Carl Pennington
August 14 at 4:58pm ·
I met a man today at the Volvo shop that reminded me how proud I am of my father and my friend Dave Garlick and several other people in my life. This man had a bulging disk in his back 3 years ago while on the road as an owner operator truck driver like me. He was in the hospital awaiting surgery when the disk ruptured and left him paralyzed below the waste. He told his family not to come to where he was for 3 weeks because he couldn't face them to tell them he would never walk again. He said that after three weeks he finally realized that life had to go on and laying in the bed from now on wasn't an option. He was a man and he had responsibilities to his family and more importantly to himself. So his family came and when released from the hospital they rolled him out in a wheel chair that he was determined not to stay in. He went through 178 physical therapy sessions along with alot of work he done himself just because he refused to give up. One year ago today he left his wheel chair behind forever. No he doesn't walk well nor does he feel anything below the waste. But he does walk and he does climb in his truck and he works best he can. He said simply he had no choice. He had to walk and he had to work. Not for his family and not for money but for his own mind. I get and totally respect what he meant by that.
In 1980 my dad was severely injured when the plane he was piloting went down outside of Homestead Fl. It was several days before they would even tell us he had a chance of surviving and gave him zero chance of ever walking again much less fly again. Like the man I met today he didn't accept the fate that had fallen him. A year or so later I rolled his wheelchair up to the wing of a new crop duster he had bought and watched as he with sheer will and determination pulled himself up on the wing and into the cockpit of the shinny new bird. Once inside he rested a while then fired the engine. He didn't know it but there were tears in my 15 year old eyes as I watched him taxi out and take off. He didn't fly it long or far that day nor did he make many flights in any aircraft afterwards and none in that one that I recall. It was later learned that he broke one of the steel plates in his legs climbing in that day. But from that day I learned how to live life. How to not accept defeat or take no for an answer. Over the next few years I watched as he left the chair behind and moved to crutches and then a cane. On the day my older sister got married he walked her down the aisle of the South Aiken Church of God without the use of his cane.
Dave Garlick is one of my old Marine Corps Buddies. Dave was in a crew member on a helicopter that went down in Korea in 1989. On fire and with major injuries and assorted broken bones and legs he crawled through the burning hulk of what was left of his bird and got several of his passengers out saving their lives and his own. I'm not sure how long he spent in the hospital but it was a really long time. He suffered major burns over most of his body and had to have part of his right arm amputated. Today he has all the reasons in the world to be bitter at being disabled at the young age of 23 but instead he lives life to the fullest that he can. Like my dad he spends alot of time in pain to this day and I pick on Dave about being brain damaged but he really isn't so much as you can tell. He loves the outdoors and his RZR and probably has more fun than any one person has a right to.
You see I meet people all the time who are mad at the world or themselves and don't have the ability to cope with the little everyday blunders and problems that arise. They blame other people for their problems or blame bad decisions and never get past things that to them are very real problems but in reality are very minor ordeals compared to the problems other people have. Being around people like my dad, Dave, the man I met today and many others I know who have overcome serious setbacks in their lives through sheer determination, will and a refusal to let these things stop them cause me to have a very low tolerance for people who sit back and blame others or hang onto things of the past or just can't cope with everyday life. I myself have surely made mistakes, suffered misfortune and been through things I would rather not have seen done or otherwise been a part of. I have a third cousin and an uncle who were both POW'S during the Korean war. They have both told me of people they knew who had suffered all they could and one day rolled over in their cots and faced the wall and died. But neither of these 2 great men did that. They held tight to their minds and faith that they could survive and did.
So if you are one of the many in this world who think you got a raw deal somewhere or you are being g held back by someone else or spend all your time hanging onto the past you have a decision. Just like all of these men that decided not to accept their fate. You can either turn your back on the world and let your spirit die, or you can decide to face life head on and move forward. So what's it gonna be world?
August 14 at 4:58pm ·
I met a man today at the Volvo shop that reminded me how proud I am of my father and my friend Dave Garlick and several other people in my life. This man had a bulging disk in his back 3 years ago while on the road as an owner operator truck driver like me. He was in the hospital awaiting surgery when the disk ruptured and left him paralyzed below the waste. He told his family not to come to where he was for 3 weeks because he couldn't face them to tell them he would never walk again. He said that after three weeks he finally realized that life had to go on and laying in the bed from now on wasn't an option. He was a man and he had responsibilities to his family and more importantly to himself. So his family came and when released from the hospital they rolled him out in a wheel chair that he was determined not to stay in. He went through 178 physical therapy sessions along with alot of work he done himself just because he refused to give up. One year ago today he left his wheel chair behind forever. No he doesn't walk well nor does he feel anything below the waste. But he does walk and he does climb in his truck and he works best he can. He said simply he had no choice. He had to walk and he had to work. Not for his family and not for money but for his own mind. I get and totally respect what he meant by that.
In 1980 my dad was severely injured when the plane he was piloting went down outside of Homestead Fl. It was several days before they would even tell us he had a chance of surviving and gave him zero chance of ever walking again much less fly again. Like the man I met today he didn't accept the fate that had fallen him. A year or so later I rolled his wheelchair up to the wing of a new crop duster he had bought and watched as he with sheer will and determination pulled himself up on the wing and into the cockpit of the shinny new bird. Once inside he rested a while then fired the engine. He didn't know it but there were tears in my 15 year old eyes as I watched him taxi out and take off. He didn't fly it long or far that day nor did he make many flights in any aircraft afterwards and none in that one that I recall. It was later learned that he broke one of the steel plates in his legs climbing in that day. But from that day I learned how to live life. How to not accept defeat or take no for an answer. Over the next few years I watched as he left the chair behind and moved to crutches and then a cane. On the day my older sister got married he walked her down the aisle of the South Aiken Church of God without the use of his cane.
Dave Garlick is one of my old Marine Corps Buddies. Dave was in a crew member on a helicopter that went down in Korea in 1989. On fire and with major injuries and assorted broken bones and legs he crawled through the burning hulk of what was left of his bird and got several of his passengers out saving their lives and his own. I'm not sure how long he spent in the hospital but it was a really long time. He suffered major burns over most of his body and had to have part of his right arm amputated. Today he has all the reasons in the world to be bitter at being disabled at the young age of 23 but instead he lives life to the fullest that he can. Like my dad he spends alot of time in pain to this day and I pick on Dave about being brain damaged but he really isn't so much as you can tell. He loves the outdoors and his RZR and probably has more fun than any one person has a right to.
You see I meet people all the time who are mad at the world or themselves and don't have the ability to cope with the little everyday blunders and problems that arise. They blame other people for their problems or blame bad decisions and never get past things that to them are very real problems but in reality are very minor ordeals compared to the problems other people have. Being around people like my dad, Dave, the man I met today and many others I know who have overcome serious setbacks in their lives through sheer determination, will and a refusal to let these things stop them cause me to have a very low tolerance for people who sit back and blame others or hang onto things of the past or just can't cope with everyday life. I myself have surely made mistakes, suffered misfortune and been through things I would rather not have seen done or otherwise been a part of. I have a third cousin and an uncle who were both POW'S during the Korean war. They have both told me of people they knew who had suffered all they could and one day rolled over in their cots and faced the wall and died. But neither of these 2 great men did that. They held tight to their minds and faith that they could survive and did.
So if you are one of the many in this world who think you got a raw deal somewhere or you are being g held back by someone else or spend all your time hanging onto the past you have a decision. Just like all of these men that decided not to accept their fate. You can either turn your back on the world and let your spirit die, or you can decide to face life head on and move forward. So what's it gonna be world?
I think more people need to hear stories like these. Most therapists I know seem to just say "Well it looks like you are doing a little bit worse and not making much progress, so let's just up your meds."