Davies on remarkable path to recovery
There are the surgical scars that now tattoo the American soccer star's body. There are the constant reminders from family and friends who never let him forget what he nearly lost, and what he has already overcome. Then there are the pictures burned into his memory of the mangled car he was pulled from after he survived a car crash that killed another passenger on Oct. 13. Davies, 23, sustained multiple serious injuries (a broken right femur and tibia, a broken left elbow, facial fractures and a lacerated bladder). The prognosis was that he would face an arduous six- to 12-month recovery and extensive rehabilitation.
Less than four months after the crash that threatened to end his promising career, Davies is already jogging at a good rate and working on agility drills that would have seemed impossible just weeks earlier, when simply getting out of a wheelchair was an exhausting exercise.
Today, Davies looks very much like he did before the accident. The swelling in his face that was so evident during his interview with ESPN last November has subsided, though a shorter haircut reveals the scar he has from ear to ear arcing over the top of his skull. That scar came after doctors peeled his face off down to his chin in order to repair the multiple fractures that left his facial bones a shattered mess.
It is a recovery few have even realized is taking place, which would explain why Davies is still often overlooked when discussions of the U.S. World Cup team take place, except for the debate on who will replace him.
"That's what's been driving me this whole time," Davies said. "I've been looking at Web sites the whole time and they're always saying, 'We need to find a replacement for Charlie. We need to find someone because he's not going to be back.'
"These people don't know," Davies said. "They don't know me, and if they just knew me alone, let alone the determination and will I have now, you guys don't know.
"When I tell people I'm doing agility on the ladder and I'm running on the treadmill, people are like, 'No way.' They tell me, 'If you're back, this is the greatest comeback in the history of sports.'
"It feels good when I hear all this talk because I'm going to be able to play two months in France. I plan on making a difference at the World Cup."
"I'm extremely blessed," Davies said. "The things I had to go through and the things I had to see really changed me as a person as far as having that appreciation for people who can't do certain things. Having that appreciation for being able to play soccer.
"When you see all that, you realize nothing lasts forever and you have to take full opportunity of everything you can do," Davies said. "I know I can come back and be one of the best strikers in the world. I know with the improvement that I'm making, if I can continue that with this new feeling I have now, it's going to be tough to stop me."
There are the surgical scars that now tattoo the American soccer star's body. There are the constant reminders from family and friends who never let him forget what he nearly lost, and what he has already overcome. Then there are the pictures burned into his memory of the mangled car he was pulled from after he survived a car crash that killed another passenger on Oct. 13. Davies, 23, sustained multiple serious injuries (a broken right femur and tibia, a broken left elbow, facial fractures and a lacerated bladder). The prognosis was that he would face an arduous six- to 12-month recovery and extensive rehabilitation.
Less than four months after the crash that threatened to end his promising career, Davies is already jogging at a good rate and working on agility drills that would have seemed impossible just weeks earlier, when simply getting out of a wheelchair was an exhausting exercise.
Today, Davies looks very much like he did before the accident. The swelling in his face that was so evident during his interview with ESPN last November has subsided, though a shorter haircut reveals the scar he has from ear to ear arcing over the top of his skull. That scar came after doctors peeled his face off down to his chin in order to repair the multiple fractures that left his facial bones a shattered mess.
It is a recovery few have even realized is taking place, which would explain why Davies is still often overlooked when discussions of the U.S. World Cup team take place, except for the debate on who will replace him.
"That's what's been driving me this whole time," Davies said. "I've been looking at Web sites the whole time and they're always saying, 'We need to find a replacement for Charlie. We need to find someone because he's not going to be back.'
"These people don't know," Davies said. "They don't know me, and if they just knew me alone, let alone the determination and will I have now, you guys don't know.
"When I tell people I'm doing agility on the ladder and I'm running on the treadmill, people are like, 'No way.' They tell me, 'If you're back, this is the greatest comeback in the history of sports.'
"It feels good when I hear all this talk because I'm going to be able to play two months in France. I plan on making a difference at the World Cup."
"I'm extremely blessed," Davies said. "The things I had to go through and the things I had to see really changed me as a person as far as having that appreciation for people who can't do certain things. Having that appreciation for being able to play soccer.
"When you see all that, you realize nothing lasts forever and you have to take full opportunity of everything you can do," Davies said. "I know I can come back and be one of the best strikers in the world. I know with the improvement that I'm making, if I can continue that with this new feeling I have now, it's going to be tough to stop me."
