He Changed Me

I’m here walking because of GOD, his love, mercy, power, and forgiveness. I headed to work on my motorcycle. I came up to a blind turn that a truck was taking as well going the other way. You know the expression "he didn’t even see it coming" that was me.

 

First thing truck and bike smack noises, than I hit the windshield head first and I’m in a coma. An EMT was driving behind me on her way home. I'm at the hospital, bloody and unconscious. They did a tracheotomy (they cut a hole in my neck and put a tube in my throat because my breathing was slow to not breathing at all). My jaw and the C7 of my spine where broken. I had a pseudo aneurism in my neck (one of the arteries in my neck was weak and could break. they told me if that happened I would have bled out really quick). Nerves in my brachial plexus where torn out the spine. (Couldn’t move my right arm) They said I couldn’t move anything in my right arm again. Three weeks later I woke up from my coma. I didn’t know what had happened, or why. I couldn’t talk, they had to wire my mouth shut to let my jaw heal. I couldn’t walk or sit up in bed by myself, I had a tube in my nose feeding me, and I had machines breathing for me. My arm was the biggest thing for me to get over. I had to have help taking showers, dressing myself, opening bottles or bags. It’s harder to fold my clothes, carry things, to run, to write. When you go camping and they have those bear poof garbage cans. You know the ones you open and drop in trash with the other hand because if you let go it closes. You can’t use those garbage cans with one hand. Trust me I tried. But God has given me loads back! To thinking and breathing to walking and smiling! When I was trying to do things like sit up HE was behind me pushing me up, when I was trying to walk again HE held out his hand. When visiting hours where over and everyone had to leave I wasn’t worried or scared, He was sitting right next to my bed holding me taking my fear and pain. I said good morning to God every morning. Sometimes I wish I could go back to only listening and talking with God. All together I spent Close to 2 months in the hospital. Christmas was only weeks away now. The time for them to unclip my jaw had come and I found a new problem, I couldn’t swallow food right it was going into my lungs.  The food going into my lungs could be sucked out through the trach (the hole in my neck and yes, it is as painful and uncomfortable as it sounds) but not all of it got sucked out and I got a fever, I had pneumonia. I can’t tell you much because it’s hard for me to remember; I remember praying I could be out of the hospital in time for Christmas with my family. I missed them and wanted to see them, not for them to have to come see me. I was well enough and made it home just one day before Christmas.

 

I can move my hand now, arm a little bit and it’s only getting stronger. I don't deserve life or the 2nd chance I have now. I was just a 19 year old kid living for himself. If I would have left my house just minutes later, no EMT, Hitting my neck could have left me paralyzed or killed me, The aneurism could have killed, hitting a truck with my head at 40+ (mph) could have sent me into a much longer coma than just three weeks, and who’s to say even if I woke up I would remember anyone. But I did wake up and I could remember.

 

That’s one part of my story; the 2nd part is I had a little problem with eating. It started when I was 17 with throwing up than went to not eating. To eating and feeling guilty and throwing up again.