A teacher and coach in Allen is battling back after a car accident nearly took his life.
Chris Shaffer has been a teacher for more than 20 years. He’s worked in Prosper and The Colony.
He was supposed to start a new job at Ereckson Middle School in the Allen ISD but was involved in a serious accident days before the beginning of the semester.
“It was really going to be a great year for me and then this happened,” Shaffer said.
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He says he was driving home from a coach's meeting at Eagle Stadium on July 26 when a driver who was suffering a seizure crossed the median on Collin McKinney Parkway and slammed into him.
“Anybody can be in this situation. It happened to me but it can happen to anybody,” Shaffer said.
He suffered 10 broken bones and a stroke and spent about three months in hospitals.
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Now, he spends six hours a day, five days a week in rehab.
“It’s mentally and physically draining because I'm really pushing myself,” he said.
Progress since the accident has been marked by milestones, like the first time he stood up, the first outing after the accident, and the first time meeting the football team he thought he'd be helping coach this year.
“If I can get back to coaching and teaching that's where I want to be,” he said.
It’s a goal he’s tackling one day at a time.
Shaffer says his doctors are optimistic he’ll make a full recovery.
An online fundraiser has been set up to follow Shaffer’s progress and help cover medical expenses.
