It took 17 years for Sam Schmidt to drive his wife to a date.
He wasn't meant to be alive at that point after what happened to him in 2000.
Back then, he was a racing driver, preparing for a new Indy Racing League season. He wanted to win the Indy 500.
His life changed one day. It happened during a routine lap of a test at the Walt Disney World speedway. He lost control of the car and hit a concrete wall at 180 mph.
The impact left him a paraplegic. The worst case scenario was presented to her when she arrived at the hospital after the red-eye flight. It was a lucky night for him. If he was still alive at the end of the week, she should look for a nursing home for him as he would be on a ventilator for the rest of his life.
The life of Schmidt has been all about bucking expectations. He was out of the hospital six weeks later. He founded his own team after returning to Indy.
He found a way to get back in the car. It was beyond what he had thought was possible.
In 2000 they didn't give me a week, and 21 years to live. It was all about survival at that point.
I didn't have a dream of driving again in 2000. At all.
He raced competitively again.
The premise of the car that made it all possible is audacious, as if the idea of survival must have been in that hospital room in 2000.
It was the culmination of several years' work with American company Arrow Electronics, who set themselves the goal of creating a car for a person unable to use their arms or legs.
The SAM car was a modification of the 2014 Corvette Stingray. The car is controlled in a way that no other car in the world can.
The motion- tracking sensors in the sunglasses and the cameras on the dashboard link up to steer the car based on how he moves his head from side to side. He uses a small sensor that looks like a straw to decelerate. It has built-in technology that can detect and ignore sneezing.
The SAM car has a sensor that looks like a straw and is operated by Sam Schmidt.
"They said I'd never breathe on my own and that I was on a ventilator," he said. I had no diaphragm and no muscles to operate this car. I had to work on my core strength and exercises to be able to operate this car.
You have to make a conscious effort when you're driving. It's not what you want to do when you blow in and the thing is going to stop on a dime. Even if you don't want them, it's got good brakes.
A co-pilot in the car with him at all times can take over the controls if needed. That was important to the hopes of returning to competitive racing.
He had dreamed of winning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a long time and finally did so in the year of 2014). He started to compete as he got better and more used to the SAM car.
The SAM car was being driven by Sam Schmidt.
He took on the intimidating Pike Peaks challenge in 2016 and turned 156 times. The SAM car was six minutes behind the winner.
Like any racing driver, he had to think about how to make the car better.
He said that they keep asking him what he wanted to do next. The car has changed a lot.
We're starting to compete against able-bodied people. I want to move up the chain and beat more people. That's part of me.
The partnership with Arrow and the SAM car has opened up a whole new world to him. When he was able to walk his daughter down the aisle using an "exoskeleton" suit, he made headlines worldwide.
He said that was the best day of his life since the accident.
He is driving his wife to that date. He took her to San Francisco. His son, Spencer, was in the co-pilot seat.
"All of these things that were taken for granted 21 years ago, we've been able to tick those boxes," he said.
It's easy to dismiss those things as routine, but they were everything for Schmidt. The SAM car is something special. It has given back some of the independence that was lost with the injury.
I anticipated the pure emotion and excitement and anxiety, but what I didn't anticipate was the feeling of being in control, because I don't really control anything in my life except for my power wheelchair.
I'm on it and I'm steering. I have that kind of control over my life. It makes me feel normal when I'm in the car.
Arrow created a car for Sam.
It's a feeling of control and freedom. Arrow shared his dream of rolling out the technology to the general public.
Not often do you see a $30 billion tech company with a moral compass and willingness to help people. It's quite extraordinary, out of the ordinary.
If you want to use this technology to help people, they'll give it to you for free. If you can figure out a way to put people back to work using this technology, they will give it to you.
I've been all-in for seven years. It can be life changing and it can save lives when you apply technology to people with disabilities.
There are 20 veterans a day who commit suicide in the U.S. I think a lot of those men and women joined the armed forces for a reason and now they can't go to work, they can't put food on the table.
You have to give them a way to achieve their goals. I think it can help with the depression. We're working with Arrow to take away barriers and we're wondering if it's transportation or mobility. Let's remove the barrier and get you back into life.
He has ambitions in racing. The Arrow partnership has extended to the Arrow McLaren SP team, which was formed by the Arrow partnership with the famous British manufacturer.
It seems as though the dream of one day winning the Indy 500 is still alive.
I thought maybe I shouldn't be around the paddock because I'd remind drivers of what is possible.
I think you would talk to them. I've been in the field for 21 years and I don't think they know me as a disabled person. They treat me like a team owner and I want to win. That's first and foremost.
They're coming to us and begging to drive for us because of Arrows' involvement. That's cool. McLaren's involvement has helped the team become a regular winner. That's the goal.
It is very difficult to bet against him because of the way his life has gone and the new targets he is setting himself and Arrow.
