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Tina Gordon is well on her way to recovery.
The Cedar Bluff, Ala., driver is progressing ahead of schedule in her rehabilitation from serious leg and foot injuries suffered in a crash at Charlotte on May 18 and has her sights set on returning to racing in a September 18th test at Talladega.
Gordon suffered a broken left tibia and fibula, a fractured left ankle and heel, a broken bone in her left foot, a broken left big toe and a broken right little toe when she was T-boned following a spin on Lap 41 of the Easy Care 100 ARCA/Remax Series race.
She is now completing her second full week of three-times weekly rehab and her doctors are amazed at how far she's already come.
"Everybody that has seen my foot is just amazed," Gordon said. "I'm working a lot with it at home and think that's what is making things go so much faster is just working it a lot."
In an almost four-hour procedure, surgeons at University Hospital in Charlotte inserted a metal rod that runs from knee to ankle to support her tibia, fused the fibula together with a plate and four screws and inserted screws in Gordon's left ankle.
Since returning home from Charlotte, Gordon has been under the care of trauma surgeon Dr. Richard Sanders with oversight by noted orthopaedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham and had also been doing her rehab there. But she has now been cleared to do rehab closer to home in Rome, Ga.. with orders to visit the doctors in Birmingham every two to three weeks.
"I told them from the very beginning I was going to heal a lot faster than what they expected," Gordon said with a chuckle.
Gordon is already up and around on crutches, has begun riding a stationary bike and is working hard to be ready for the September test with her Midway Phoenix Racing team. If that goes as planned, she'll return to racing in the ARCA/Remax Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 5.
Despite her injuries, Gordon said she has never once considered not returning to racing and is looking forward to getting back into a car in September.
"It's kind of like riding that horse and when you fall off you've got to get back on it," Gordon said. "That's really crucial in my career right now. I've got to get back in that car and drive, not just to prove to myself or to anybody. This is just something that I want to do.
"I still want to race cars and make a career out of it. I still want to go to Winston Cup."
Gordon would like to thank all the fans who have sent her get-well cards, letters, notes and e-mails and credits them with giving her a big boost on her road to recovery.
"I appreciate all the support that I've gotten from all the fans," Gordon said. "It's been very touching. It's kind of hard to explain. I would never have imagined that I would get the huge amount of support that I'vegotten from everybody.
"It just makes you feel really good down deep inside to know that there are people out there that really care about you and really want to see you back out on the track. It just makes you want to try that much harder."na}
The Cedar Bluff, Ala., driver is progressing ahead of schedule in her rehabilitation from serious leg and foot injuries suffered in a crash at Charlotte on May 18 and has her sights set on returning to racing in a September 18th test at Talladega.
Gordon suffered a broken left tibia and fibula, a fractured left ankle and heel, a broken bone in her left foot, a broken left big toe and a broken right little toe when she was T-boned following a spin on Lap 41 of the Easy Care 100 ARCA/Remax Series race.
She is now completing her second full week of three-times weekly rehab and her doctors are amazed at how far she's already come.
"Everybody that has seen my foot is just amazed," Gordon said. "I'm working a lot with it at home and think that's what is making things go so much faster is just working it a lot."
In an almost four-hour procedure, surgeons at University Hospital in Charlotte inserted a metal rod that runs from knee to ankle to support her tibia, fused the fibula together with a plate and four screws and inserted screws in Gordon's left ankle.
Since returning home from Charlotte, Gordon has been under the care of trauma surgeon Dr. Richard Sanders with oversight by noted orthopaedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham and had also been doing her rehab there. But she has now been cleared to do rehab closer to home in Rome, Ga.. with orders to visit the doctors in Birmingham every two to three weeks.
"I told them from the very beginning I was going to heal a lot faster than what they expected," Gordon said with a chuckle.
Gordon is already up and around on crutches, has begun riding a stationary bike and is working hard to be ready for the September test with her Midway Phoenix Racing team. If that goes as planned, she'll return to racing in the ARCA/Remax Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 5.
Despite her injuries, Gordon said she has never once considered not returning to racing and is looking forward to getting back into a car in September.
"It's kind of like riding that horse and when you fall off you've got to get back on it," Gordon said. "That's really crucial in my career right now. I've got to get back in that car and drive, not just to prove to myself or to anybody. This is just something that I want to do.
"I still want to race cars and make a career out of it. I still want to go to Winston Cup."
Gordon would like to thank all the fans who have sent her get-well cards, letters, notes and e-mails and credits them with giving her a big boost on her road to recovery.
"I appreciate all the support that I've gotten from all the fans," Gordon said. "It's been very touching. It's kind of hard to explain. I would never have imagined that I would get the huge amount of support that I'vegotten from everybody.
"It just makes you feel really good down deep inside to know that there are people out there that really care about you and really want to see you back out on the track. It just makes you want to try that much harder."na}
