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BACK ON THE ROAD
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August 2012
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by Amanda Jakl
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Category: Featured
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The events that led Basenberg, a Jasper, Ala., native, to be nominated for the Back on the Road program overwhelmed him, personally and professionally. It started with his wife, Tammie. "She was in a major car accident," says Basenberg. "A truck - ironically a big truck - ran a red light, hit a car and pushed it into my wife's vehicle."
The result was six surgeries, a metal bar in her back and the inability to work. And, since Basenberg drove as an owner-operator, they lost his wife's workplace health insurance plan that covered the family. The six surgeries had Tammy in and out of the hospital for months and Basenberg was forced to take time off from work to care for her.
About a year later, Basenberg was hit with another blow. His brother, suffering from gangrene due to complications from diabetes, underwent amputations of both legs.
"Me and my oldest brother were as close as you can get," Basenberg says. "He didn't have anyone; he lived on his own." Eventually, the gangrene spread to his brother's vital organs and time was running out. Basenberg, to honor his brother's request to remain at home rather than in a nursing home in his final days, was forced to again take time away from driving to take care of his brother. Basenberg took loads as often as he could, but he fell a little more behind in payments every month. He lost his brother just a few months later.
After he lost his brother and took care of the burial expenses, work picked up. Loads were delivered, bills were paid. Then his son Jason, stationed in Afghanistan, was injured by a car bomb while supervising a checkpoint. Jason wasn't close enough to sustain fatal wounds, but the aftermath was severe.
"Even as far away as my son was from the bomb, it blew him 20 feet. He had shrapnel and he was very fortunate. Unfortunately his [lasting] injuries are more mental, PTSD and depression."
Once his son left the war zone, he was sent to Fort Drum in New York to rehabilitate. A veteran himself, Basenberg began working in deliveries to New York so he could visit his son. But constantly adjusting his schedule and taking additional time off was too much.
"[I] wanted to ensure that he had the help he needed," says Basenberg. "Everything just took its toll on me and eventually I lost my truck."
Not one to give up easily, Basenberg tried working with financial counselors. "Some creditors would work with me and some wouldn't," he says. "Most trucking financial people are nice, they were sympathetic. I just couldn't catch up, I didn't know what to do."
That is when his wife stepped in. "I have a wife who loves me enough to not care what I think and nominated me anyway," Basenberg explains. Tammie and Jason had secretly nominated Billy for the 2012 Arrow Truck Sales Back on the Road program.
Now in its fifth year, the Arrow Truck Sales Back on the Road program helps one struggling truck driver a year get back on the road. Supported by several sponsors, including MACK trucks and Heartland Express, the program offers winners not just a truck and a job, but a complete support system to ensure their success continues once their year is up. "They have a team of people marking the miles to make sure I'm successful," Basenberg says. "They've really supported me. Everybody's come together. I'm making a little money now. I even have money set aside in a maintenance account."
Basenberg was given a 2008 Mack Pinnacle High-Rise Sleeper, which he'll own after his title year ends. Tires, fuel cards from Pilot Flying J, oil changes, insurance and a truck warranty are all included in the winner's package. Almost every business expense is covered for the year, which allows Basenberg to focus on creating good financial habits as an owner-operator.
"My goal is to work my tail off and save, save, save," he says. "Start the road to recovery with me and my family, and tell as many people as I can about this great program."
While Basenberg feels many of the health problems his family has endured are finally behind him, he still faces a few more challenges. Black mold and an underwater mortgage now threaten his family's house.
"We may have to cut our losses on that," he says. "We got so far behind on it, we've got all these other issues to deal with, like so many other people in our economy. Sometimes you have to look in the past, suck it up and move forward."
Through it all, Basenberg doesn't dwell on the negative because he feels the program gave him back his life. "My wife and I have got a plan, thanks to this program," he says. He and his wife plan to buy a couple of acres and live in "something with no payments" until they can build something permanent.
It's not just about surviving anymore, but thriving. "The fact that I can process these thoughts and these plans in my mind, they would not have been possible without Arrow's Back on the Road program," Basenberg says. "I just shudder to think where we'd be."
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