A scenic Big Island drive 3 1/2 years ago ended tragically for a Washington couple when they rounded a bend on Kawaihae Road to find a drunken driver coming at them in their lane.

Dr. Wade Justice, a neuroradiologist, is still fighting his way back to a normal life after near-fatal injuries.

The self-described “;fly fisher, downhill skier, snorkeler, scuba diver, river rafter, family travel planner, mountain hiker and wiener dog lover”; related his long, painful struggle at the recent Neurotrauma Conference sponsored by the Brain Injury Association of Hawaii at the Ala Moana Hotel.

Dr. Geoffey Manley, chief of neurosurgery at San Francisco General Hospital, told the gathering the traumatic brain injury classification — mild, moderate and severe — is outdated and must be changed. It is like saying people have “;OK cancer, bad cancer or they're at death's door,”; he said.

  Neurotrauma ranges from a concussion to a severe brain injury, “;and we still don't understand concussion,”; he said.

Justice has struggled to recover from a traumatic brain injury since the Feb. 19, 2005, crash on the Big Island, where he had been attending a radiology conference. He and wife Jill, now both 45, were returning from Waimea to the Fairmont Orchid Hotel at about 5:30 p.m. when the drunken driver hit them head-on.

The air bag deployed on their rented convertible, Jill said, and her husband swerved as far right as he could to the guardrail, which “;pretty much saved us.”;

She had superficial injuries, and the pickup truck driver, a construction worker heading home after a pau hana celebration, was not hurt, she said.

But her husband was taken to North Hawaii Community Hospital with an epidural hematoma. She said she was told he probably would not last through the night and advised to bring their children here — Cameron, now 19, and Carly, 16.

“;Wade absolutely would have been dead if we hadn't had a strange coincidence,”; she said. “;We were able to fly him directly out of Waimea Airport that night.”; Normally, he would have been transported to Hilo or Kona, and he would not have survived another 40 minutes, she said.

Justice said he had the longest known survival with his kind of brain injury. He arrived at the Queen's Medical Center at about midnight, and neurosurgeon Jon Graham performed lifesaving surgery, he said. He remained comatose for about a month at Queen's and nearly died three more times, he said.

  Jill Justice said a wealthy family member purchased a private air ambulance flight to transport her husband to Harborview Hospital in Seattle. It took three days for the plane to get here from Birmingham, Ala., because of bad winds, she said. “;It was an amazing ordeal. They had a neurosurgeon, intensive care nurse, respiratory therapist and three pilots.”;

After a month at Harborview and a week at home, Justice was flown to Craig Hospital in Denver for an assessment and rehabilitation plan.

He said he had been “;living a fantastic life”; in Yakima, Wash., enjoying the environment, a great job and his family. At one point after the accident when he could not walk or talk, he said he felt suicidal but decided “;I can't just check out on the people I love. I've got to keep trying.”;

He has had extensive occupational, physical and speech therapy and treatment from a neuropsychologist.

He is teaching at a new medical school in Yakima and was named Teacher of the Year two years ago.

“;He's one motivated dude,”; his wife said. “;We stand in awe of him. He's really a hero in that sense. “; His story is inspiring for other traumatic brain injury survivors, she said. “;We would have liked to see someone like him out in front of us at the early stages.”;

Yet, the “;survivor process”; has had a traumatic effect on his family. Jill Justice, a nutritionist, has lived the past year in Waimea with their daughter, while her husband remains in Yakima. Their son is in college in New York.

“;It was devastating for the children,”; she said. “;They thought their dad was dead for the longest time, and watching him come back and be a different person is very difficult for them.”;

She said she and her husband “;are trying to rediscover our lives and what we're going to do now.”;