Malibu Rotary Club Past President Bill Wishard’s remarkable recovery from a traumatic brain injury in 1994 eventually led him to be a mentor for the son of one of his idols.
Page Jones, son of Indy 500 champion Parnelli Jones, suffered a nearly fatal accident after his race car hit a wall in the middle of a race at Eldora Speedway in Ohio. Jones spent two years in the hospital unable to walk or talk, but eventually relearned these skills after talking to Wishard and his therapists daily. Now, 18 years later, Jones has a wife and children and attends college.
A film about Jones’ experience, “Godspeed: The Story of Page Jones,” was released on Oct. 30, 2015 at AMC Theaters in New York and California. Director Mary Leonard and Jones spoke at the Malibu Rotary Club’s Jan. 6 meeting about how the film can inspire others with traumatic brain injury.