It Happens in a Blink

Some moments pass in the blink of an eye and are gone forever, some you wish would never end... others, you wish never occurred.

I'd have to say looking back, I wouldn't change anything. Life does suck sometimes, I'd be lying if I said it was all rainbows and sunshine and easy. It's really not, it's a challenge; but I've always welcomed those.

Freshman year of college is a time of immense joy and happiness, especially if you've been accepted at the college of your dreams. For me, I had everything I'd ever wanted within reach, I was part of the class of 2014 at the University of Florida (GO GATORS!). I'd also been granted the amazing opportunity to live and work on one of the equine research centers for the university. Life couldn't have been better. Little did I know that my life was about to take a major turn.

Two days before classes were to begin, I was scheduled for my first day on the job. What started out as a great day quickly turned into anyone's worst nightmare. In the process of moving one of our horses to a new paddock in a truck (DO NOT ever give it a thought, I KNEW better, and did not listen to my gut). Anyway, the mare spooked at a piece of moss hanging from a tree, the slack in the rope caught my hand and I was unable to get it off in the split seconds following as I was twisted up, out of the seat, smashing my head into the side of the door as my arm was wrenched out the window before there was a tear, instant slack, and the feeling that my wrist was broken. If only it had been that simple. In fact, when I got the nerve to look, I was shocked to find that I no longer had a hand. Yeah... Needless to say I started to freak out (that is a severe understatement), until every anatomy class I'd had flashed through my mind and I realized that if I did not calm down, I was going to die. (that however, is not an exaggeration). It is still a mystery to my doctors and the paramedics that: 1) I did not lose consciousness, and 2) I had somehow managed to stop the bleeding with no assistance. If I'd passed out, I would not be here, and if I'd kept bleeding, I would no longer be here. It is a very real fact that I was very close to dying that day, it is a miracle that I did not. The Lord is truly amazing. I will not go into the details, it makes most people cringe. A skilled team of surgeons could not cut out the rope from my hand, and due to the nature of the injury, re-attachment was ruled out. Needless to say, after 6 hours of discussing with skilled prosthetists, the decision was made to remove the remain portion of my hand to the wrist. Now almost a year later, I've been told you can't even tell. I've found a way to accomplish a vast majority of the tasks I thought would be impossible. I've learned that it's little accomplishments that can bring the greatest joys. I wont lie, tying my shoes, zipping up a jacket, putting up my hair....heck, even putting on clothes became hellish tasks. Now, it's just a walk in the park, like everything else. (Oh and while I have a prosthesis, it's been a long and difficult road with many weeks of being unable to use it, so I'm more productive and efficient without it....Sorry)

And believe it or not, no matter what your accident, I can assure you that there are tons of people who will be there to support you. I was surprised to find how large my family had grown. See, my story got ALOT of negative feedback from pretty much everyone who thought they knew everything, and there will be those people. My friends and co-workers (like family) were harassed to no end. My story made national news within 3 days of the accident occurring, my name was all over until the university stepped in. It was humiliating. See, due to a misreading of the police report by one newspaper, I was made into an idiot for something that I honestly had not done. It was bad. I had teachers in my hometown badmouthing me, and at that point, I called the school and told them that if it did not stop, I was pressing charges and coming down to address my old teacher personally. This went on for months, but through it all I did have the support and encouragement of my friends and family and it made all the difference. I probably would have lost it if not for them. I'm still finding out some of the things my friends went through. It kills me. I guess what I'm trying to say is that people are going to talk crap, but you have to tune it out. It's hard sometimes, for a week or two, I couldn't watch the news or go online because I was in some headline, or the topic of some online article. ALL the SAME article, word-for-word, just a different opening paragraph. It was frustrating. I've decided to take my story public and am in the process of writing a book, but it's not because I'm vain or trying to flaunt this. I've found out how common accidents like mine are, and they are devastating, I have been truly blessed. I can say I've never been in pain from my accident, how, I do not know, my doctors are baffled too. But that is besides the point. What I'm hoping to do is show others that life does go on and you can still achieve your dreams. I want to encourage others in their struggles no matter how big or small. Mainly I want to share the awesome power of the Lord with others, for I give Him all of the credit for where I am today.

Guess I'll start on here. This is just the beginning...