Have you ever hit rock bottom?
Today's On the Plus Side is a little different from my usual. I'm doubling this up with an entry into 
Many of us are fortunate enough to never hit rock bottom in our lives, while some people do hit rock bottom and then really struggle to find a way up from the floor.
Personally, I feel like I've been near rock bottom on more than one occasion but (touch wood) haven't been there. Last year, I stared bankruptcy in the face, last week I did it again, but somehow I've managed to pull myself out of these situations and survive.
But some people haven't been this fortunate. Last year I met an incredibly interesting guy - we'll call him Lucky for the sake of this post. He told me his story over the space of a few conversations and it's a story that has brought me more inspiration than any other story I've had the good fortune to listen to. I've written this post as a story and have taken some mild artistic liberty however the key events are all true.
Lucky's Success After Hitting Rock Bottom - Quite Literally
Lucky was a bit of an arrogant guy in his youth. He was experiencing great success as a fashion designer and travelling the world for his work. He was young, good looking and knew how to get what he wanted. He loved chasing the adrenaline rush and was willing to try anything at least once. He was also a great hit with the ladies and, after chasing many, had met a gorgeous young lady who he had married recently. And even better, she was pregnant with their first child!
Lucky had it all, and life couldn't be better. And, as is often the case in these stories, the unexpected happened. Lucky was out with the boys at a rock pool. They were having a great time having beers, sitting in the sun, and jumping off a rock platform into the water below to go for a swim and cool off in the hot Australian summer sun.
Lucky was getting right into the drinking this day. He'd had a killer week at work and was feeling the need to relax and blow off some steam. The boys were egging him on as always, taking great joy in seeing Lucky let loose and crack his usual jokes. Lucky decided to go for another dive from the platform, as he'd done many times that day already. This time he decided to do a bit of a somersault as he left the platform, but in his drunken state, he wasn't as graceful as he normally was. He also wasn't particularly good at estimating the best distance to leap as well.
Lucky completely misjudged his somersault, and where the deepest water was in the rock pool. He hit the shallows headfirst, and if it wasn't for the quick reaction of his friends, he would have died that day.
When Lucky woke up, he wished that he had died that day. He was in hospital and had lost the ability to move any of his limbs. For the first few days it was even a struggle to breathe. The doctors told him that he had broken his neck, and had very nearly severed his spinal cord.
Lucky was now a quadriplegic. The doctors said he would never walk again, but might regain the control of his arms, but never to the extent of a normal person. He would never walk, run, drive or do any of the things that he had taken for granted ever again. He didn't even know if he would be able to hold his child who would be born soon or even if he'd ever hold his wife ever again. Instead of being the great provider, it was now looking like his wife would need to provide for him for the rest of his life!
You're probably thinking that this is Lucky's rock bottom. And it almost is, but the next thing is what really drove Lucky to rock bottom. His wife left him before giving birth to their daughter. It's easy to make assumptions about why she left and what a callous move it was to leave Lucky while he was in such great need of help, but I don't know the exact details here so don't want to pass judgement.
What I do know, is that this was Lucky's rock bottom. His wife had left him, he could no longer look after himself at all and was in complete dependance of those caring for him, and his fashion business was at risk of falling to pieces without him.
So where to from here? Well, when you're at rock bottom, you have two options available. Do nothing and stay there, or do something to drag yourself up from the bottom and into a better place. Lucky is a smart man, and chose to do something.
Lucky didn't accept that he wouldn't walk again. He wanted to be there for his daughter so had the best motivation possible to prove his Doctor wrong. And that was where his journey began.
Lucky was fortunate enough to have excellent health insurance so he didn't need to worry about money for a while. He was able to solely focus on getting better. And that's what he did.
Lucky worked on his rehabilitation every day, for as long as his body would allow him. He began his rehabilitation through the use of doctors, physiotherapists and any other specialists that he needed. And as he grew in strength and ability he started hiring personal trainers as well which is how I met him. At first, progress was slow and painful. Lucky's muscles had atrophied while he healed, so the first step was to rebuild the muscles that he'd lost. And once he had regained some strength the real journey started. Now he wasn't just training this body to allow him to walk, he had to re-learn everything. If you lose the ability to control your limbs, you have to re-learn to do everything that you've always taken for granted.
Once Lucky had the use of his arms again he had to:
- learn to use common utensils such as a fork and knife
- learn to write
- learn to drive
- and many other day to day things
In time, Lucky regained the control of his legs. He would forever walk with a severe limp. But he had achieved the impossible. He could now walk again.
All of this process took more than 3 years. And it was a daily grind to achieve it all. Lucky still wasn't completely there when I met him but he was able to spend time with his daughter like a Dad should. I met Lucky when he was 5 years into his journey, by this stage he was able to drive, was working on building a new business and was helping his daughter in her first years of her education.
One really interesting thing about Lucky's journey was that his daughter had watched him learning everything again, but she thought that he was learning everything for the first time, just like she was. So when she was learning to write, she got to help her dad learn to write as well. She helped her dad every day, and would open doors for him and help him out of his car without him ever having to ask. They were extremely sweet to watch together.
I spoke with Lucky about how hard the past few years must have been. He described the process as if he was being born all over again. The old Lucky didn't survive that fall, he felt like a new person. He actually said that the old Lucky was a self centred idiot. Now he felt compassion for others, he wanted to help people with their own struggles and he had a new lease on life that he had never felt before. People had shown him extreme kindness throughout his rehabilitation and he wanted to repay that kindness in full.
Now Lucky is a Professional Speaker, he talks to people about his journey and everything that it has taught him. One interesting thing that came from his journey is that, during his professional life before the accident, Lucky would experience high levels of anxiety due to the stressful nature of his work. He doesn't experience that anxiety any longer. Even though his new work can be just as stressful.
Lucky is also a business owner, and recently opened a cafe and clothing store. And most importantly, Lucky is heavily focused on being a Dad. He deeply loves his daughter and spends as much time with her as possible.
When I think back on the daily struggles that I experience in my life, all I have to do these days is remind myself of what Lucky went through, and the sheer force of will that must be inside him to have motivated him all throughout that incredible journey. Many people would have just given up and never walked again. But Lucky wasn't going to have a bar of that. His life wasn't going to be slowed down.
Lucky's experience puts my life into sharp perspective, none of my problems compare to what he has gone through and achieved. He is an incredibly impressive human being.
On the Plus Side is a series of short stories about real life positive or happy observations that I see every day. The purpose of these stories is to show the community that positive and happy events occur every day and to bring a smile to your face.
All SBD from this series will be donated to The Smith Family who support underprivileged children in their education. So upvote and resteem away!
Funds Raised for The Smith Family to Date!
| Month | Amount (SBD) | Amount (USD) | Target (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| December | 6.282 | 60.49 | 500 |
All funds are stored in my savings wallet until our donation target is reached. I've increased the donation target to $500 as of Jan 2 2018 in order to allow for a reasonable donation amount after transaction fees.
I’ve created the tag #plusside so if you want to read all positive and fun stories I write for this series simply check this tag. And don't forget, all SBD from these posts is donated to a fantastic Australian charity - The Smith Family - so don't be shy with your up votes! Every bit helps!
