"Every moment in our lives is a miracle we should enjoy instead of ignoring." Yoko Ono
By Alex P. Vidal
THE doctor tried to break the news as gently as possible.
"You know how when you're little and you ask for a pony, you pray and hope for it and you never get it? Well, this is that same type of situation. Sometimes you don't get the pony."
The doctor was trying to tell Chris Wood's parents that the situation was hopeless, even beyond their prayers.
Chris was 21 and stationed in the navy in San Diego that June of 1989.
After an afternoon drinking at a Padres game, he fell out of a pickup truck on the way home when the driver switched lanes.
After an afternoon drinking at a Padres game, he fell out of a pickup truck on the way home when the driver switched lanes.
After Chris landed on the four-lane highway, a car hit him.
He bounced into another lane and was hit by another car. Luckily, the next vehicle to come along was an ambulance. Chris had a broken pelvis, jaw, elbow, and knee.
He had massive head injuries and tire marks across his back.
He bounced into another lane and was hit by another car. Luckily, the next vehicle to come along was an ambulance. Chris had a broken pelvis, jaw, elbow, and knee.
He had massive head injuries and tire marks across his back.
For the next three months all the news on Chris from the doctors was bad news. "He will not live...he will be a vegetable...he will never walk...he will never have a meaningful life."
PRAYER
His family back in Akron started prayer chains. One night his sister was awakened suddenly.
She says it was God who whispered to her these words: "He will live and not die and proclaim the mercies of God."
She says it was God who whispered to her these words: "He will live and not die and proclaim the mercies of God."
From then on, that was the family's mantra.
It got Chris through 32 surgeries, a three-month coma, and years of treatment at the Veterans Hospital in Cleveland where he goes for rehabilitation.
At 29, Chris had the same bright blue eyes and sandy hair as before, but everything else had changed.
At 29, Chris had the same bright blue eyes and sandy hair as before, but everything else had changed.
His speech is slurred, as if he's been drinking. The breathing tube damaged his vocal cords.
The head injuries slowed his thinking. His face turned crooked from his jaw healing incorrectly.
A purple zipper scar runs up his left arm, which dangles at his side. He must concentrate to be able to open his hand.
The head injuries slowed his thinking. His face turned crooked from his jaw healing incorrectly.
A purple zipper scar runs up his left arm, which dangles at his side. He must concentrate to be able to open his hand.
HARDWARE
Chris is a walking hardware store. There's a crew in his elbow, a brace on his leg, a hinge in his knee, and a plate in his head.
His brain no longer works the same. He used to excel at math but now struggles with the basics.
When he enrolled at Kent State University six years ago, he got D's and F's even in the simplest classes.
One of his rehab workers urged him to drop out.
His brain no longer works the same. He used to excel at math but now struggles with the basics.
When he enrolled at Kent State University six years ago, he got D's and F's even in the simplest classes.
One of his rehab workers urged him to drop out.
He gave it some thought. "My mind would say, You're wasting your time," he told me.
But instead of listening, he would turn to his favorite Scripture passage, Proverbs 23:7: "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he."
But instead of listening, he would turn to his favorite Scripture passage, Proverbs 23:7: "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he."
"It means what you believe is what you're going to be. If you think you are second and a failure or number one and front of the line, that's what you will be," he said.
He credits his mother for his successes. Linda coached him along using the Bible as her playbook.
Chris now has three jobs: he interns at Edwin Shaw Hospital working with head injury patients; he does computer design work for Living Water Fellowship Church in Akron; and he is an usher for the Akron Aeros baseball team.
Chris now has three jobs: he interns at Edwin Shaw Hospital working with head injury patients; he does computer design work for Living Water Fellowship Church in Akron; and he is an usher for the Akron Aeros baseball team.
LICENSE
It took three tries to pass his driver's test, but he finally got his license.
It took six years of therapy, but he put away his wheelchair and can now move with a walker.
It took six years of therapy, but he put away his wheelchair and can now move with a walker.
He still struggles to come up with the right words when he talks.
He pauses, squints hard, trying to force his brain to remember how to work.
He pauses, squints hard, trying to force his brain to remember how to work.
It works fine enough. On graduation day, Chris Wood gave a commencement address without saying a word.
He walked across a stage at Kent State University and picked up his bachelor of arts in psychology to a standing ovation.
He walked across a stage at Kent State University and picked up his bachelor of arts in psychology to a standing ovation.
He wasn't the smartest one there.
He wasn't the most talented one there.
But he was there.
His mother never lived to see it. She had died the previous June of a heart attack.
But she lived long enough to know that the doctor who said it was too hopeless to even pray was wrong.
But she lived long enough to know that the doctor who said it was too hopeless to even pray was wrong.
The doctor got a postcard from Chris's dad letting him know how it all turned out.
It simply said, "We got the pony."
(Lesson 33 of "God Never Blinks" by Regina Brett)
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