Nov. 22--When a large oak tree fell on firefighter Damien Pereira on July 3, 2015, he thought he might die.
The former San Luis Obispo resident was with his Cal Fire crew mopping up at a small wildfire in isolated, mountainous terrain near Sequoia National Park when he heard a thunderous crack.
The hollowed oak tree, consumed by an undetected fire inside its mid-section, snapped about 12 feet off the ground.
Pereira turned to run. But the oak, about 36 inches in diameter, came crashing down, pinning him.
Because of their location deep in the wilderness near Three Rivers, about two-and-a-half hours passed before Pereira arrived at a trauma center in Fresno. The difficult rescue required a chopper to hoist him out, using a long line connected to a harness.
"It was straight out of a Hollywood movie," Pereira recalled recently. "The rescuer was strapped to me on the line, the chopper took off and we dangled a couple of hundred feet over the trees and mountains. I thought 'If God is up there, and we're going to fall, please don't let me land on my back.'"
The thought wasn't rational (a fall would have meant death), he knows, but it came to mind anyway.
That afternoon marked the beginning of a grueling, physically and emotionally painful road to recovery. Some doctors thought he'd never walk again. But he's well on his way to proving them wrong as he rehabilitates in the Houston area, where he's now living.
"My new goal is to try to be out of my wheelchair in a year," he said. "I'd like to be out of my chair for good."
At the time, Pereira -- who spent his youth in Pismo Beach -- was commuting to the Tulare County firefighting job while living in San Luis Obispo with his wife and young son.
After the smashing blow, Pereira was foggy but conscious of his fellow Cal Fire crew scrambling to get the tree off him. During the rescue effort, with his medical training and knowledge, Pereira thought he might bleed to death because of internal injuries.
Later he would learn he suffered a collapsed lung and several broken ribs, as well as spinal cord injuries.
Pereira's friend and fellow Tulare County firefighter Joe Willingham stayed by his side until the chopper arrived and wouldn't allow him to use a cell phone to say his final goodbyes, which he wanted to do, instead urging him to think positively.
Later, doctors confirmed that Pereira, at the age of 25, suffered paralyzing vertebrae injuries.
His first surgery took place three days after the incident. Afterward he was told different things by doctors -- that he may never walk again, that he had a 50-50 chance of walking, and that it was too soon to tell.
Over the past couple of years, Pereira has experienced an emotional roller coaster -- optimism, agony, pain, depression, anger and hopefulness.
Now 27, he also has faced financial hardships trying to cover medical expenses and make ends meet. He has received some workers compensation. But Pereira still struggles to get by with his medical and physical therapy expenses. He even has relied on support from loved ones to help his move to Texas.
"It has been very hard for him," said Pereira's mother, Cynthia Wilbur, of Porterville. "I think it's very hard for him to ask for help, too. But he needs it."
Since joining Project Walk: Houston in May, a private center specializing in paralysis recovery, Pereira started to regain hope for his mobility.
Four months after his accident, he felt the first twitch in his leg, saying it felt like a muscle spasm. Since then, he has spent time in various rehabilitation centers -- in Northridge, San Diego and most recently in Houston as he sought the best treatment (he liked the center in San Diego but it closed).
Calhoun said the Houston center's mission is to help people walk again, but also to live independently, which Pereira can now do, though he relies on a wheelchair.
The former firefighter said that since he has attended two-hour, biweekly sessions at Project Walk: Houston, his spirits have improved. He still has some bad days. But it's now easier to fight through the times when he starts to wallow.
"I didn't start feeling hopeful until I came out here to Texas," Pereira said. "I told these guys here, 'I don't know how you do this.' The people who come here, their bodies are stuck (in paralysis) and destroyed. I was told, 'We do this job because I know there will be a guy like you.'"
Project Walk: Houston trainer Jacob Calhoun said in a phone interview that Pereira's muscles were severely atrophied when he arrived, but he has begun to build up some of the muscles.
With gradual strengthening of his body over the past few months, Pereira had a breakthrough -- standing and shuffling across a room with the assistance of a harnessed walker, using mostly his legs for propulsion, balancing with his arms.
"When he first walked across the room with the LiteGait harness, he was tearing up by the end," Calhoun said. "He just realized what he'd done and it all hit him."
Calhoun said that the center tries not to give anyone false hope, but he believes Pereira's goal is realistic if he keeps progressing as he has over the past six months.
Pereira says he'll remain in Texas to continue his rehab center because of his progress. The center has been the best place for him, he said.
Pereira doesn't know what his future will bring. But he hopes to help other firefighters deal with post-traumatic stress syndrome. Granite Mountain Hotshots firefighter Brendan McDonough has helped Pereira deal with PTSD. McDonough survived a firefight that killed 19 crew members in Arizona in 2013 and has talked often with Pereira, helping him battle his anxieties and flashbacks to various traumatic events that Pereira experienced as a firefighter.
Pereira said his 4-year-old son, Greyson, who simply wants to play with his dad, is another motivating factor in his life.
"There have been lot of times where I didn't want to get out of bed," Pereira said. "But I will get out of bed for him."
Wilbur said her son has had "some dark, dark days," but of late he has coped much better.
"Mentally, he's just now dealing with everything," Pereira said. "I'm so proud of him. Where he is now, it has been the best thing for him."
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