Man finds second chance at life after battling back from accident
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

Altimiz Patterson, left, is smiling once again after dealing with years of painful recovery from a vehicle accident. He credits Master Behnam Saghafiwith helping him learn to cope.

Slamming into a wall at 120 miles per hour, Altimiz Patterson was in bad shape, - in fact, he was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

It was Sept. 5, 1994, and the Alabama native was serving in the U.S. Army in Germany. He had been driving on the autobahn, a highway where there was no posted speed limit.

"I broke both my legs, my right foot was burnt, it crushed my face," he said reflecting on the accident.

For five days he was in a coma but in the years that followed he felt like he was still in that state. An avid basketball player, at 6 feet 3 inches tall, Patterson was looking forward to playing on a post team at the base. "It messed up everything, dropped to the bottom, I felt useless," he said. "Basketball was all I knew."

Undergoing surgeries and skin grafts, he spent months in the hospital, part of the time with his mouth wired shut. He lost 50 pounds and went into a state of depression.

After diligently training for a physical test to stay in the Army, Patterson passed but was still discharged. It was another disappointment for the young man.

The visible signs have remained with Patterson, now 33. His foot is still scarred, and the skin is deformed 13 years later.

In 1996 he left Germany and in 1998 moved to Buffalo, before moving back to Alabama.

"I had a lot of pain in my foot from the burn," he said, adding that it is still unknown what chemical from the engine burned his foot. When the vehicle he was driving slammed into the wall it pushed the engine into him.

Patterson had triumphs in his life, marrying the woman he saw the moment he awoke from his coma, his then girlfriend Devorah, and starting a family with her, but he said he still felt useless.

"Because of the pain I couldn't play with them," he said. "I was taking eight to 10 pain pills a day. I took more pain killers, and my body was immune to them, so I needed more and more."

Patterson said the diet of pills changed his personality, making his temper worse. He was angry with the pain and the limitations put on this life.

"When I played basketball I thrived on the crowds, dunking, point scoring, but all that was taken away, and I didn't know what to do next," he said.

Patterson added that he was frustrated with the cycle of going to doctors, hoping to feel better and then not.

In 2004, he and Devorah moved to Buffalo with son Devon, 11, and daughter Joita, 10.

One day he passed Master Behnam SaghafiAdvanced Hypnosis and Tae Kwon Do studio on Niagara Falls Boulevard in Tonawanda and decided to sign up his son, but the true beneficiary proved to be Patterson.

After a few of his son's lessons, Patterson began speaking with Saghafi.

"I learned mental strength, and now I don't think about the pain," he said about his sessions with Saghafi. "I can tell it's still there,butI block it out now. I learned to talk about these problems, and it kept my mind at ease. It's no longer a burden."

Since starting sessions with Saghafi, Patterson said he has gained his confidence back and the ability to be active again.

He stepped onto a basketball court eight months after walking into Saghafi's.

"The first time I felt happy, excited; I can even dunk now," he said with a smile. "It was a weight lifted off of me."

Patterson also joined Tae Kwon Do classes and has earned the rank of green belt.

He said he now takes a pain pill once every three to four days, and everything has improved for him - he is more mentally alert and physically back on track.

"I learned to block what discourages me," he said.

Saghafiis proud of the success he has seen in Patterson.

"He hadn't exercised in 10 years," Saghafisaid. "I helped motivate him to do it. There was a change in him from the first time,"

Saghafisaid he used the same philosophies he had used for years to help Patterson, adding that they helped Patterson to start believing in himself.

An Amherst resident, Saghafihas a doctorate and is a graduate of the University at Buffalo, a certified hypnotist and a grandmaster in Tae Kwon Do.

For more information, visit www. master- mind. us.

e-mail: jfinch@beenews.com