As a youngster, my friend Bill’s parents taught him that life is a great adventure, but that some people miss out on it — not because they fear dying, but, lacking courage, they fear living.
In high school, Bill learned to play football under the leadership of a dynamic individual who reinforced the teachings of his parents.
“Coach taught his players the meaning of courage in the face of adversity,” Bill remembers. “He often reminded us that no matter how heavy our burdens are, others carry heavier burdens. One of his favorite sayings has stuck with me through the years: ‘I complained because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.’”
One tragic afternoon, the meaning of courage instilled in my friend by his parents and coach was put to the test. A reckless driver struck his daughter Martha, a college student, as she crossed a street. Hopelessly mangled, one leg had to be amputated below the knee.
“Dancing was the joy of my daughter’s life,” Bill says. “She taught countless children to dance, and they adored her. As she lay there in extreme pain that terrible night, she asked if she had lost her leg. Looking her in the eye and confirming her worst fear was the hardest moment of my life.”
With her father at her bedside day and night, the young woman endured numerous surgical procedures, not only to stabilize the traumatized limb, but also to repair head wounds. During the latter procedures, a previously undetected brain tumor was removed.
As a father, Bill knew he had to help Martha maintain a positive attitude, but was pleasantly surprised when he discovered it wasn’t necessary. She didn’t tumble into a pit of despair and constantly ask, “Why did this happen to me?” Instead, she remained focused on a bright future, despite the challenges.
Martha’s strength and courage sustained her father as much as his being by her bedside sustained her. She found comfort in knowing that, had it not been for the accident, the tumor in her brain may not have been discovered until after it was too late.
Following a year of physical therapy and rehabilitation, Martha resumed her life. With crutches, a prosthetic limb, and a backpack for books, she returned to college and earned a degree. The great adventure called life excited her as much as ever, and she was determined not to let the fear of living, however difficult the challenges, hold her back.
“I was deeply humbled and uplifted by my daughter’s optimism, courage, and single-mindedness of purpose,” Bill says. “Despite the loss of a leg, she stood tall in the face of adversity and demonstrated to her students, friends, and loved ones that the human spirit is indomitable.”
At a party Martha’s friends threw to celebrate her recovery, Bill experienced one of his proudest moments as a father. When the band began playing, she walked over to where he and her mother sat and said, “Dad, let’s dance.”
Jimmy Reed is an Oxford, Mississippi resident, Ole Miss and Delta State University alumnus, Vietnam Era Army Veteran, former Mississippi Delta cotton farmer and ginner, author, and retired college teacher.
Other books by Jimmy Reed include The Jaybird Tales.
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