Tribulations lead to perspective

by KASEY PUTMAN, staff writer

 

You never know what you have until it’s gone.

Although this saying is cliché when it comes to relationships, it is very true in other aspects of life.

When a person looks at his or her life and ponders about the things he or she takes for granted, things such as being able to walk or talk never crosses his or her mind.

I know firsthand that these given abilities are things people never truly appreciate.

Sadly, I know this because this thought never crossed my mind until I could no longer do them.

When I was 8 years old, I was in a near-fatal car accident.

This tragic event was one of the most life-changing events I have ever encountered.

I went from being a very normal and active kid to being a vegetable in a matter of seconds. From this accident, I suffered from a hematoma of the brain and a compressed skull fracture.

After three brain surgeries, I wasn’t expected to live through the night, but somehow I battled this doubt and lived.

Although I had overcome this doubt, my journey to recovery was still very long. I was unconscious for 10 days. Once I regained consciousness, I was unable to move.

No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t walk, talk, eat, drink, or do anything by myself.

I was in such critical condition someone had to be with me at all times, because I was unable to vocalize or signal my needs.

After about three weeks of being hospitalized, with the help of physical therapy I was able to walk short distances. But I didn’t have the strength to go very far.

I was hospitalized for 36 days before I could finally go home.

Unfortunately, I was so incapacitated I couldn’t go back to school for another three months.

I had to undergo very intense physical, occupational, and speech therapy. My condition was so bad that all my therapists gave up on me. But thankfully my parents weren’t satisfied and convinced them to continue working with me.

I have never experienced anything as hard or more frustrating than learning to talk again.

The brain damage I had suffered was so severe that I couldn’t process how to turn sound into words. It was as if I were a newborn baby in an 8-year-old’s body.

Fortunately, after many hours of therapy and homeschooling, I was able to make a miraculous recovery.

Not only did I lose my motor-skills, or my ability to move, but the emotional trauma I suffered was severe as well.

This car accident and the injuries I faced changed my outlook on life.

I realized that there are many things I took for granted subconsciously. It never crossed my mind that I could go to sleep and wake up and not be able to function.

There are too many things in this world that people don’t appreciate. Life is too short to be unappreciative.

I want to encourage everyone to count their blessings, because you never know when you might lose one.

The quote “Live like there’s no tomorrow, love like you’ve never been hurt, and dance like nobody’s watching” is one that I have learned to appreciate more. I now live my life to the fullest every day, because I now know how precious life is and that tomorrow really isn’t always promised.