Gidley Continues to Improve After Further Surgeries

Memo Gidley’s recovery continues following his severe accident in January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, and the driver provided his latest update in a blog written on his website posted on Saturday.

Earlier this week, Gidley underwent knee surgery to smooth out the inside of his right fractured knee cap and remove left leg hardware. With the knees recovering, Gidley is able to walk around slowly.

READ: Gidley: “My Number One Goal is Getting Back to Being Strong”

He said following an eight-month spine X-ray that a doctor told him his fusion looked secure and had not moved.

Gidley has continued workouts and personal projects, the latter of which he considered physical therapy. Workouts have run from 4-6 hours per day, with cardio work done in a gym and swimming laps done in a pool.

Gidley took the time to reflect on how the injuries have affected him and made him appreciate his age.

“It was horrible at times,” Gidley wrote. “I do hope what happened to me helps people, especially drivers and racing officials, learn from the experience, and it never happens again.  As bad as this experience was, I have also learned a few things and I am thankful for this.

“I now know what it is like to be 95 years old and what older people deal with.  I went there overnight because of the accident, and then lived there for months…with very slow progressions heading towards my real age (44).

“It’s part of life to get older, but I just experienced it overnight which was shocking.  I want to do what I can to make older people feel good, have fun, and enjoy what life is left for them.”

Regarding his driving, Gidley said he did recently get to enjoy a near two-hour drive to his daughter’s cross-country finals. He hopes a three-hour stint at Daytona could once again be close.

“Racing, YES!” he wrote. “I do enjoy competition, a race, and the preparation and work that goes into a winning result.  So, the next time you all hear from me, I do see myself in one of the things I really enjoy, a race!”

Gidley remains thankful to all for their support. He made a welcome appearance at the IndyCar/Pirelli World Challenge weekend at Sonoma Raceway in August.

You can read Gidley’s complete blog update here.