Hi all!
Well, it's been a year since my accident and a lot's happened since then, but right now I just want to talk about the first three months in the hospital. I don't remember any of the ride before my accident, it's completely blank. Looking at the pictures that were taken at the site and watching the video of Josh riding the same place, all I can come to is that I rode off of a 5 foot drop and had no idea it was there.
First is the fact that being a quadriplegic is no fun at all. I miss my old self every day. But, from the time of my accident until I was released from the hospital I was fortunate to have a lot of blessings and spiritual experiences on my own and with others. The first blessing was the fact that right after my accident there was no pain, there was no fear, and there was no anxiety. I was very calm and not worried about anything.
I stayed that way for pretty much the whole 3 months that I was in the hospital. When I came to in the hospital after the helicopter ride it came to my mind that all I needed to do to get through this was to follow the example of Christ and treat others the way I would like to be treated.
I had the opportunity those two weeks in the hospital in Denver to have many missionary experiences with people that aren't members of the church. Also, with one who was a member of the church but hadn't been to church for many years. Those conversations brought me great joy. I was more concerned about those I was talking to than I was about my own situation. I hope those conversations helped them to have a desire to look more into the church and more into Jesus Christ so that their lives may be more complete and full so that they can have more joy in life.
Also in Denver I had a very spiritual experience on my own. l had a dream and when I woke up I was in tears, crying with more joy than I ever had in my life. I wanted to tell Annette all about it, but by the time I waited so that no one else was around all I could remember was a visual. I forgot all that was said. I wish I could remember, but maybe it's a blessing that I don't.
In the hospital back at home, in that three months, I had several other missionary experiences and spiritual experiences. They were spread out over time, not all condensed close together like in Denver. I had two dreams that lasted pretty much the whole night. They were both about the same thing, pretty much a preview of what my life is going to be like and what I'm going to be able to accomplish, even as a quadriplegic.
While we were in the hospital, somehow, we kept missing the opportunity to take the sacrament. It had been about a whole month there before we finally had the opportunity to take the sacrament. It brought such joy and happiness, something that I didn't think was possible by just taking the sacrament.
One of the things that I should have done when I was in the hospital is dictate all of my experiences into the phone so that I could have them for future reference. But I didn't and now I just have to go off my memory. I had many very good nurses, assistants, and therapists when I was in the hospital. I'd like to thank all of them for all they did to help me progress so that I could start to get back to some sort of life at home. I enjoyed all the visits from everyone at the hospital and I'm grateful for the time they spent with me.
Thank you, Jeff
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