BOISE, Idaho — Two days after Christmas Robbie Greiner was in a car accident that left him paralyzed. If his name sounds familiar to you, it's because he and his family are the owners of the Rusty Dog Food trucks in the Treasure Valley. His father, Rob Greiner talked to KTVB via phone from a spinal cord rehab center in Utah, where Robbie is expected to be for the next 8 weeks.
We're a close knit family," Greiner said. " So my wife and I are here, and we'll be here as long as we can. "It's difficult seeing your son that's healthy and vibrant one moment, and then, within seconds later, his life has changed forever."
A few days after Christmas, the 32-year-old was on his way to visit his son in Nampa. Greiner said, just outside of Buhl, Robbie's car slid on black ice and rolled down a ravine, breaking his neck.
"By a miracle, there were two nurses that were right behind him that were able to pull over and run to his accident site," Greiner said. "They both knew how to stabilize his neck, and really, they kept him alive for 20 minutes until the paramedics came."
Robbie's dog, Abby, died laying by his side while he waited for paramedics.
Robbie was taken to St. Luke's and then transferred to the trauma center at Saint Alphonsus.
The first day he was there they did a surgery to align his neck and the front of his throat," Greiner said. "Then the second day, they did a surgery on the back of his neck to put some pins and plates in there to hold it stable."
Robbie was in the ICU for 11 days before moving to the Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Center located at the University of Utah Neilson Center. The center will help Robbie move along with his rehabilitation and teach him how to live with his injuries. Currently, he is on a ventilator and Greiner said it will be a miracle if he can ever breathe on his own. He is also currently paralyzed from the waist down. There is hope that Robbie regains some function because his spinal cord isn't severed, only bruised.
"We're grateful that he is alive," Greiner said. Because there are several instances during this whole process when he could have passed away. It's sad, because Robbie is very hands on, he's been a mechanic for the last five years."
The family has a couple of food trucks and Robbie runs one of them. His father said he is very personable and loves talking to people. He added that Robbie has been able to speak a little bit but it is very difficult for him.
"It's really hard as a father to see your son just laying there and the only thing that he can do is move his neck," Greiner said.
Robbie's sibling's have started a gofundme, people can donate at this link.
Greiner said he and his family are thankful to the community and those who have reached out.
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