Terry's anniversary

Dec. 12. 43 years ago today was a day when Terry made a small mistake. He stepped out in front of an oncoming car. He was selling holly for scouts and was on his way back home, walking. He looked up highway 291, nothing coming so he watched another car coming the other way. When it passed, without looking back up the road, he trotted across, right in front of a car that was speeding down the highway. Some people who watched said he was knocked over a telephone wire but that sounds far fetched. It knocked him 66 feet down the road, right out of his tennis shoes! His Dad said he heard the screech and he knew. Judy, his Dad and Mike ran for the road. His Mom was getting groceries. Mike went to tell her after the ambujlance left. The big pool of blood on the concrete was still there when he came home 3 months later. That frightening experience, seeing their son and brother sprawled out on the highway ended at the hospital. It just "happened" that there was an ambulance cruising up the road on 23rd st. It just "happened" that all the specialists he needed to do all it took to help him survive "happened" to be at the hospital that Saturday.
He doesn't remember anything of that day but his family remember that they almost lost him. At one point Judy said the line on the machine started to be a flat line and she yelled, "T". He seemed to jump and they had him back. His Dad said it was a terrible thing to watch. He had to hold Terry's head as they stiched up his head. He said he got faint when they drilled the hole in his leg to put the pin to hold the traction unit in place. He woke up that night about 10 with a bandage on his head and iv fluid and blood going into his body. His right eye was swollen shut. All the white of his eye was red. He was in the icu for 3 days. He lost about a week in his clear memory. Terry spent that Christmas in the hospital. He had his own little tree, a special red smock that we still put out at Christmas and a little man we hang over our table. He was in the hospital for 6 weeks and then in a body cast for 2 months. His parents set up a bed in the living room where he could watch TV. They changed their work schedules so someone could be home with him all the time. He did his studies at home. Karen Dyer was a teacher who came in to teach biology and math.
When I began to date Terry at college he spoke of that time. He would talk about his football games before the accident, detailing plays like it was play by play action. I could hear the enthusiasm in his voice. People told me later how good he was. An amazing athlete. He was all set to be a coach someday. Suddenly, this 14 year old boy's dreams were shattered. Yet, I never heard in his voice disappointment or sadness. He told me his life was changed in a good way by that event. With all those experiences he began to see the value in becoming a doctor. His dreams changed as he watched doctors care for him. A new vision was set in motion, not because he was unable to be the strong athlete he was before. Because he saw that other things were more important.
I remember sitting one autumn evening under a tree at Graceland talking. He asked me why I came to Graceland and I asked him the same question. We both agreed. We came to get our degrees and we came to find someone to spend our lives with who shared our beliefs.
Today, we were talking about a trauma someone in our town was experiencing. Terry said, "One moment, one mistake can change your life, either for good or bad. It's your choice." At first I thought he was being callous and I thought, "Easy for you to say!" Then I realized he knew exactly what he was talking about. He chose to make it a positive thing. He followed his dreams and became a doctor as a result of the "bad" thing that happened to him.
Happy anniversary Terry! I hope when you remember on your anniversary, you do 2 things: 1. You thank God for directing your life. and 2. You feel proud that you made something good out of one of the most difficult times in your life.