On September 8, 2013 Oklahoma City police officer and UFC featherweight Matt Grice was off duty, idling at a red light, when he was hit from behind by a distracted driver going 65 MPH. The then 32-year-old underwent brain surgery that night; the procedure included the removal of part of his skull to relieve pressure.
Grice is a highly respected both for his profession and for his exciting fighting style. UFC president Dana White said following Grice’s final fight – a Fight of the Night winning split decision loss to Dennis Bermudez at UFC 157 – that the way to not get cut in the UFC is to fight like Grice.
Grice brought that warrior spirit to his recovery. For weeks Grice showed no movement, but he finally began to respond to verbal cues. After nearly two months of hospitalization, Grice returned home, and began a long rehabilitation process.
Grice has been called the miracle patient by his doctors. Before and after images from the reattachment of his skull in December show the dramatic improvement.
His recovery was charted on the GriceStrong Facebook page as well as his wife’s Facebook page.
9/8/13 The Jeep in the accident. Matt suffered head trauma and was rushed to OU where he had emergency brain surgery. He suffered a brain bleed and would remain in a coma for weeks until “waking up”. When he woke up he was disoriented, unable to walk, talk and had many cognitive disabilities.
Matt spent 25 days at OU ICU. His initial prognosis was grave. Our family, friends and community rallied around him and we were lifted in constant prayer.Although Matt woke up a different man he still had the fighting spirit in him.
Photos were placed in his rehabilitation room so that he would remember his family and friends, as well as himself.
Second day of Rehab at Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation. Matt would be pushed every day with Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy. At this point Matt wasnt able to walk. His speech was still a bit garbled at times. He was agitated easily – typical for Brain injury recovery. His memory was very short term. Matt was “awake” but not himself. HIs memory of the kids and being married would come and go.
Matt working with his Physical therapist. Once his boxing was incorporated into his therapy “the lights came on”. He was more determined than ever.
Because Matt was unable to walk and a fall risk he spent a lot of time in a vail (tent) bed.
This picture brings back hard but happy memories. The week prior to this picture the girls’ had their first visit with Matt since the accident. During that visit Matt did not realize that the girls visiting him were his children. Tough day, so happy that was short lived.
Matt worked daily on puzzles to work on his cognitive functioning.
He’s back! Wow, what a ride. After over a year Matt is back to work at the Oklahoma City Police Department! He’s been working hard to be able to return to work. Bittersweet day!
“For the time being, he is doing office work to ease back in to police work until they can find a permanent spot for him in the next few months,” said Grice’s wife Caroline in an email to Dave Doyle for MMAFighting, late in 2014.
That same year, he won the INTEGRIS Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation Hospital Courage Award.
Grice is now 34, and has just started a new position with the Oklahoma City PD, working in the department’s Police Athletic League. He coaches fighters, including UFC bantamweight Jerrod Sanders, at his R1-MMA Training Center.
Now Grice has done an extended interview with Thomas Gerbasi for UFC.com, briefly excerpted below.
Every once in a while I look back at all the stuff that I’ve been through and done, and try to make the best of the situation, said Grice. I didn’t get to retire on my terms when I was ready. It was taken from me, but I look at it as God has a plan for everything, and if I can inspire some of the other guys and other people in this world to keep fighting and keep trying, that’s what I’m here for.
When I first got to come home, I was just different. I still wasn’t all there. (Caroline) and my kids saw me every day and they could notice the difference in my personality. And it really affected my confidence, so the way I acted was just different. But now, I feel like I’m back to normal. Even my speech has gotten better. For a while when I was talking, I talked really slow and I had to think about everything that I said. It was like I was re-learning to talk and everything. It was really weird. It’s hard to explain.
My recovery isn’t the norm. I thank God every day that I recovered as much as I did so I can be here with my wife and kids and help support them still because most people in this case don’t recover like this.
After the accident, I came back to work and I was working on patrol. The doctors were saying I would never do that again, but I proved them wrong, the way I did a lot of things, and I went back to the streets and was on patrol for a little over a year. And then I put in for a new position with the Police Athletic League, and I got that. So for the last couple months, I’ve been starting that new journey. I’m proud to be a part of it, trying to help these young kids.
I still work a lot of overtime, so I still patrol when I do my overtime. But her and the kids are glad that I’m not on the streets every day anymore.
If [his physician’s] released me tomorrow, I would fight tomorrow. There’s no doubt about it, I’d be in there.
