Nadeau 'willing to go through the hard road'

LOUDON, N.H. -- Jerry Nadeau may have lost some feeling in the left side of his body, but he hasn't lost his sense of humor.

Asked what he's learned about himself since the accident May 2 at Richmond International Raceway that left him with critical injuries, Nadeau said: "I've got a hard head."

Later, Nadeau was asked about his vision.

"Am I cross-eyed?" Nadeau said.

No, he's not cross-eyed, though Nadeau said Friday he feels like he's cross-eyed. That's the by-product of a serious head injury, where your "mind is playing some tricks," Nadeau said.

Nadeau was back at a race track Friday, holding a press conference at New Hampshire International Speedway. He looked fit, wearing a white U.S. Army polo and khaki pants.

	Jay Frye: "There's no timetable, no hurry. This is his team, this is his car." Credit: Autostock

While he spoke to the media, Nadeau's speech was fine, with only a hint of any slurring. He did seem to speak out of the right side of his mouth, but that's likely a result of some numbness he continues to feel on his right side.

But make no mistake. Nadeau wants to drive a race car again. He knew that from the time he fully regained consciousness on May 22. There were a few times he thought about quitting for good, but Nadeau said Friday they were only a few sparse moments.

And a recent trip to Victory Lane Indoor Karting Center in Charlotte convinced Nadeau he was ready.

"When I got back in that go-kart, I knew right then and there that I'm going to come back," Nadeau said. "I felt good enough to drive a kart."

The next question is ... when? When will Nadeau return for a Winston Cup race?

Of course, no one really knows, for brain injuries heal differently.

"It's just a matter of time," Nadeau said. "I think I'll know when I'm ready. It's more of a mind thing. Physically, I'm fine. I've just got to wait for the brain to heal, and I'll be back."

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MB2 Motorsports general manager Jay Frye said there was no rush, that the No. 01 Pontiac belongs to Nadeau as soon as he's ready.

"We're going to take it very slow," Frye said. "Once he graduates from go-karts, we're going to give him a little time so that he can go to Concord (N.C. Motorsports Park) any day he wants, just wear the tires out on the car, whatever it takes. Once he graduates from that we'll take him to Kentucky.

"There's no timetable, no hurry. This is his team, this is his car. We're going to take it slow."

Nadeau remained in Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center until May 26, when he was transferred to the Charlotte Institute of Rehabilitation. On June 6, he was discharged from there but continued outpatient therapy five days a week. That was recently scaled back to three days a week.

He does physical, occupational and speech therapy -- or "mind therapy" as Nadeau calls it. His lung, rib and shoulder injuries have healed.

But the brain injury is another matter. Dr. Jerry Petty, a Charlotte neurosurgeon, said Nadeau had three areas of bruising on his brain. In the original scan of Nadeau's brain, there were three lesions. In the latest scan, two of them are "hard to identify compared to the original scan," Petty said.

The one that remains, the one that is causing the funny feelings on his left side, is getting smaller, and it should continue to heal.

"He's made tremendous progress," Petty said.

Petty consulted with Dr. David Wiercisiewski of the Charlotte Institute of Rehabilitation earlier this week, and Wiercisiewski said he was definitely positive in anything he said about Nadeau.

Petty said Nadeau will soon undergo neuro-psychological testing for memory recall, which Petty said "he should do well at."

The best test will be when Nadeau drives a race car 180 mph in a pack of 43 cars, Petty said.

Until then, go-karts will have to do.

"Last week, we went on the go-karts, and it felt like I never left," Nadeau said. "It felt good."

Meanwhile, Nadeau is undergoing therapy to re-learn many of the things he used to take for granted.

"You've got to teach your brain basically what you used to do," Nadeau said. "It's like training a dog. You've got to tell them, 'Go potty here.' I'm just basically going through the whole procedures of getting myself better.

"It's not just about talking. It's about things that make you think, like hard games, stuff that makes you think a lot. ... I'll read a newspaper, and then give them the newspaper, and they'll ask questions. 'What did you read?' There's a lot of good things that come out of that."

Nadeau has had to learn a lot of patience in his recovery. At first, he couldn't understand why it was taking so long. But he's since learned differently. He gave credit to his wife, Jada, calling her the "backbone" of his recovery.

And he said she was all for him driving again.

"She knows the danger," Nadeau said. "She understands how much I really do love racing. I have all her support in coming back.

"This is all I've ever done my whole life. Basically, I'm given a second chance. ... I'm willing to go through the hard road to get back."