. Cars and taking pictures have become part of his therapy. Myung J. Chun/Daily News |
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