Hope

"When we are in the throes of some physical or emotional trauma, it can be difficult to appreciate the "gift"  of suffering.And yet, it is in the darkest times of our life when the light of God's love seems to shine the brightest, for it is at those times we depend upon it the most."

  I wanted to share with everyone about a very special family back in Tennessee that is close to my heart.  On November 27, 2009 Troy Parks  fell out of his deer stand paralyzing him from the shoulders down. Angie, his wife of 17 years, was expecting him to be home late morning, so when it got close to midday..her and their sons Dalton, and Levi went out to find him. " I never lost consciousness. I knew what I had done as soon as I did it because  of all the pain in my neck. But I couldn't feel nothing from there down and I couldn't move nothing. So I had a pretty good idea that I'd broke my neck and was paralyzed."
  Troy was flown to Vanderbilt Medical Center and spent the next four days in intensive care. Luckily Troy was an ex-football player, and had managed to stay in excellent physical health, or else he probably would have died. Vanderbilt sent Troy to Shepard Center in Atlanta, GA. It's the top-ranked hospital of it's kind in the Southeast. Shepard Center focuses on spinal cord and traumatic brain  injuries. After Troy was stabilized he spent several weeks undergoing extensive therapy in hopes of re-gaining some movement in his upper body. They also trained Angie on different therapy exercises and how to care for Troy once they were released to return home. Since they have returned home Troy can now lift his forearms from the elbow, but he can not feel it. Doctors have not given him any guaranties about what he may, or may not be able to do because they don't know. The body is such an amazing machine. Every patient is different, and you never know how much or how little someone can accomplish. They have given him hope that he may progress a lot in the next two years , but it will take a lot of work. Angie works with him for 90 minutes per day using electrical muscle stimulation, stretching, and movement. Troy joked in a recent article in the local paper from my hometown that he used to lift a lot of weight and was pretty strong, but now he is down to lifting his hand.  Considering what he has been through Troy is a true inspiration! Since he has been home he has managed to attend all his boy's basketball games. The amount of drive and hope he has is amazing! They had a benefit honoring him and his family this past weekend in my hometown. Around five thousand people showed up and they raised a lot of money. Everyone I have talked to since the benefit has talked about how Troy has such a good attitude about everything. I am sure he has his dark days too, but it really puts things in perspective when you see someone go through something so traumatic and still manage to have a smile on their face!
   I wish I could be there to tell them in person, but I just want Troy, Angie, Dalton, and Levi to know that they are constantly in my prayers and I think they are amazing people! I think about how stressed I have been lately...and then I look at them and realize I have nothing to complain about. You guys are awesome and something tells me that Troy just may surprise us all!