What Happened to Nate Moller on August 8, 1994

Yesterday was a day to remember: not only was it my mom’s birthday, but it was the 17th Anniversary of an experience that changed my life.

In 1994, I was 100% focused on playing college baseball. I’d just finished my Sophomore year at Minico High School and things were looking pretty good from my perspective: I’d been invited to travel with the Varsity team a few times and was working hard in the weight room.

That summer consisted of Legion ball and then I went to work on a farm in Hazelton driving truck. I’d been working at this location for about a week or a week and a half, when, one day, I got to the job and wasn’t needed until mid-day. My boss told me to head home and that he’d call me on the walkie-talkie (not even sure there were cell phones back then) when they needed me.

I came home and slept on the couch for a few hours before I was paged at about 11:00 a.m. to come back out to the farm.

I took the normal route to avoid lots of traffic (although in Rupert, Idaho, “traffic” really isn’t a big deal). This route consisted of back roads that went from my house, through Paul, Idaho, and then connected with Highway 25 which led right to the Kasota Road and Hazelton.

There are only a couple things I remember about that day: 1) On my way back to my house, I stopped and said hi to Farah 2) I argued with my mom when the pager went off and I lounged around for a few minutes.

What happened on that drive back to work, though, was something I don’t really remember at all.

Apparently, when I got to the top of a hill near John Swenson and Joe Jensen’s house in Paul, I was met head on by a car who had recently dropped off their grandkids at swimming lessons. It was assumed that the driver of the car hadn’t ever really got on the correct side of the road because she’d only gone about 300 feet or so when we collided head on.

I was driving a small Chevy S-10 pickup and she was driving a Lincoln Town Car.

The details of how the accident happened are unclear to me – but the collision was pretty huge and pushed the front of my little truck all the way up to the dashboard.

The rest of the story is all a blur. Apparently Teresa Thacker was the swimming lessons teacher at the house where the woman had just came from. John Swenson may have been out mowing his lawn and heard the collision too. I don’t know any of the details from there except that Teresa has since told me that I kept saying that my back really hurt and that there was quite a bit of blood…

The rest of the story

I was rushed to the Rupert Hospital in “Red Flag” condition or something like that.

My dad recounts the phone call he got while working at a Real Estate company in Rupert.

Hi David, this is [nurses name]. We need you to come to the hospital right away – your son’s been in a serious car accident…

Dad: Is he ok?

Nurse: You just need to come to the hospital right away.

My dad told me later that he was sure I was dead. I mean, why wouldn’t the nurse tell him my status.

The whole way over to the hospital he couldn’t help but think about how he would explain this to my mom – after all, it was her birthday and the day after my grandpa (her dad) had been killed in a farming accident 2 years earlier. Dad had even bought Mom a little decorative statue of a mother and her son earlier that day…

When he got to the hospital, however, he could hear me yelling and breathed a sigh of relief. (I’m not sure how my mom was notified – possibly by my dad.)

As the medical staff examined my injuries, they determined that things were too severe and that I’d need to be rushed to Twin Falls in an ambulance.

The only thing I know from here on was that, once I got to Twin Falls, they too realized that my injuries were so severe that I would need help beyond what they could provide. I was then transported in a life-flight helicopter to St. Alfonso’s Hospital in Boise where I underwent emergency surgery for the most dangerous injury – the internal injuries.

Here’s the list of things the doctors found:

• Serious internal injuries to my stomach and small intestines (the most dangerous because of acids)
• Head injuries that they weren’t even able to assess at that time
• A broken cheek bone
• Severe cuts to both eyes (at first they weren’t sure if I’d lose an eye on the right side)
• A pretty big laceration on my right arm
• A broken 4th Lumbar vertebrae and potential paralysis

The first memory I have came at about a week and a half into my hospital stay. I was in the ICU for a few days and later moved to a normal room.

I remember my baseball coach and a few friends coming to visit. I remember lots of cards and get well wishes from family and friends. My cousin Jeremy, who lived in Nampa, came everyday to help out and see how I was doing too.

Not my actual x-ray but the same idea.

By a week and half, most of the major surgeries had been taken care of. I had to get a portion of my small intestines removed due to the high impact of the seat-belt I was wearing (which ultimately saved my life).

I had surgery on my back: they used cadaver vertebrae and clay to reshape my 4th Lumbar vertebrae and then bolted rods to the 3rd and 5th Lumbar to keep things in place (I still have those rods today).

Apparently my spinal cord had been a dime’s width away from being severed completely – it was open, and a few nerves had been cut (I can feel a little weirdness in my right leg which is what I think was affected but this injury).

I do remember having surgery on my cheek bone, which had to be wired together. To me, that was the worst because of the swelling that came after the surgery.

At about 2 weeks in the hospital I started physical therapy. I’d lost about 20 pounds, and, for a kid of my size (135 pre-accident), that was quite a big hit.

They had me lifting weights – 2.5 pound dumbbells were quite a work out for me.

I also started occupational therapy for the head injuries. Apparently they were still unsure of the long-term effects of my head injuries (as my wife is too at times ). I had short term memory loss and other symptoms that needed to be assessed.

At about 1 month in the hospital, I was released to head home. I took some “hardware” with me, including a removable body cast to support my back. This would be something I could only take off to shower, and I had to sit straight up in a chair and have my dad wash me off. The “body cast” was there for about 6 months.

So that’s my story…

What I learned

1. Life is really, really short – we have to make the most of our time here
2. Some things (but not many) are far more important than baseball
3. I always need to be ready spiritually for whatever curve balls are thrown my way
4. I’m grateful I was able to serve a mission for my Church
5. Pursuing other talents has ended up being the best experience
6. I’m grateful God gives me 2nd and 3rd and 4th and 5th and unlimited amount of chances to repent and come closer to Him and His Son.
7. How appreciative and respectful I always need to be of my parents and family
8. And many other things…

Thanks for all the prayers, support, and concern.

Like I said on Facebook, I’m glad things ended up working out.