‘You’re A Miracle’: Student Recovering From Traumatic Brain Injury After Motorcycle Accident Two Years Ago

Lucas Martinez’s life changed forever on April 30, 2020. 

While driving to Fort Lauderdale after visiting a friend in Miami, Martinez lost control of his motorcycle on I-95.

Dazed and confused, Martinez struggled to gather himself. As he walked toward his motorcycle on the opposite side of the busy interstate, he was struck by a car. 

Martinez suffered a broken ankle, arm, tibia and fibula, a cracked femur, a punctured lung and a cracked skull. He suffered traumatic brain injury to all the major parts of the brain—the forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain.

“Everyone says ‘you’re a miracle,’” Martinez said.

The day after the accident, Martinez’s parents, Christine and Eddy Martinez, began searching for their son. They called his friends and nearby hospitals. At 10 p.m. the search ended when two police officers knocked on their door and informed them that he was at the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital. 

“I lost my joy,” said Lucas Martinez’s mom, as she described how the accident affected her.

For about three weeks, Martinez was in a medically-induced coma because of the swelling in his brain. When he woke up, his memory was foggy and the left side of his body was partially paralyzed.

“It was like I was in a dream,” Martinez said. “A dream where I saw my friends and my family, girls I liked and people I loved.” 

In June of 2020, Martinez was transferred from Jackson Memorial Hospital to Kindred Hospital South Florida in Coral Gables. He was about to leave the facility in August of 2020 but his stay was prolonged after he was infected with COVID-19.  

During his isolation period at Kindred, Martinez began communicating and showing alertness. Shortly after, he was admitted into Christine E. Lynn Rehabilitation Center for The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at UHealth/Jackson Memorial.

On Oct. 30, 2020, Martinez left the Lynn Rehabilitation Center in a wheelchair and started outpatient care at Jackson Memorial. 

Martinez’s grandparents’ refurbished their home in Westchester to ensure he had a wheelchair-accessible room to stay at. A caretaker helped Martinez at his grandparents’ house and he continued seeing a speech therapist, occupational therapist and physical therapist. 

The 23-year-old also formed a bond with his occupational therapist, Amanda Tristan. She helped him regain back movement, use of his left hand and improve his memory and problem-solving skills. 

“We both inspired each other to be better,” Tristan said. “I will forever be grateful for Lucas because he challenged me as a professional and because I learned so much from him [on] a personal level.”  

In May of 2021, Martinez took his first steps. Two years after the accident, he can use a walker or cane to get around but he still utilizes a wheelchair. 

Martinez continues to receive physical and occupational therapy. A few weeks ago, he achieved an important milestone: he walked unsupported.

In the spring of 2022, Martinez returned to Miami Dade College for the first time since the accident. He switched his major from psychology to hospitality and hopes to earn his associate’s degree in 2024 and a bachelor’s degree from either MDC or Florida International University in 2026. 

“My life has been crazy,” Martinez said. “But I tell people the accident has given me a lot of perspective on what’s important.” 

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