Almost A Year Later

Seems how today, I'll be linking up with the Walkabout, I thought I'd share something that has completely altered my life over the past year.

This is the Story of my broken arm. 10.16.2011

As many of you know, last year around this same time, I got in a mountain biking accident.

The day before I was to leave for Marine Corps Boot Camp, I went out for a bike ride with a friend.

Little did I know, we were going mountain biking. I didn't even take my helmet. (really dumb by the way. Just always wear your helmet if you're gonna be a bike...)

We put our bikes in the car, and drove to the trail. When we got there, we unpacked the bikes and started on the trail.

I had never been mountain biking and I was scared when it started to get steep. I took my feet off the pedals and walked my bike down the hill. The next little bit is fuzzy. I don't remember deciding that I was okay and I could start pedaling again. All I really remember is seeing a cement landing thing in front of me and flying through the air. I don't know how my arm broke. All I know, is that a concussion set it and I got really confused. I knew was that I was in pain and that was about it. I wasn't sure where I was, why I was there, or anything (Wear a freakin helmet!). I rode in an ambulance to the big hospital due to the brain injury. They were asking me a bunch of questions. I knew my name, my social, my mom's phone number and that I wasn't alergic to anything. That was about it.

 Also, I was asking all of the people in the ambulance how old they were and how long they had been doing their jobs. I was watching Grey's Anatomy at the time. I was afriad I was getting stuck my interns...

After all of the emergency room drama, I finally woke up in my own hospital room. I was still confused, but I knew a little bit better what was going on. My arm hurt. Bad. I was in a neck brace, and there were two IVs in my arm. For someone who has never stayed in the hospital, this was all pretty scary...

I was informed that I had crushed my radial head (elbow) and fractured a whole section of the radius.  Surgery was how they would fix it. Hardware. Joint injury. Disqualifiing.

That was all that I heard. It felt like my life was over. I was never going to be a Marine. I was never going to be in the military. I would never get to live that dream.

I was told that people don't recover from this injury. They never regain full range of motion. They never have the same strength. They don't join the military.

Well, I was lucky enough to be the exception. After extremely painful and emotion physical therapy, I had returned to almost normal. They took out all my hardware in January of this year. Now I have a pale scar and I'm stronger than ever. This injury has become the fuel behind my fight. I will never forget it and I will always let it be my reason to push forward and defy the odds. Because I know that I can.

I joined the Army in September. I chose to do that because it worked best for my relationship.

Little did I know, I wasn't going to have a relationship because I joined the Army...Funny how that works, but oh well.  I hope to be a Marine some day One way or another...I will figure it out.

Please, if you are visiting from the walkabout, leave a comment and let me know! I would love to visit your blogs as well. You can never have enough bloggy friends! You can follow me Via Bloglovin, GFC, Twitter, Instagram Facebook...Basically everywhere! 

No go link up!