I was like a lot of people when I was younger. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, or even more importantly; how to go about finding out what I could do. It was a little different for me because I grew up with physical disabilities. I was injured when I was a child (13 months old) due to a car running over my body and dragging me down a dirt road. Even as a child, I wouldn’t give up. The accident should have killed me but it didn't. I spent much of my childhood living and growing up in hospitals. In a way I was raised by doctors, nurses and caregivers. I guess it is only natural that I would wind up working in healthcare.
My time in high school was uneventful at best. I had a small group of friends, one of which I still talk to on a regular basis. After high school I spent some time traveling and trying to find myself.
A series of nonproductive jobs eventually brought me to work at a good paying, but somewhat uninspiring job at a polyester factory in North Carolina. I worked there for nearly ten years. It was a sunny day in September, 1988 when I was riding my Harley back to Salisbury, NC from Statesville, NC that my life changed forever, again.
I was enjoying a beautiful fall day when a lady in a beat up old car pulled out of a side road onto the highway. She didn't see me or my bike. I was sixteen feet from the intersection when I hit her nearly head on. My body flew into the air and across the road. I landed just six inches from the edge of the opposite side of the road. I hit the ground just in time to see the semi truck whiz by my head. I never lost consciousness even though I broke most of the bones on the right side of my body.
I should have died right then and there, but I didn't. I should have broken my spine or had a severe head injury or both, but I didn’t. Instead I spent the next six months recovering in hospital from all the broken bones and torn muscles. A lot of people thought I should have died in that accident. I am sure some people thought I would have been better off if I had died. I survived and went on to do some pretty amazing things and I hope I have a lot of great things left to do. I feel that I am still here for a reason. I am still working out all the details of what those reasons are, but then aren't we all.