I was SHOT in the face, what’s your excuse?

With the holiday season in full swing, I’m reminded of how lucky I am to still be around to celebrate another Christmas and New Year’s Eve. I’m also reminded of how many of us face challenges daily and suffer from depression during this time of the year. This is my first article and I was planning to publish it in 2020 but I’m dropping this now, hoping that it brings some value to at least one of you this holiday season.

I don’t gamble p̶o̶k̶e̶r̶ ̶i̶s̶n̶’̶t̶ ̶g̶a̶m̶b̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ but even I’d bet that you’ll likely never meet someone else who could genuinely ask you my (en)titled question 5̶0̶ ̶C̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶w̶i̶t̶h̶s̶t̶a̶n̶d̶i̶n̶g̶. That’s probably for the best because being shot in the face isn’t something I’d recommend anyone experiencing first hand. Aside from the accompanying trauma, there’s that whole "high probability of dying" thing, the costly ICU bill, and a lengthy rehab process … assuming you survived.

In general, anything that makes all extreme sports combined, look like a friendly game of shuffleboard at a Florida nursing home in comparison, should probably be avoided wherever possible.

Unfortunately for myself, I was shot in the face in 2007, and my official medical diagnosis of being an incomplete quadriplegic came with an additional bonus in the professional opinion of Dr. John Guthrie, that along with having no feeling below my nipples, I’d also have zero chances of ever walking again. Not the best news to receive and it was a tough pill to swallow m̶e̶d̶i̶c̶a̶l̶ ̶j̶o̶k̶e̶ ̶…̶ ̶u̶̶̶g̶̶̶g̶̶̶h̶̶̶h̶̶̶,̶̶̶ ̶̶̶r̶̶̶e̶̶̶a̶̶̶l̶̶̶l̶̶̶y̶̶̶ ̶̶̶R̶̶̶e̶̶̶g̶̶̶?̶̶̶ but anyone who knows me, knew I’d likely take it with a grain of salt. d̶i̶d̶ ̶I̶ ̶m̶e̶n̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶I̶’̶m̶ ̶a̶ ̶b̶i̶t̶ ̶s̶t̶u̶b̶b̶o̶r̶n̶?̶

I mean, all the warning labels on my pill bottles clearly say, "SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN WITH ALCOHOL", which I simply assumed, like my diagnosis, was also just another suggestion that had a bit of leeway. Sidenote, medication is way better when taken with alcohol or technically it’s the other way around b̶u̶t̶ ̶p̶o̶s̶s̶i̶b̶l̶y̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶e̶f̶f̶e̶c̶t̶i̶v̶e̶,̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶r̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶l̶a̶b̶e̶l̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶a̶c̶t̶u̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶s̶a̶y̶.

So, you’re probably asking yourself questions like, "Why did he get shot?", "Where and how did this happen?" "Is alcohol taken with medication really that awesome?"

For now, all I can only promise is that I’ll answer all those questions and more in future articles. Why? Simply because this particular article is meant more for you, and less about me.

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We all face challenges on a daily basis. You may be constantly defending your financial position, face challenges to your physical, emotional, and mental well being, or have difficulties juggling and balancing relationships with your friends and family, and those types of battles just never seem to end. But just like me, you have a choice. You always have a choice! i̶n̶s̶e̶r̶t̶ ̶b̶l̶u̶e̶ ̶p̶i̶l̶l̶,̶ ̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶p̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶r̶e̶f̶e̶r̶e̶n̶c̶e̶,̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶’̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶i̶t̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶M̶a̶t̶r̶i̶x̶ ̶4̶!̶

For instance, I had a choice of taking my diagnosis as the gospel, getting comfortable with the prospect of a full-time nurse t̶h̶e̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶, confinement to a motorized wheelchair t̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶a̶d̶, and a lifetime of self loathing and self pity t̶h̶e̶ ̶u̶g̶l̶y̶. I also had a choice to make peace with the hand I was dealt with and embrace the challenges facing me at that point in time, and my new reality as a quadriplegic.

I remember visiting my friend Jennifer at the hospital’s children’s section s̶h̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶S̶t̶o̶l̶l̶e̶r̶y̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶U̶n̶i̶v̶e̶r̶s̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶A̶l̶b̶e̶r̶t̶a̶ ̶h̶o̶s̶p̶i̶t̶a̶l̶ and seeing the innocent faces that hadn’t yet been given the opportunity to experience life to its fullest. But you couldn’t tell that they were facing equally, if not more precarious challenges ahead of them than I was. They subconsciously woke up each day and chose to live on. They weren’t programmed like adults often are to actively choose failure or simply give up.

I remember my first week in rehab and a paraplegic I had met, who was the lone survivor of a plane crash in the Arctic. He faced an uncertain future of returning back to that region and "living" the remainder of his life in a hospital room. He soon confided that he wished he had died with everyone else in that crash. Between survivor's guilt and a bleak future stuck in a room in the middle of a frozen tundra, I often wondered if I'd had felt the same way or what I would have done in his place.

Every person on my rehab ward had a unique story and each chose a different path moving forward. My neighbor Ishan at the Glenrose Rehab s̶̶̶h̶̶̶o̶̶̶u̶̶̶t̶̶̶ ̶̶̶o̶̶̶u̶̶̶t̶̶̶ ̶̶̶t̶̶̶o̶̶̶ ̶̶̶U̶̶̶n̶̶̶i̶̶̶t̶̶̶ ̶̶̶3̶B̶̶̶, was a 19 year old who decided to skip his birthday weekend and take a job driving parts up north to the oil fields instead. He doesn’t remember falling asleep at the wheel, and woke up a quadriplegic. This kid was my spark and amazingly positive despite the severity of his injuries. Aside from sharing his pirated movie collection with me an introducing me to the TV series Entourage, we also inadvertently got hammered on some good Scotch with our other neighbor Curtis, R̶I̶P̶ ̶b̶u̶d̶d̶y̶ learning rather quickly, the fantastic effects of mixing alcohol and medication for the first time. We still keep in touch and he’s still being an amazing human and currently pursuing a law degree.

But the one particular conversation that stood out amongst all of them was with an 18 year old, motocross enthusiast turned paraplegic. After about 2 and a half months into my 3 month stint at rehab, with relatively minor progress, he noticed that I was finally able to wear support braces around my knees and legs and "walk" (picture a child’s first steps) with my physical therapist aiding me and by leaning heavily on my quad cane during my scheduled rehab times.

Yet he also noticed that I was always in my wheelchair for the remaining 23 hours outside of my rehab times. Unbeknownst to him at that time, his next few words would provide me with what I’ve now come to realize as a very pivotal point in my life, a singular point where I had to make my most important choice to date.

"If I could move my legs even a little bit, I'd try to walk all day, every day."

F̶̶̶u̶c̶k̶ ̶̶̶y̶̶̶o̶̶̶u̶̶̶ ̶T̶y̶l̶e̶r̶,̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶e̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶n̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶!̶ But thanks for calling me out, kid! For my fellow Canadians and sports fans, that was my TSN Turning Point. For everyone else, let’s just say, "sh!t just got real, yo".

As much as my decisions to make choices to survive and continue pushing my life to its limits had already brought me to that point, I was casually reminded that I had the power to continually make even more choices.

Scratch that. Let’s be real here.

I had the privilege to make choices that others weren’t even given the opportunity to, and I was squandering them. SPOILER ALERT: with the choices I made daily after that, I walked out of rehab 2 weeks later. (I’ll share how I became one of the world’s only unassisted walking quadriplegics in another article shortly)

Listen. I’m not a life coach. I’m not a motivational speaker. And I’m definitely not a religious or spiritual leader. Lord knows, p̶u̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶e̶n̶d̶e̶d̶ that there are way too many of them out there already p̶̶̶r̶̶̶a̶̶̶i̶̶̶s̶̶̶e̶̶̶ ̶̶̶J̶̶̶e̶̶̶s̶̶̶u̶̶̶s̶̶̶,̶̶̶ ̶̶̶H̶̶̶a̶̶̶l̶̶̶l̶̶̶e̶̶̶l̶̶̶u̶̶̶j̶̶̶a̶̶̶h̶̶̶ ̶(̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶T̶o̶n̶y̶ ̶R̶o̶b̶b̶i̶n̶s̶)̶! Heck, you didn’t even know I existed until a few minutes ago.

Who I am though, is someone just like you, that has been through something on the extreme end of being both physically and emotionally traumatic, and I forgot to mention, also resulted in me losing everything I had financially (more on bouncing back from that in future articles).

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I’ve even lost the use of my right arm, and despite all that, I’m here, sitting at a Starbucks b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶s̶u̶p̶e̶r̶ ̶c̶l̶i̶c̶h̶e̶ writing this article for you, left handed. BOOM! g̶u̶n̶s̶h̶o̶t̶ ̶r̶e̶f̶e̶r̶e̶n̶c̶e̶,̶ ̶t̶o̶o̶ ̶s̶o̶o̶n̶?̶

Whatever your excuses are for any challenges that you face daily, I’m here to remind you that you have the choice to change your course and make the best of any situation. I didn’t take a gunshot to my face just so this article could have a cool title a̶l̶t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶I̶ ̶g̶u̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶h̶e̶l̶p̶s̶. But I’ve earned the right to call you out and you need to give your head a shake if you disagree.

I left Canada this summer, traveling solo to fulfill a dream of becoming a digital nomad, recently celebrating my 45th birthday, focusing on my health, all while channeling my inner Anthony Bourdain along the way.

Forget WWJD. From today onwards, that changes to WWRD (FYI, that R is for Reggie if you didn’t catch my name).

So, when faced with your next obstacles and challenges that you think you can’t overcome, I hope you remember me and hear me whispering in your head, "I was shot in the face, what’s your excuse?"