My Story
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TAKE YOUR MARK: It all starts somewhere.
After a three hour rain delay at the 2007 Georgia High School State Track & Field finals, the gun finally went off for the 800m run. I was in lane one, in a strong field of eight, where everyone knew that even with the delay it was going to be a fast race. Coming into the bell lap, I was sitting in third place waiting for the right moment to surge. I had visualized this moment every night for two weeks leading up to the race and I knew what I had to do. As we entered the back stretch, it was time to make my move. I surged into the lead with 250m to go, using the turn as a sling shot to send me home. As I looked at the finish line and raced against the clock, all I could think about was how blessed I was - blessed by my family, blessed by my coaches, and blessed that I had an opportunity to do the one thing that I love more than anything…to run. Click here to keep reading TAKE YOUR MARK: It all starts somewhere. |
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SET: My "Track" record.
On December 3, 2007, four days after the operation, I headed into the training room for my first day of physical therapy. The pain seemed like it had only gotten worse since the surgery and I was still waiting for that moment to "make it over the hump" to the pain-free stage. That morning, I was able to take the bandages off the wound to let my therapist look at it. A moment that should have been a positive indication that I was about to begin the road to recovery quickly turned into a much more serious moment. Not wanting to scare me or my dad, the therapist calmly said that he had expected the wound to look a lot better and he was not comfortable with what he saw. He advised us to head back to Atlanta to let the doctor look at my leg. A little concerned but not too sure what to expect, we headed on our journey back to Atlanta to visit the doctor. Once we got into the room to visit with the doctor, we didn't get great news. He looked at me and told me that I needed to have surgery again. He didn't go into much detail regarding what he thought was wrong, but we headed to the hospital to check-in and get ready for another surgery. Click here to keep reading SET: My "Track" record. |
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BANG: His glory.
On June 22, 2010, I was sitting in my pre-operative room with my family. The IV was already in and I was waiting for the nurse to come get me to prepare me for surgery. I felt an astonishing amount of peace and a mere sense of excitement knowing that I was eight hours away from the rest of my life. I asked for my family to come huddle around me as I took the last few moments before the surgery to pray over them. My prayer was simple, "Lord, the strength, the peace, and the comfort you have given me over the past four months since I made the decision to have my leg cut off, would you please take it from me and instill it on my family’s hearts right now. I am about to go to sleep and I do not need it anymore Father, but I know that my family needs your comfort now more than ever. Thank you, Father, for your mercy and I cannot wait to enter into the next stage of my life where You, and only You, will receive all of the glory. Amen." The surgery lasted a little over six hours and was a complete success. Now, I just had one job for the next five to six weeks, to rest and recover. Click here to keep reading BANG: His glory. |
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"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed you will be strong and ready for anything."
James 1:2-4
James 1:2-4
