Loves trumps tragedy

In October of 1995, Rafael Da Costa, then 22, had just finish working the night shift as a bartender on Eastern Long Island when he got into his car to visit his girlfriend, Consuelo Vila, also 22, who lived in Long Beach. He was tired, he said, and fell asleep at the wheel while travelling on the Meadowbrook Parkway. As a result, he crashed his car in a concrete wall — but that wasn’t the life-changing part. His mistake was getting out of his car to access the damage. When he did so, a passing car crushed his foot and wrenched his arm so violently against his side view mirror that an artery ruptured and the nerves were damaged.

“I was waiting for him, but he never came,” said Consuelo. “I found out what had happened when I called his mother.” Da Costa was transported to Nassau County Medical Center, where he eventually underwent numerous surgeries to repair the damage to his foot and his arm. “I knew on the third day in the hospital that my arm would be paralyzed,” he said.

At the time of the accident, Da Costa had dropped out of college and had no medical insurance. “I was furious at the time, because the doctors were talking about my surgeries as a business transaction because I had no insurance,” he said. “My parents were prepared to pay, but I realized then that I would have to become resourceful.” His life – along with his foot and his arm – had to be rebuilt.

After experimental surgery on the nerves in his shoulder, Da Costa was able to move his arm away from his body, but he was — and still is — unable to move his arm below his elbow. “He went through a period when he was institutionalized,” said Consuelo. “His personality changed after the accident. It was not him.”

“It was an interesting experience,” Da Costa said, shaking his head. “I realized then that it’s how we deal with things that gets us through. Along with therapy, Da Costa said that he willed himself to get well. “I didn’t want to put her through this,” Da Costa said of Consuela. “I knew I had to get better.”