Today we’d like to introduce you to Quint Collins.
Hi Quint, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
So, the day was December 3rd of 2017! I was 18 years old and just graduated high school. At the time, I was in the process of becoming a United States Marine, but unfortunately, I never made it to boot camp. On December 3rd at approximately 12:00pm I got on my motorcycle and headed towards Cumberland Mall to go process a return. Fast forward 20 minutes later, I attempted to make the return however the store wouldn’t accept the item. That left me furious and one thing you’re not supposed to do is ride a motorcycle without a clear head (I didn’t know that) so I hopped back on my motorcycle after calling my mom and letting her know that the return was unsuccessful and I headed back home. The time was 12:53, and i was riding down Cobb Pkwy when a 92-year-old lady decided to turn left in front of me and KNOCKED ME HEAD FIRST into a concrete wall! (Which caused me to fracture my skull and I ended up getting stuck with long-term and short-term memory loss.) So from what I was told by police officers/first responders. My body was laid unconscious on the sidewalk and my motorcycle was approximately 200 ft from where my body laid. (I don’t remember any of this, but it sounds sooo cool.)
Beside my unconscious body sat the 92-YEAR-OLD LADY that turned left in front of me. Witness reports say that the woman sat there balling tears until the police arrived. Now keep in mind while all of this is going on, my mother was expecting me home 30 minutes ago so she started to blow up my phone but I didn’t answer, so she then called the police and asked “Has anyone reported a motorcycle accident near Cumberland Mall?” The first responder then responded “Please hold ma’am” and less than 5 minutes later the woman returned to the phone with some heartbreaking news! She stated “Yes ma’am there has been a motorcycle acci-“ and before she could even finish her sentence my mother started crying and screamed MY BABBYYYYY!!! So, back to the crash, there were witnesses who gave statements saying that I (the motorcyclist) was speeding excessively and swerving in and out of lanes so the police were starting to say that the accident was my fault and proceeded to write me a ticket. The 92-year-old lady (may she rest in peace) then told the officers that it was not my fault and that she failed to look twice and hit me at the last minute. Umm so when the woman hit me she made contact with my left leg (which is still broken to this day), and that caused me to take flight.
When I made contact with the concrete wall at 65 mph, I was still holding onto my motorcycle handlebars, and the bike HIT MY LEFT LEG, the exhaust pipe to be exact. So when the exhaust pipe hit my leg, the pipe broke off which caused a large amount of FIRE to erupt from where the pipe was before!! So the large fire CAUGHT MY ENTIRE LEFT LEG ON FIRE. So from my knee to my ankle, it’s just nothing but flames! When I hit the wall I then lost my grip of the bike and the handlebars that I were once holding were headed directly for my left leg, so the handlebars hit me in my left pelvis which caused me to break that too. So I’m laying there unconscious (might I add. That was the best sleep I have everrr had!) and first responders end up taking me to Kennestone Hospital EMERGENCY ROOM and I was put into a medical coma. I stayed in this coma for a total of 39 days. Since the coma was medically diagnosed (I think that’s the right word) I was in and out of it for the entire month of December. I remember seeing familiar faces then I’d slip back into the coma for another week or so. (Here’s a cool side note! While in my coma, I could randomly see myself lying in that hospital bed in 3RD PERSON!!! That was cool!) wake up again and see my mom’s face. I couldn’t make out what exactly was going on, I actually thought I was in a pretty surreal dream. I’d wake up and not be able to move A MUSCLEEEE that’s why I thought it was a dream cause I’m like WHY CAN’T I MOVE BUT I’M LOOKING RIGHT AT YOU? I couldn’t talk either because they had feeding tubes all down my throat so once I started to wake up and I realized I CANNOT MOVE I then started trying to go back to sleep so I didn’t have to accept this inconvenience as my new reality.
From what I was told December 25th was the first time I opened my eyes and my mother was right beside me crying tears of joy. In my coma I heard voices and saw faces but couldn’t talk or move, I wouldn’t wish that feeling on anybody!!! Ok so fast forward to January 8th, im starting to wake up fully and the medically-induced coma is starting to wear off. So on January 8th, since I was starting to wake up, the nurses and doctors felt like I was ready for step 2 of the recovery process and I was being transferred to a different hospital Wellstar Hospital @ Windy Hill. Now this is the first day I remember fully!!!! So!!! I was being pushed out of some hospital room in Kennestone Hospital and I REMEMBER HEARING “MR GQ!!! WERE GOING TO MISS YOU MR. GQ! Don’t forget to come back and see us ok!” At the time I’m more confused than a Catholic Bartender. In my head I’m trying to put 2 and 2 together. I’m thinking “ok the last time I was in a hospital was last month and my nephew was born so why am I laying here? I wasn’t born? Oh crap did I switch places with my nephew?! WHY CAN’T I MOVEEEEE?!!!” When the thought of “Why can’t I move?” Crossed my mind, I tried to get my mother’s attention, but then I realized I COULDN’T TALK EITHER it was then at that moment I cried every tear in my body because that is literally ONE SCARY ASS FEELING (sorry for the language, but being paralyzed really is SCARRYYYYY) so my mother sees that I’m crying and she starts crying (we are in the back of an ambulance now, headed to Windy Hill) she then tries to hug me now that she sees that I’m awake, but she also sees every tube and needle stuck inside of me so she changed her mind.
I looked at her trying to mouth what happened but my body was too weak I couldn’t even open my mouth!! While crying she managed to get out the words “YOU WERE IN…..YOU WERE IN A MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT” so the tears that were already rolling down my face DOUBLED!! Never in my life did I think I would get into a motorcycle accident. I thought I was safe. She then told me the rest of what happened (me getting hit by the 92-year-old and me breaking my leg and losing my memory.. While she was talking I started to doze off (the medication was still in me) and we made it to Windy Hill. Once we made it there I woke up and watched them push me inside of the hospital and once I made it to the room I went back to sleep. The next day (January 9th) the medication wore off fully, and I was awake into my new reality 😭😭 I woke up the next day crying because I realized THIS ISN’T A DREAMMMMMM I REALLY CANT MOVE!😭😭😭😭so two days went by and then they started my physical therapy classes (curling a 3lb dumbbell) I know you’re probably thinking 3 POUNDS WHAT THE HELL!! Since I was laying in a hospital bed for 30+ days all of my muscles and physical features were GONE! When they weighed me in the hospital, I was 87 POUNDS!!!! Before my accident I was a solid 150lb athlete! Ummm while at WindyHill, they would not feed me real food because my body has been eating liquid “food” for the past month, and the sudden switch would cause me to get sick, so from December to February, I was fortunate to drink BISCUITS and GRAVY through a tube😭😭😭😭so at the time I’ve never experienced anything like waking up from a motorcycle accident and felt like my life was over and it didn’t even get started, but even though I didn’t feel like the king I am, I still tried to carry myself like such. I would be complimenting and flirting with all of the young physical therapists that were assigned to me. Made it through Windy Hill and was then ready for step 3 of the recovery process! Step 3 is located BACK AT KENNESTONE HOSPITAL! So on February 2nd I was transferred back to Kennestone and now my mindset has changed!
Now I’m excited and looking forward to this new level of recovery. The nurses I would flirt with at Windy Hill would always say “When you get better you gotta take me on a date!” And I would smile from ear to ear cause that would be a dream come true so every day in therapy I would give it my all in hopes of taking all of my therapists on dates! So we’re in Kennestone and I’m taking everything as it comes. The entire right side of my body (FROM FACE TO FOOT) was paralyzed due to me fracturing the left side of my skull and it wasn’t until I reached Kennestone that I started to get this weird tingly feeling on that side of my body! I was SHOCKED that I could feel anything so that gave me a little sense of hope that this too will get better. I remember back at Windy Hill sometimes I’d wake up before the nurse came in at 4 IN THE MORNING TO GIVE ME MY MEDICATION and I would quietly say to myself “God why did this have to happen to me!🥺” hoping that it was just a nightmare and then the nurse would come in and id just have that question sitting in the back of my head. So I started therapy at Kennestone and it’s going gooodddd!!!! I actually met someone who survived an even worse motorcycle accident!! His name was Sasha, and he was hit by a construction truck!! He got hit so hard the accident messed up his spine and he is now fully paralyzed from the waist down 😭😭this boy (Sasha) was 17 at the time!😭(BACK TO MY RECOVERY) I have a video from when I first used a walker after being stuck in a wheelchair for two months. I was scared because my body is fragile now (at the time) and I didn’t want to fall.
With the walker, I had to put all of my weight on my RIGHT LEG the one that is PARTIALLY paralyzed at the time (still is to this day), and put no weight on my left leg because it was broken. My right arm wasn’t as caught up as my right leg was so I couldn’t put any weight on my right arm so it was a confusing situation but God managed to pull me through. I mastered the walker to the point where I could use a cane and now I can put weight on both legs!! At this point, the hospital felt that I’m ready for the world so they released me to my mother’s care and I started outpatient therapy. When it came to outpatient therapy, I wasn’t as committed to my recovery like I was when at Kennestone so when the therapist would say do this at home, I wouldn’t do it, and it took me a couple of months to realize IM SLOWING DOWN MY RECOVERY TIME BY NOT LISTENING TO THEM so that’s when I started to do everything they said but it was too late cause my therapy ended next week! Next week rolls around and I’m not comfortable with where I’m at in the recovery process so! Since I learned how to walk with my cane and I was a very active teenager before the accident, I decided to walk to the nearest gym and start my therapy there! For the next year, I would be in the gym every day working on my recovery and I then made it to a point where I didn’t need a cane to walk! That was exciting however my balance is not back to 100% so a cane would be recommended it’s just not necessary.
So now I can walk without a cane and my RIGHT ARM is starting to move again. Everything was going good. The next steps were learning how to run and skip but that would be challenging since my left leg has not fully healed all the way. The next couple of months I slowly started to try running on my own but I couldn’t manage the pain and there was a slight delay in communication when it came to picking up and putting down my right leg so I held back on the running part. The day is December 31st, 2018 and I’m walking home from the gym when I see two police officers sitting outside of our apartment. I’m curious about what was going on and then I see my mother pointing at me. The officers come walking towards me asking me questions about a firearm my mother found in my room. I answer their questions, and they leave. They took the firearm, and my mother forced me to leave, saying “You are not going to live in my house with a gun”. So this is New Years Eve, I don’t have any friends at the time, businesses close early, and I didn’t have a car/license so I said WHAT AM I GOING TO DO OUTSIDE?! I ended up walking back to the gym and stayed there until they closed at 10pm. Sat outside wondering where I was going to go in this cold, cold weather. All I was thinking was it’s too damn cold to be outside. Someone from the gym ended up giving me a ride to Marietta Square, and on a bench is where I slept for the night. I wasn’t upset or scared because I knew God was watching over me. I Didn’t survive a surreal motorcycle accident to end up dead on a bench in Marietta so I went on to sleep.
Woke up on New Year’s Day at around 2am to a call from someone I went to high school with (he has now passed away😭REST IN PEACE TRE❤️) and he called asking what I was doing. I told him everything that was going on and his first response was SEND ME YOUR LOCATION WERE ON THE WAY!🥹 that warmed my heart hearing him say that so once he arrived they managed to put me inside of the SUV and took me back to his apartment. That is where I spent my New Year’s Day. Hanging out with people I enjoy really took me out of my situation and made me forget all about my accident. Ok let’s get back on track so today my left leg is still broken THE ANKLE/THE SHIN and my entire right side is still partially paralyzed. I’m thankful I’m still alive! Because on THE 4th OF JULY in 2019!!!!!😭😭 I watched a man die from the very thing I woke up from!! The man was coming straight down a big hill (Cartersville Hwy) on his GSXR- 1000 (motorcycle) at an excessive rate of speed and a woman with her three-year-old daughter in the backseat was making a left turn. She didn’t see or hear the motorcyclist since he was traveling so fast and once he became visible to us all, it was too late😭the man smacked DEAD INTO THE PASSENGER DRIVER SIDE DOOR and flipped over the car. He died upon impact. He hit the woman’s car so hard, HIS HEART literally tore out of his chest before he even hit the ground!!!! That is the last time I remember crying and thinking to myself THANK YOU GOD FOR SAVING ME because that could have easily been me!😭 so sorry for the long essay but to finish this off. I feel like my motorcycle accident happened to me because when I was young I used to always pray for patience and I guess that was God answering my prayers. To this day, I still cannot run, and my entire right side is still partially paralyzed, but I’m not letting that stop me from chasing my dreams!! I now go on 10+ mile walks every day and engage in tons of physical activities. I am continuing to pursue my dreams in the film/photography industry even though I have a few limitations. If God brought me this far, I feel like nothing can stop me from being the best version of myself possible!! Hopefully, I said enough and not too much😆😆😆thank you again for this
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, most definitely not!!! Some of the struggles were motivating myself to keep going when I felt like giving up, tuning out all of the negativity and doubt from people I once trusted and just staying confident in situations I don’t believe I’d survive. Just staying positive was my hardest task when literally everyone around me would give up on me. I had to learn not to give up on myself, and that was hard.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
So, right now I’m not working. My recovery has become my number 1 priority. God has been taking care of me so I don’t even have to work and I thank Him for that cause whenever I try to get a job I can never make it past day 1. Whether it’s my broken leg aching from all that standing or my partially paralyzed arm tensing up when taking care of a customer but my passion is to become an NBA Professional Photographer! I used to enjoy playing basketball but now that my right hand is “acting funny” I figured I could still enjoy basketball just not playing it😆 so to this day I have been working on becoming the best basketball photographer anyone has ever seen. What am I known for? I’d say I’m known to put a smile on anyone’s face and just be a cool calm and collective person to be around. What am I most proud of?! I have to say my most proud moment is seeing how no matter what I’ve been through, I still choose to keep my head high. I’ve been through situations people wouldn’t imagine going through and I thank God for blessing me with the spirit of determination. What sets me apart from others? I’d say my faith in God. No matter how bad a situation looks if you believe the Man upstairs will come through than sit back and watch it happen and that’s exactly what I do. I let God do His thing in my life with no questions no doubt no fear or any of that. I welcome the favor of God in my life with OPEN ARMS!! I love you, Lord God🙌🏿❤️
What do you like and dislike about the city?
Likes and dislikes about Atlanta. Likes, uhhhh honestly I can’t stand Georgia. I’ve been here my whole life and have grown tired of it. Uhh dislikes. Everywhere I go there is some southern racist Trump supporter expressing their hate towards African Americans and that annoys me. Another dislike. THE WEATHER!!!!! Can yall get some snow here or there? Shoot the traffic as well. There’s a long list of dislikes but I’m grateful for life so as long as there’s breath in my body. I’m ok.
Pricing:
- Car Detailing-$100 int/ext
- Photoshoot 10 pics- $80
- 15 pics – $130
- 20 pics – $150
- 21+ pics $200
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/quintc.photoghaphy?igshid=MTl0Nnl6ejBqdDFoMQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@2ndchancemedia686?si=l4w8Nwirm2oybutn
