00:00I was scared for my life. I was literally begging to God for someone to see me and save me. It was
00:05a hot summer day. We were going to go kayaking on the Red River where I lived. We got off the river
00:11about 7.30. By that time, I had a 30-pack of beer, several shots. So I was pretty out there,
00:17but I was aware of everything. And her next decision would change her life forever. We had
00:23met up with some fellow people in our community. They ended up inviting us over to their house.
00:28We get to the house. I decide that, yeah, I'm going to swim. Before I dove into the pool,
00:33I hesitated three times. On the third time, I dove into the shallow end of the pool. When I dove in,
00:39my head hit the water. The back of my neck snapped at the C5 level. When it snapped,
00:44I immediately lost all feeling and movement from here down. And that's when she started to sink
00:50deeper into the pool. I was scared for my life. I was literally begging to God for someone to see
00:55me and save me. That's when they come after me, brushing me out of the water, which you shouldn't
01:00do. But in that moment, nobody knew what was going on. They just knew that I needed help. So they got
01:05me out of the water. They sent me straight up on the outside couch. I was crying. I was begging for
01:09them to call my mom. To call 911, they wouldn't do it. The homeowner wouldn't call until all the
01:15evidence was cleaned up because they had underage drinking there.
01:19And that delay was causing her golden time to slowly slip away.
01:23One of my very best friends ended up calling 911. When the ambulance got there, he did a test to see
01:30if I was able to feel. I was looking at my legs while he took like a pin and he had like poked
01:35my legs in different areas. And I was watching him poke it, but I wasn't able to feel it.
01:40In that moment, I just felt like my world had ended. I wanted to literally just die.
01:45And there was no way she was going to let her neighbors get away with it.
01:49To this day, I have not heard from the homeowners, me or my family. We actually did end up going
01:55through a lawsuit with them. And I had won that lawsuit. I just think they are evil people.
02:00When I got to the hospital, they took me into immediate surgery. They had to fuse my neck
02:05from C4 to C6. I had completely severed my spinal cord. I shattered my C5 vertebrae. That's a really
02:12high level injury. It affects a lot. I have no hand or finger function right now. I actually have
02:18hand surgery in two weeks. So we're hoping that helps a little bit. We don't know. It's 50-50.
02:24But I ended up recovering in rehab in Frazier in Louisville, Kentucky. I was there for 31 days.
02:31And then I came home and I've just been trying to recover. It's been a long road. I just live
02:37every day like it could be my last because it really could. My accident opened my eyes. And
02:42I'm just really grateful. I have so many wonderful friends and family. I have a great support system.
02:48I just love life. I am grateful for the movement I've got back. My doctors in UK, I remember them
02:54telling me that I would never be able to move below my neck again. And obviously, you know,
02:59that's changed. I 100% believe it's God. Yeah, He has brought me out of some deep, dark holes.
03:05Thank you very much.
03:06Thanks, everyone.
03:07Thank you very much.
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