The Mortar Attack, The Stabbing and The Bionic Man.

After reading Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom, I started thinking about what or how I could relate. I obviously don't have an old man currently dying to talk to, but I do however, know a few people with near death experiences including myself. It's these near death experiences that teach us more about life, than living itself. It shows you how quickly everything can be taken away, how easily things can be ended. Your whole life halted. It also shows you how much you have to live for. It makes you think about all the people that would be crushed and heartbroken had you died.

When I was deployed to Iraq, our FOB (forward operating base) was constantly hit by mortar rounds. A device that fires an artillery round using a portable mortar tube from a distant location. The bomb is dropped down this tube, hits a fixed firing pin and is fired a great distance. Try to put yourself in the soldier's shoes, you don't know when a mortar attack will happen and when it does you are helpless in knowing where it will land. Even if it lands close to you, you still risk indirect shrapnel injury. My friend, a medic on my gun-truck, and I were sitting in the "over-flow" tents playing Call of Duty: Black Ops. He had a few speakers, so the sound of war filled the make-shift room. We thought we heard a distant explosion, but put it off thinking it was the game. Another one, this time a little louder. We pause the game. A third one, BOOM! It shook the walls, we felt the pressure in the air, the shock wave. We both dropped to the floor, as if praying for our lives. A strange wizzing noise went passed, a few of them (probably shrapnel.) After we heard "All clear, all clear, all clear" we walked out of the tent and found a shallow crater less than 100 meters away from where we were sitting. We were almost killed that day, by something so random as a mortar round, indirect fire.

My best friend just recently came to visit from San Diego. Before coming to visit was a thought in his mind, he experienced a life threatening situation, a near death experience. While at a bar, he stepped outside to smoke a cigarette, when he was randomly approached by a group of Mexicans. They were asking about drugs (probably a distraction), when they began to jump him. Luckily for him, he used to work out a lot and has some (informal) self defense training. He was successful in fighting them off and walking away okay. Or so he thought. He noticed some wetness on his shirt and hands. "Blood?" he thought. After arriving at the hospital, he was told that he was stabbed six times. Most of the knife wounds were too shallow or just passed any vital organs, except for one. A fatal wound collapsing his lung, he is lucky to be alive. My friend is a very different person now, he tries to live to the fullest in every moment. He doesn't take anything for granted like before.

In the middle of the background you can see the
robotic legs hanging. The same device my friend is wearing
in this picture.

A man, a father of three, a golden glove boxer, a highly regarded mechanic who could build a car from the ground up, a successful man. One day he is riding his street bike home, another normal day. He is hit by a drunk driver at 55mph. The impact was the equivalent to jumping off a seven story building. Laying in a pool of his own blood, he died in the street, on Santa Rosa Ave. After awaking from a coma, he finds himself paralyzed from the diaphragm down. This athlete, this father of three, this person who relies on his legs for everything (much like we all do), had that luxury taken away from him in his late 20's. Eight years to the present time, he continues to go to the gym, eat healthy foods, and be the best father he can be. Though very limited to what he can do, he still lives his life to the fullest. I had a very interesting experience with him recently, he goes quite often to a bionic equipment testing and physical therapy facility where he is able to walk again. They strap him into a back brace with robotic legs that allows him to stand and walk across the room. This is an attempt to retrain his muscles to work and respond to nerve impulses. He is so devoted, not only to his family and friends, but to one day having the ability to walk again. It's a very humbling experience, being his friend. Being by his side as he works hard to stay healthy and eventually achieve his goal... to one day, walk again.

We all have friends like this with different, but somehow similar, near-death and life changing experiences. It's up to us to take their experiences as a lesson before, God forbid, we end up in a situation where we have lost something so simple and basic as our ability to walk, hear, or see. Always live your life to the fullest. Keep a happy medium between work and play, though there is barely any time to take out of your life, it can be as simple as enjoying time with your children or your parents. A Guys Night Out or doing something you love, as long as you're making yourself happy and marching to the beat of your own drum. You will look back at your life someday and think about what a great life you've lived. No one wants to look back at their life thinking, "What could I have done better?" or " How would I have done things differently?"

"In the end, it's not about what you have,
it's about what you have accomplished."
                            -Josh Hills