BRUNSWICK

Michael Gray remembers asking his girlfriend if she wanted to get a bite to eat on the way home, “and that’s the last thing I remember.”

That’s more than she remembers.

It was supposed to be a fun autumn excursion that instead left them both waking up in a hospital weeks later.

Gray and Shelley Sturtevant said they had left the Fryeburg Fair on Oct. 5 and then decided to go to North Conway, N.H., to check out the shops. The two were on their way home on U.S. Route 302 when, shortly before 6 p.m., a pickup truck traveling in the oncoming travel lane turned in front of Gray’s motorcycle, causing Gray to drop his Harley Davidson Fatboy.

He and Sturtevant were ejected from the motorcycle, according to media reports following the crash, and the driver of the pickup truck reported he never saw the motorcycle before making the turn.

The two were transported to a local hospital and flown by helicopter to Maine Medical Center in Portland.

Uncharacteristically, the two weren’t wearing helmets. They didn’t want to have to carry them through the fair or leave them on the bike to be stolen.

But they say helmets wouldn’t have prevented serious injuries.

Gray had always had health insurance, but this year decided it was too expensive; Sturtevant had just started a new job and wasn’t eligible for health insurance yet. The owner of the pickup truck, a female passenger, had minimal vehicle insurance, Gray said.

Sturtevant broke her neck, ribs and suffered a collapsed lung and bleeding to the brain. “They didn’t ever think I’d walk on my right side,” she said last week, still wearing a neck brace.

Despite her own injuries, she has cared for Gray since he returned home recently.

“I had a lot of (physical therapy) when I got out of the hospital,” he said, “a lot of exercises to gain the strength back. I was supposed to leave the hospital using a walker but I refused.”

A tragic accident like this changes you, Sturtevant said. She has two children who almost lost their mother — a 10-year-old son, Kody, and Kyle, her 16-year-old daughter who was the first family member to see her in the hospital with road rash and hooked to tubes.

“I just don’t think people can understand how an accident can really affect you,” said Sturtevant, who chokes up remembering the experience.

Both were initially listed in critical condition. Her family was called to come say goodbye.

Sturtevant was in an induced coma in an intensive care unit for about 2 1/2 weeks but it was only when she was moved to a regular room about 3 1/2 weeks after the crash that she remembers really finding out what happened, “and obviously your first questions is, ‘Is Mike still alive?’”

Gray said he was in an induced coma, on life support, for about five weeks before he awoke from sedation.

“My mom, who was with me through everything … the first thing she told me was, ‘Shelley’s OK. She’s been moved out of the IC to another room and you’ve been in intensive care,’” Gray said.

He didn’t know where he was when he woke up or remember the crash and says, “I don’t know, maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t see it or don’t remember it.”

The 39-year-old lost a lot of blood and had surgery the day after the crash. He had a fractured neck, a shattered wrist and a closed head injury, and now has a metal shoulder and a rod in his left leg.

“I couldn’t even walk for a while,” Gray said, but is able to get around with the help of a walker and growing stronger every day. “I work on physical therapy and I’m really hitting the exercise sets. I want to get back to work on the first of next year and it means a lot to me to get back to work. I never collected anything. I always worked hard.”

Gray, who grew up locally and attended Brunswick High School, has worked nights at Thornton Hall in Brunswick for four years, where he passes medications. Staff and residents — his second family, he said — showered him with cards while he was in the hospital.

He’s now used up his four weeks of vacation.

“All my life I’ve had good credit,” Gray said. “I’ve always tried to do the right thing and now I’ve got like $1 million in hospital bills. It’s just crazy.”

Sturtevant and Gray met through mutual friends and went on their first date last spring. They met for coffee and spent the rest of the day together.

Gray has always had motorcycles and bought a new Harley in the spring, which the couple loved. They would go on weekend jaunts and participate in benefit rides.

“You could tell when we met that we were soul mates and I fell in love with him so quickly I just knew I wanted to be with him the rest of my life,” Sturtevant said.

But the remnants of the crash are testing them and their relationship.

“It’s really challenging,” Sturtevant said. “We just want to get through this and get back to who we were.”

“I was in great shape, I could do anything,” Gray said, who now wakes up sore every morning and experiences pain when he coughs or sneezes.

At times Gray finds himself angry and tries not to become bitter; he knows he could have been paralyzed or worse. “I just thank God it wasn’t me and I believe in God. I believe he was there with me … God and Jesus helped us both.”

Gray said he is grateful he survived and will never ride a motorcycle again.

He hopes to find and thank the paramedic and registered nurse who came upon the crash and stabilized himself and Sturtevant.

“When I came home that first day, I stopped and bought a cross and put it around my neck because I feel like after everything, I was just blessed,” Gray said. “A second chance at life, you know?”

To help raise money to offset medical and living costs, a spaghetti dinner is planned for Gray and Sturtevant on Saturday, Dec. 7 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Topsham Fairgrounds, 54 Elm St., Topsham. For those who would like to donate and can’t attend the supper, checks may be made out to Mike Gray and Shelley Sturtevant and mailed, in care of Marsha Lamarre, to 15 Maple St. Ext., Topsham, ME 04086.

dmoore@timesrecord.com