Accidents can happen anytime and, most importantly, without any warning. Some accidents result in bruises and scratches, while others require an emergency room trip. But sometimes, accidents make people adopt a whole new style and make them undergo several trips to the surgery room combined with a near-death scare.
Hank Williams Jr. will be familiar with the last scenario. The country singer’s signature look of sunglasses and a long beard directly resulted from an accident because he wanted to mask his mangled facial features. Williams Jr. survived a near-fatal fall from a mountain, leaving him with many problems.
Hank Williams Jr. is a famous country singer who recently marked the 48th anniversary of the accident that changed his life. The musician fell from Montana’s Ajax mountain when he went hiking up there on August 8, 1975, with his buddy Dick Willey. While attempting to cross a snowfield, he fell 530 feet, fracturing his skull, popping his eyes, and leaving his jaw, nose, and teeth in pieces. He recovered thanks to more than nine surgeries and a rigorous rehab program.
What Happened to Hank Williams Jr?
Hank Williams Jr. is known for his songs, controversies, and one famous but near-fatal accident that almost killed him. Recently, the singer marked the 48th year of the incident that almost took his life- he fell 530 feet from Montana’s mountain Ajax on August 8, 1975. The Ajax Peak stands at a height of 3,897 meters above sea level.
It damaged his body and face massively. The accident happened when he went hiking with his friend Dick Willey and tried to cross a snowfield to continue on his path. The snow beneath his feet crumbled, and he fell. His face hit boulders and jutted rocks while on the way down, and his skull got fractured in several spots, which left his brain exposed.
His one eye had popped out of its socket, and William Jr.’s face, including his teeth, jaw, and nose, were all broken in several pieces. His friend immediately contacted the park ranger. A helicopter, called by the park ranger, lifted him to the Missoula Community Hospital. But it wasn’t easy to airlift him from where he was.
Rescuers had to work six hours to get him out and transport him to the medical institution. There he underwent an extensive seven-hour surgery conducted by a team of 5 doctors to address his most pressing damages.
The musician discussed the ordeal in his 1979 autobiography Living Proof: The Hank Williams Story. An excerpt from the book, quoted by Whiskey Riff, reads:
“I put my hands up to feel my nose. Where my nose should be, there’s nothing. My teeth and parts of my jaw fall out. I raise my hand to my forehead, and where my forehead should be, there’s something soft and squishy. That’s my brain, I think.”
Initially, medical experts thought that he wouldn’t be able to sing anymore due to how extensive his injuries were. However, Hank underwent several surgeries to fix his injuries and the scars from other operations.
Along with the initial seven-hour surgery, he underwent nine more operations over two years to fix his body and return it to some level of normalcy. Skin grafting, screws, metal plates, and such were used to improve his health.
Williams Jr. took the incident as a turning point in his career, and thanks to his indomitable spirit, he underwent and survived a rigorous rehabilitation process. Since then, he has released two dozen albums and defied all the bleak predictions about losing his voice.
He wrote in Living Proof: The Hank Williams Story, quoted by Whiskey Riff, that:
“I never knew if I would sing again or not, talk again or not, let alone think about what I was going to look like. It was a scary time… I’ve had dreams about it. I should have died.”
Hank Williams Jr.’s story is still inspiring because he recovered and won despite every hurdle thrown at him.
What are your thoughts about Hank Williams Jr.’s stunning recovery story?
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Source: Whiskey Riff and Living Proof: The Hank Williams Goodreads
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