A Broken Neck and a Gift of Life

I was 4 1/2 years old. This is what I remember. I was tired and my mother was just finishing up at a department store in Salt Lake. Ironically, I don't even know what it was called. I walked over and started turning a large jewelry rack, revealing dangling earrings and necklaces. Due to a simple human failure to secure the two blocks together, the large, heavy block fell over on top of my little boy body. It was probably the whiplash from hitting the ground that broke my neck. X-rays of my head came back clear. My neck wasn't imaged. A couple weeks passed. My neck muscles tensed up so tight that I couldn't turn my head. The doctor's said there was just some lingering issues from the trauma.

Finally we went back to Primary Children's for more x-rays. This time they checked my neck. This time they found the fracture. The next day I had 4 screws in my head, a hal0, and a vest with bars securing the whole fancy system in place. I don't even know how long I was in the halo. I think I should get more details. I think it was 3 months? I remember all the cards that came to the hospital. I remember playing Nintendo there as well. I remember being stared at wherever I went. I remember being loved by my family.

Why did I survive? Why did I not become a paraplegic or a quadriplegic? Why was I spared so that I could live a completely normal and functional life? I can run, swim, jump, bike, ski, wakeboard, play sports, write, think, and live. Other people suffer injuries and aren't so fortunate. Why?

I don't know what my Heavenly Father has in store for me but I hope to live up to it. I have the scars on my head to remind me of the miracle. I am grateful for the chance at life that He gave me. Angels really were there to sustain and protect me. I'm grateful to Dr. Walker who was my surgeon through it all. I can't ever repay my Heavenly Father. But I can try to pay it forward. I can try to be ready to marry one day. I can be a good dad. I can find ways to help others. I can try to bear another's burden. I'm lucky. I'm blessed. And I want to never forget that.