I Died May 23, 1997
How the Heck Is This Inspirational?
Once upon a time I read somewhere that he who saves his life shall surely lose it, And he who loses his life shall surely find it. For a long time I never understood what the heck that meant, but through the process of time and some, What appeared to be at the time. misfortune. Life revealed to me a most valuable lesson. Although I started my sentence with the proverbial once upon a time, Which usually denotes a work of fiction. This most certainly is not.
I can recall it was a bright and sunny day. I’m sitting on the balcony enjoying an ice cold Guinness Stout. The neighbors’ children are laughing loudly and having a good time running up and down the stairs that lead to the parking lot. Suddenly, Boom Boom. Shots ring out. I jump to my feet and then boom boom boom three more shots ring out. I have no idea where the gunfire is coming from. I find myself laying on my back in a pool of blood. I look down at my chest and see blood erupting from my upper and lower torso like a mini volcano. I pray and ask God for forgiveness. I think it strange now that I didn’t ask him to spare me, I guess I figured there was no point. No way was I surviving this mess… and in walked mercy. “Hello mercy,’’ I said, Thanks for stopping by. I can’t tell you how good it is to see you right now”.
As Mercy Would Have It
As mercy would have it, There was already in position an ambulance 500 yards away from me on a false alarm call. Then my call came in which the paramedics were well aware of seeing as how they literally heard the shots. Funny part is they had to stay put until a police car arrived which took all of two minutes . The stars were aligned in my favor considering the circumstances.
Where a T 8 paraplegia is located :
The thoracic section of the backbone stretches between the lumbar and cervical regions. If looking at the slope of a back, the thoracic would be situated between the neck and the small arch of the back. In simpler terms, You’re paralyzed from the chest down. Now what? Everything changes. Including your friends. What’s the bright side? You get better ones.
You come into the realization that your life and just about everyone in it was shallow and vain. You start anew. You learn who really cares about you. Quality of friends over quantity is the only thing that matters. Everyone else can kick rocks. The most amazing part is, You find out how strong and resilient you are. And through it all , No weapon formed against you will prosper.
So How Did I Die?
So how did I die? Well, It wasn’t so much a physical death as it was a spiritual death then a reawakening. What died in me was vanity, arrogance, The pride of life and a whole host of demons I didn’t know I was hanging out with. Fortunately, I was born again. A new man. Once blind, But now I see… question is. can you?.
Enosh Israel in enosh Journal Publication.
