Hi Kel girl,
Thanks telling us what you have been through. Just
because Cameron gets a lot of press (doesn't mean I
don't respect his pure talent and hard work) doesn't
mean he puts out the most effort. What you have
shared makes what I have been through seem pretty
minimal. I haven't met you personally but would like
to. My Sister-inlaw had a horse go out from under her
and had some head trauma. Went through some of the
same things just not to that extreme. For a CPA to
have a hard time with numbers really threw her for a
loop. The best things about the bad things in life
are that you give you a better perspective on what
really is important. Also makes you appreciate some
simple things in life that everyone else simply take
for granted. A lot of people out there never get
sick, never have anything bad happen and live a pretty
bland life. I get local people ask me all the time
why I would want to go out and suffer on a long or
hard bike ride. If they have to ask they will never
know until they go out and do it or something similar
themselves. The thought that immediately comes to
mind is that "I can!" I am no where near the
abilities on most of the people in CKMBC on a bike.
Them log piles at Farmer Doug's still look like
mountains to me. We have a world class athlete to
kid's in training wheels riding in the parking lot in
this group. But the best part about this group is
that it doesn't matter. Everybody is out there on
their own level competing with themselves. I still
get a kick out of how excited & how much fun Doug
Chambers had when everyone went down the hill at
Farmer Doug's pasture last fall. Talk about a true
love of riding bikes. Terry and a lady crashed, Nick
and I walked our bikes down because it was beyond our
abilities, & another guy (Chamberlain?) tried to ride
back up it. Damn near made it!
I almost didn't show up at Wilson. Pretty stuck
on the mundane things of this world that make you
think you don't have time for things like that. I
showed up late Saturday planning on only coasting by
and riding on Sunday. SK (someone else I respect for
their dedication and abilities on a bike) & Dustin got
me to do the uphill. Payed for it in the long run but
I definitely knew I was alive with lungs burning
barely spinning at what was probably .1 mph. I just
haven't been able to get on a bike since. But have
been itching too. (My son and job) I did resurrect
the old Gold Wing and take it for a spin. Another
thrill on a different edge.
I think everyone is on the same page that they
respect life and aren't going to go out and be totally
stupid. But everyone needs to find their edge and
keep moving over some as time goes by. I just want
Josh to know that what he thinks is impossible today
can happen tomorrow if he looks at it from a different
perspective.

Paul

--- Kel girl <rambler776@...> wrote:
> What Brad said really struck me.
>
> It's true you should live life as if you have no
> tommorrow, but you should
> also respect life because there may be a tommorrow.
>
> I'm sure everyone knows of stories of people who had
> made studip decisions
> or just had accidents doing risky stuff, but I have
> one more for you. I
> have died twice. Not the hindi stuff about past
> reincarnation, but actually
> being resecuted twice.
>
> I guess I should begin at the beginning. When I was
> 16, my family had 5
> horses. One of these, was only half broken in and
> very difficult to control
> especially when he got scared. He was also very
> fast. Consequentially, he
> was my favorite. The day after Thanksgiving in
> 1996, my mom, sister, and I
> took three horse out for an extended ride. Since we
> rode western it wasn't
> customary to wear a helmet, so we never thought to
> wear one. On the way
> back, my horse spoked and ran. He tried to turn on
> a nearby road and
> slipped. falling he slammed me into the ground.
> I was immediately knocked uncontious. Within a
> minute, my brain began to
> swell and I went into shock. My heart stopped for
> the first time before the
> ambulance arrived. My mom performed CPR on me until
> they did. My heart
> stopped again at the hopital. Afterwards, they
> preformed a craniotomy
> removing the top left 1/4 of my skull. I was in a
> coma for two weeks.
>
> When I woke up, I couldn't do anything. Eat, drink,
> talk, walk, write,
> laugh, think. My left side was paralyzed. Three
> weeks after I came out of
> the coma, my IQ was measured; it had fallen from 118
> to 83. I was in the
> hospital for 4 months for rehab. During that time
> they replace the piece of
> skull they removed, but my skull will never
> completely fuse back together.
> There are still places on my head where the pieces
> don't quite come together
> (one place they are a figer-wigth apart). It also
> means that I have a good
> chance of dying from a blow any harder than a mild
> concussion.
>
> Today I have to live with the effects of that
> accident. They may not be
> much physical effects left except for a weaker left
> side (even though I am
> left-handed), a decreased sense of balance, and a
> left arm that does not
> swing unless I tell it too, but there are plenty of
> mental disabilities I
> have to contend with especially learning diabilities
> that have symtoms like
> ADD, dislexia, discalcula (trouble with numbers and
> time), and anomia
> (extreme difficulty remembering words/names). My IQ
> is almost back up to
> where it was before if you compensate for the
> learning disabilities.
>
> In the hospital, I met a man who had broken his back
> by stepping off a curb.
> Two years afterwards he still could not feed
> himself, and struggled to
> take ten steps. He had no choice what happened to
> him, but his one main
> regret was not doing more with his life when he
> could.
>
> I definately take more risks and do more "crazy"
> stuff since the accident; I
> know life is fleeting so we should live the fullest
> we can. But I also
> value life. I don't want to take unnecessary risks
> that might or will
> lessen the quality of my life even more in the
> future.
>
> So go have fun on the trails, but think twice before
> taking unescessary
> risks. Hopefully I'll see some of you out there.
>
> --Kel
>
>
_________________________________________________________________
> FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar – get
> it now!
>
http://toolbar.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/
>
>
>
> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
> CKMBCmembers-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>





__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
SBC Yahoo! - Internet access at a great low price.
http://promo.yahoo.com/sbc/