Overcoming paralysis........
After being discharged from the Marine Corps, I was offered a job as a forklift operator. Since the truck drivers loaded and unloaded their own trailers, all I had to do was place the pallets on the dock. As I placed the first pallet on the dock, I noticed that the dock was too narrow to turn around. I had to back up into the warehouse in order to get the next pallet. After placing several pallets on the dock, I was backing up to get the next and noticed that I was getting close to the edge. I stepped on the brake pedal, it went to the floor. The brakes failed and the forklift went off the dock. When the back of the forklift hit the ground, I was thrown from it. But I wasn’t thrown far enough, because when the forklift continued on its path (flipping over), it landed on me. The boom (piece that holds the forks) rested along the right side of my body, pinning me underneath. I was transported to the University of California San Diego Medical Center trauma section where I learned that approximately 50,000 lbs. of force crushed my body. In the process, I broke my pelvis in five places, received massive internal injuries and later found I was paralyzed from the waist down. Once all the tests results were in, I was told that I had a 90% chance that I would never walk again. If I did start walking, it wouldn’t be until at minimum 2002. Career wise, I was either going to be on permanent disability or behind a desk. I asked the doctors if I was able to walk, could I be a law enforcement officer again and they said – No! I was further informed that the ONLY reason I survived is because of my physical conditioning as a Marine. After a few months in the hospital, I learned how to deal with my new life and was discharged. I was placed with home health so a nurse and physical therapist could come to my home weekly and help me cope. What I really needed was a counselor to help me adjust mentally. I fell into a deep depression and attempted suicide a couple of times. I felt that if I couldn’t totally function normally, there was no point in living. That was totally false! Once I began to understand that there was nothing else I could do, the accident happened, I began to mentally adjust to my new life. One day, it hit me – the doctors said a 90% chance not 100% chance that I wouldn’t walk again. I remembered what my Drill Instructors taught me, “as long as you have breath in your lungs, you never give up”. My physical therapy (Marine Corps style) began and six months later, I took my first step. A few months after that, I gave away my wheelchair and walker, beginning my life once again upright. That was in 1995 and I have never looked back. I eventually was able to go back to work. I worked different professions from security to auto sales to paying jackpots. Nothing really gave me the sense of being than the short period I spent in law enforcement. You see in between tours in the Marine Corps, I spent 3 short months as a Reserve Deputy Sheriff. A profession that my second mom said I would be great at. While on vacation in Idaho, I went on a ride-along with my brother, who worked for the local police department. During that time, we got into a vehicle pursuit and I began to come alive again. I knew at that moment where God was leading me. In 2004, I became a law enforcement officer again.
