After nearly two years in the hospital, John Graziano is going home. Graziano was the passenger in Nick Hogan’s car which he flipped while drag racing on a public street. Firemen had to use the jaws of life to get Graziano out of Hogan’s car, and Nick literally walked away fine. It was thought John wouldn’t live, and then it became clear that he would, but in an assisted medical facility. Now his mother has finally taken him home, and his care will be provided by family, friends, and volunteers.
John Graziano, the Iraq War veteran who suffered severe brain damage while riding in a car with wrestling star Hulk Hogan’s son, Nick Bollea, is now home after two years at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa. Doctors determined Graziano’s condition had improved enough that he could go home, where nurses, friends and relatives will continue to provide him 24-hour care, said his mother, Debra Graziano.
Graziano, 24, has been hospitalized since the Aug. 26, 2007, wreck in which Bollea lost control of his Toyota Supra in downtown Clearwater and smashed into a palm tree. The crash broke parts of Graziano’s skull. Bollea was uninjured. Graziano, strapped into a wheelchair in the back of a minivan, stared straight ahead as the van pulled away from the hospital at 12:42 p.m. Debra, Graziano’s brother, Michael Graziano, his sister, Christin Carson, and Carson’s husband, Richard Carson, rode with him.
His return from what Debra called “the best hospital imaginable” will be a welcome move for the family, which regularly made the long trek from its Pinellas County home to be at his bedside. Debra “always worried about him in the middle of the night,” Michael said. “Now she can know he’s okay.” Debra, who thanked God for her son’s release, gave no details on how their home had been prepared for his arrival. But she did give a name for it: “Heaven on Earth.”
Michael Graziano, interviewed Wednesday afternoon at his workplace on Clearwater Beach, said he was still stunned about his brother’s return home. “It didn’t really sink in yet,” said Graziano, 21. “It may take a while to realize every day when I wake up he’s there. He’s not in Tampa.” Graziano said his brother’s breathing has improved recently but that he would still need outpatient therapy a couple of times a week.
“A lot of people think brain trauma is like a soap opera. Like, just one day he wakes up,” he said. “He’s pretty much at step one. There are a lot of baby steps from here.” Debra Graziano had been visiting her son in Tampa daily from their home, he said. The Carsons came from their home in Georgia just to be with John Graziano during his release. Michael Graziano thanked everyone who showed support and spoke of hope that his brother would continue to improve. But, he said, he couldn’t help but compare his brother’s absence from home with another tough time: when John served overseas with the Marines. Michael “shut it out” then, he said. But this time could be harder. “I’ll just miss doing everything that brothers do,” he said.
[From TampaBay.com]
John had a fractured skull and still has severe, severe brain damage. He will never live a normal life, and Nick Hogan took that from him. Still, it’s nice to see that he’s made improvements, but it’s heartbreaking to think of all the things he could have been and the life he could have had. This man served our country and survived two tours in Iraq, only to have the quality of his life essentially taken away by Nick Hogan. I hope whatever it takes, the Grazianos get every penny they can from the Hogans. John deserves top-notch care, and the Hogans deserve some sort of punishment, even if it is only monetary.
Here’s a link to a story that shows a video of John’s horrendous injuries. It’s truly shocking, but I feel it’s important to remember just how severe this is. However the video is extremely hard to watch and very graphic, so please keep that in mind.
I saw the picture of the guy shortly after the accident, where his brain was pretty much exposed through his scalp. How bad is his brain damage? Can he ever walk or talk? Or is he going to be stuck in a wheel chair with a blank stare, unaware of whats going on for the rest of his life? I wish him a good recovery though. Thank God Florida has some of the top notch hospitals down here.
I hope he keeps improving. Is so sad that someone with so much potential is hurt like that and a piece of scum like Nick Hogan with no potential is running around like it was not his fault.
Have the Grazianos sued the Hogans, yet? God, I hope they drain that despicable family of everything they’re worth.
@ Kayleigh: I saw the video. At the time it was shot, his forehead was completely concave. I was amazed that he could survive like that, even with life support.
I can’t imagine what kind of an inner life he has now, but… there must be something going on in there, for his family to think he can still enjoy his life somehow, hey?
I know, wishful thinking, yadda yadda, but still.
As sorry as I feel for this guy I can’t help but note he wasn’t wearing his seatbelt. that was his decision. Not to mention he made the decision to get in the car with Nick. Not that Nick is blameless, he was stupid for street racing. But while we are all feeling sorry for the victim can we please remember he had a part in this as well. He made decisions. (P.S. I still despise the Hogans and everything they stand for, but the Grazianos seem to forget their son made the choice to get into that car without a seatbelt)
Now bring on the hate mail! =)
sad, no matter how u spin it.
@Kayleigh: The severe damage to the front of his brain pretty much ensures that he will be a “vegetable” for the rest of his life. A friend of mine suffered brain damage after being hit by a car, not even as severe as John’s, and after almost 9 years, she’s still on a feeding tube and unresponsive to stimuli.
Honestly, while I respect the family’s decision, I think it’s cruel to keep someone “alive” in such a state of being. This is why a living will is so important– so your family will know what your wishes were regarding treatment in various scenarios, such as a vegetative state.
I agree with Obvious^. Nick is to blame but John also made his own decisions.
Obvious, you brought up some points I was thinking about as I read that article.
I know a teacher in the district in which the Hogan’s lived. I’ll do my best at kindness = ). They are not a family that is cared for or respected.
Nick was known for racing, ticketed a few months earlier. Too bad he is not in community service considering how little time he had in jail.
This is just soo damn sad. When I did my hours with an ambulance transport, My duty was to assist my assigned EMT with ‘minor’ transport patients, like elderly, bed ridden patients, and comatose for their checkups that matched my training level. And it was the most depressing damn thing I’ve ever done.
When you hear news reports about car accidents and the ‘person sustained head trauma’ or is ‘in critical condition’ you never hear follow up reports or who the victim is or what happend later. And there is always a looooooong later. I still remember my first transport. I had to transport a ‘veg’ patient and his paperwork wasn’t finished when we arrived, I waited in the room the him and his mother arrived to visit with him. She broke my heart.
She sat there and told me EVERYTHING about him, before the accident and after. And pictures of his family, wife and kids that don’t come around often anymore. he was involved in a road rage incident and the other driver ran his bike off the road. His mother showed me all kids of things from his former life and I ended up waiting outside in the lobby to get a way from her. It was all I could do not to start bawling. Which would have been unprofessional of me. Seriously, I greatly respect EMTs for all the heart break they must endure day after day, to see this kind of thing EVERY day. Just sad.
I agree Obvious & Kelbear – John is an adult whose CHOSE to get in the car & CHOSE to not wear his seatbeat!If he & Nick were good friends he had probably been in the car when Nick was racing many times before the accident – he knew the risk he was taking. They were BOTH careless….
I, too, have no respect for the Hogans whatsoever. I am with Obvious on this subject, as well.
John got in the car for a drag race (and didn’t wear a seatbelt!) so he bears some of the responsibility too.
How devestating for his family. My husband is in Iraq right now, and all you think about is he’ll be safe when he comes home, and I’m sure John’s family thought the same thing. How heartbreaking.
I know he didn’t wear his seatbelt, but come on how often do all of us leave it off, because “I’m only dirving down the street” or some other excuse. His current state is still completely Nick Hogan’s fault, he was racing and crashed.
But with the way that car is crumpled up, would a seatbelt really have helped. It’s not like he went flying through the windshield (although the windshield is badly cracked, obviously his body didn’t go thru it).
I agree with the whole issue of it being his decision to take those risks…
but, at the same time, the fact that the hogans didn’t show any remorse and said something along the lines of “god is punishing him for being a negative person” makes it just extra disgusting and wrong… what kind of thing is that to say? :/.
I hate to be the devil’s advocate but it’s possible that the accident would have killed him had he been wearing his seatbelt. I ALWAYS wear mine now because the probability is minute, but I was in an accident that had I been wearing a seatbelt it would have cut my legs off at the least or killed me at the worst. I was sitting in the backseat when I was a freshman in highschool and the car hit a phone pole and flipped 5 times. The pole hit my door and the car wrapped around it like a fortune cookie. My friend next to me saw what was coming and pulled me over to her side before impact. It was a one in a million thing but for once I’m glad I wasn’t weaaring it! Back then people in the backseat rarely wore their seatbelt. I was very lucky, I only had borken ribs, short term memory loss, and internal bleeding.
Just a possibility!
There’s no way I’m watching that video, that’s so … ecch.
Agree with those who say that there was an element of choice in being in a car with that total loser Hogan. It’s sad, but true. Ditto Diana and her lack of seatbelt. Sometimes it just comes down to luck.
I’ve not watched the video (oh hell no) but … he’s finally removed from hospital and the family are raving about the hospital and how positive they are about the future – could this mean there’s been some payment from the Hogans? How are they paying for the treatment otherwise?
Sorry for my cynicism, but …
And he was such a beautiful young man. I hadn’t seen that picture before. God blast all Hogans.
In just one moment it can all be taken away
im not defending nick whatsoever but when did nick hold a gun to his head and NOT make him wear his seat belt. ya most blame is on nick and it sucks what happened to john but he’s not 100 percent innocent in this. no one held a gun to his head and made him get in the car. he knew what nick was doing was illegal. drag racing.
UGH! Ya’ll should be ashamed! Who cares if he chose not to wear a seat belt! His life is ruined! OMG, I watched that video after the accident, it was horrifying! If that was my child I don’t know what I would do… No amount of money could make that right. Then watching the video of him leaving is still heart-breaking. God be with him and the family. 🙁
Amen Megan!!
wow. I didn’t know so many people would agree. @Sara, I always wear my seatbelt. I have never left it off (at least not since i was like 5) even just down the street. And considering how close Nick and John were you have to think he knew there was a possibility of a street race and he had probably been involved.
Just because the Hogans showed no remorse does not automatically mean it was completely Nicks fault.
And as sad as it is, if the seatbelt had killed John, he would not be forced to be living a life such as he is now. and Nick would probably still be in jail. however wearing a seatbelt (as Nick was who really wasn’t hurt) may of meant he came out with similar injuries.
We ALL need to take responsibility for ourselves and think.
Again my thoughts and prayers go out to the Graziano family, but I tihnk at some point they need to wake up and realize it was all Nick’s fault, Nick never forced John into that car or forced him no to wear a seatbelt. And I seriously hope at some point the Hogans make a restitution and Nick should become involved with a chrity or foundation for race victims (oh you know there is one out there somewhere)
John’s Mom seems just wonderful with him. I wish them the best.
I watched the video of John in the hospital and I think every kid should see that before they are allowed to drive.
@ Obvious if you are saying that since you were 5 there has never been a moment ever in your entire life that you have ever accidently forgotten to put on your seatbelt that is pretty much the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I don’t think it is humanly possible to never in the years of your life to forget for even awhile while you drive to put on your seatbelt, and maybe you should reread your last post. First you say it isn’t all Nick’s fault and then you say “Again my thoughts and prayers go out to the Graziano family, but I tihnk at some point they need to wake up and realize it was all Nick’s fault”
And by the way my father died in a car crash in 2003 with a drunk driver while he was wearing his seat belt and we were told that if he HADN’T been wearing his seatbelt he most likely would have survived the accident, because the seatbelt trapped him and the paramedics weren’t able to remove him from the van he was in and he died at the scene. That’s right. Seatbelts aren’t 100%. They are a precaution not a save all.
Sara: I think Obvious made a type-o and she meant to say it “wasn’t all Nicks fault.”
But I agree with you 100% -it might not have been so bad if the Hogan family hadn’t acted like a bunch of assholes and Nick seemed even remotely sorry. Kids make mistakes and accidents happen, but if I had been Nick, I’d could barely live with myself seeing a “friend” in his condition and I be fine. I certainly wouldn’t be publicly bashing the boy I just ruined for life.
I’m sorry to hear about your father-drunk driving is a whole other tragedy on its own.
@ Sara
Please, the guy was NH’s friend. Do you realize what it means? Friends like the same things. Do the same thing. Graziano knew what they were going to do with this car. He chose to get in. He chose not to protect himself. He didn’t care if they were going to injury other people. I agree that NH, being the driver is more guilty, but JG is not a saint either.
The reconstructive surgery has been remarkable, and he seems much more alert than the previous video. He’s not going to make a full recovery, but what improvement there has been is amazing.
With regard to safety-belts, I am very firmly of the mindset of always wearing one on the public road. Not wearing one is a bad habit to fall into and allow your passengers and children to do.
My sympathies to those who lost loved ones and my relief to those who survived crashes. Whilst there is always going to be some cases where not wearing a seatbelt may have helped crash survivors, it’s just too big a chance to take – your body is going to be far too vulnerable to being violently shaken, subject to huge pressures and your head bashing against hard surfaces. The seatbelt is designed to keep the upper body immobile and reduce risk to head trauma – other parts may bear the brunt in smaller and older cars, but your brain will be most likely intact.
A site which I sometimes visit, is mydeathspace.com. there you see report of victim after victim after victim of car crashes. Usually young (very young) and inexperienced drivers, many driving at excessive speeds, some drunk and a frightening number not wearing seatbelts. For the odd good luck story, it’s really not worth the risk.
But the reason I’m commenting at all is that I remembered something a former member here, Scott F saying. He thought that in this case given his experience as a fireman, that it wouldn’t have made much of a difference, as the impact was sudden and absolute. Possibly not, though I do wonder if restraining his upper body could have reduced the impact. He would still have been very severely injured, but perhaps his family would have still had more of John’s personality left to sustain them as they care for this unfortunate man.
In this case, it’s the Graziano family my heart goes out to, they have had their lives completely changed through absolutely no fault of their own, and they’re ultimately the ones paying the price for two young, silly boys’ idea of fun.
“Friends like the same things.”
Not necessarily.
My best friend from high school became a stripper. I’m not interested in that, but am still friends with her and hang out with her.
I also am friends with a few senior citizens in my book club. And I don’t like Metamucil.
I don’t understand a world where good people are hurt and assholes like nick hogan flourish and have more than anyone else. It’s completely fucked up.
I hope that karma kicks the hogans collective asses. Oh, and that john graziano’s family take them for every last red cent.
How devestating for his family. My husband is in Iraq right now, and all you think about is he’ll be safe when he comes home, and I’m sure John’s family thought the same thing. How heartbreaking.
I know he didn’t wear his seatbelt, but come on how often do all of us leave it off, because “I’m only dirving down the street” or some other excuse. His current state is still completely Nick Hogan’s fault, he was racing and crashed.
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Sorry Sarah. I ALWAYS WEAR MY SEATBELT.
If someone is driving and we crash I did my part as best as I could to survive. I don’t think Hogan is to blame solely for this young man’s detriment. He got in the car and didn’t wear his SB. And if he knew his friend was drag racing, he also knew the risks but chose to ignore it. Now if he woke up and said he begged Hogan to let him out and Hogan refused, THEN and only then will I say Hogan is fully to blame. But please, don’t make assumptions about who does and doesn’t wear SBs…I do, always. First thing i do after settling in the car is put my seatbelt on before I go. If my driver isn’t wearing theirs, I speak up and say please put your seatbelt on. If I am the driver, I wont move until my passenger has it on – but then again none of my friends drive without their seatbelts either. It should be automatic – like reflex to put it on.
@Sara i did make a typo and wasn’t able to fix it as the edit button isn’t working on my post…
And as I’m only in my earl 20s i can honestly say i have always remembered my seatbelt.
my sister in law was killed by a dunk driver as well and the seat belt may have killed her, however does that mean we shouldn’t wear our seatbelts? they’ve saved a lot more lives than they’ve killed.
i am very pro-seatbelt, but take a look at that crash photo, people. do you really think a seat belt would have made that big a difference? he still would have been crushed. nobody is saying that the guy was a saint, but nick hogan is responsible for his friend’s condition – he was the one speeding. it’s not like he was going 30 miles an hour and someone ran a red light and smashed into his car. douchebag was drag racing- in a residential neighborhood!
i hope he recovers enough to beat the hell out of nick. my prayers wish him a full recovery.
Its really horrible what happened to him.
But it very very easily could have been John driving with Nick being the injured one. I think that is something people forget.
They were street racing.
i’m with obvious and others in thinking that while Nick hogan is an ass, he isnt 100% at fault.
Sara – I have to say I was indoctrinated from the start with the idea that I might “fall out of my seat” if I wasn’t strapped in, so the minute I get in the car, like many people I know – that is, it’s not unusual – I put the damn seat belt on before I even start the car. Yes, every single time. Many people do; don’t doubt it. Not everybody is exactly like you.
Now, having said that, seeing that car, it seems like he would have either died or been just as **cked up, seatbelt or no.
The reason his mom is so damn excited to have him home is simply that, and the fact that he is near and she can watch over him. It ain’t because he’s going to be walking and talking again, have a girlfriend, have children, or lead any remote kind of life. He has 24-hour care. A significant portion of his brain is gone. His mom said in the video that he is “emergent conscious”. That means the lights may be on but he is NOT EVEN CONSCIOUS. Understand what this means. He cannot enjoy or find delight in life ever again. My dad has had a number of TIAA’s and a severe stroke, and while he can talk (thank the Good Lord), he’s just about lost his mind. It takes very little brain damage to screw you and your thinking up, not to mention your bodily functions you take so much advantage of. I work with dad every day when I’m here and find things to talk to him about, but he is not the same guy, not at all.
There’s a heavy load on young Mr. Hogan because of this and I can only hope he’s learned something. Though it doesn’t really appear that way. I am very sad for their family but glad they have won a small battle, and that is for him to at least be near them, even if only physically. Pray for all of them. They need it.
Hatsumo, my heart goes out to you. I totally understand what you went through because I’ve seen similar things. It’s really hard not to break down in front of people when your heart is torn in two like that and people’s loss is so poignant. But there are sad stories everywhere and we as humans somehow have to learn from good things and bad alike.
Really didn’t mean to sound like such a bummer today, but I’m here at the facility right now and brain damage (mostly from strokes) is just all around me. We must learn and persevere and help each other through it.
Nick is definitely 100% at fault. He was driving the vehicle. period.
Some put the blame on him ,that is not at all fair.I once got in a car with a friend and her boyfriend who was driving ,out of nowhere he started speeding on the wrong side of the avenue and i remember screaming and telling him to stop ,i believed we were going to die .So no matter how much one can trust a friend or whoever is driving if the driver snaps mentally and decides to “rock” your world what can you do? Jump of the high speed car?
Nick Bollea should have payed with more than 5 months and his family should be ashamed instead of making reality dumb tv .
Not to belittle John’s battle at all but there is no greater punishment than being “Nick Hogan”. With all of this bad karma, he’s fucked. Game over.
Gosh, how sad. He was so handsome. Life is cruel.
I’m sorry but I do have to say it was John choice to get in the car. It was also his choice not to wear a seat belt. I put my seat belt on every time I’m in a car. I also choice wisely who will drive with. I also feel that its a shame people can’t take fault for their own mistakes.I am sure Nick feels awful about the situation as well as many others. But fighting over who’s fault it is inst gonna change anything. I feel sorry for both ends.
This young man has a huge recovery ahead of him full of PT,OT,Psych,SLP, and rehab support. I currently work with the TBI (traumatic brain injury)ABI (Acquired brain injury) setting. I hope the family sues Nick for every penny he has and lock him up and throw away the key. I also believe that the government needs to promote more education on exactly what a brain injury is.
Just cuz John went to Iraq it doesn’t mean he’s invincible. He didnt wear a seatbelt and he got in the car on his own. They were good friends so I’m sure they raced all the time. Just cuz John was a retard and didn’t wear a seatbelt is not Nicks fault. Nick was safe. John wins the Darwin award. His family deserves no money from the hogans because of this accident. U take risks u have to face the consequences and sometimes it’s life and death.