Rachel's Miracle

It’s been ten years since Rachel’s world was turned upside down in a blink of an eye. She asked dad to write this blog because, quite frankly, she is tired of talking about herself.

August 22, 2006 feels like a lifetime ago; yet it seems like it all happened yesterday. The call at 10:20 pm stating your daughter was shot in the head. The ride to the hospital, shaking uncontrollably the whole way. Arriving at the ER and receiving the news that Rachel has been s...

Yesterday, marked nine years since my life took a drastic detour.  I tried to make the day as normal as possible, but even with my compromised memory, I still can't forget it.  Many people consider my greatest trait to be a positive attitude, but even with that, I still have my days. If you would allow me to vent, just for this one day, I'd like for those reading this blog to put yourself in my shoes . . .

Imagine -&...

I hope each of you had a chance to pick up a copy of "Miracles and Moments of Grace: Inspiring Stories of Survival." The book has been a hot seller, the first edition has already been sold out! I finished reading the book and can assure you, it's well worth your time! Here's a link to the book's Facebook page: 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Miracles-and-Moments-of-Grace-Inspiring-Stories-of-Survival/7604425906616

Exciting news! "Miracles & Moments of Grace: Inspiring Stories of Survival" has been released and people have already started receiving it.  Please consider buying yourself a copy, not just for my story, but also for the other 49 truly inspiring stories of survival.  I am honored to be a contributor to this book and if my story can inspire just one person, then mission accomplished!  I'm so looking forward to reading the other stories in t...

A couple exciting events have occurred recently: One of my closest friends teaches high school Spanish a couple of hours away. She asked me to speak to her students. I’ve spoken in various places previously, but this was my first time speaking to high school students. She picked...

Sometimes I just can't help but think of where I would be in my life had this injury not occurred.

Where would I have gone to college? What major would I have decided upon? Would I have become the teacher I always dreamed to be? Would my friends and I have remained close? Who would my new friends be? Would I still be with the boyfriend I had at the time of my injury, or would I have a new one? Would I be engaged or married with my ow...

Over the last couple years, I've been attending a young adult brain injury support group at Ohio State's Dodd Hall. We had anywhere from 7-10 people attend on a monthly basis, where we discussed our triumphs, failures, fears, struggles, hopes and dreams. It was a place I could go and people would truly understand what I was going through and without being judged. We all really looked forward to our monthly meeting because, for many of us, it was really the only social outlet we had.

At ...

Over the last few months, I have had immense pain in my left foot. The pain has gotten gradually worse, to the point where it has affected my social life and I was taking pain meds multiple times a day. The strange thing about it is, the pain traveled throughout my foot from day to day. It went from the heel, to the toe, to the arch; it was never in the same spot two days in a row! There were even times I felt heat coming out of my foot . . . weird! I tried new shoes and e...

Yesterday marked seven years since that life changing night! It's hard to believe it’s been that long! Even though I don't remember that dreadful event, my friends all do. I heard from each and every one of them and one of these close friends had me over for dinner last night. We had a great time catching up! I can't even tell you how much that means to me. It reminded me that my injury has affected each one of them as much as it has affected me (well almost). It also rei...

You may remember from an earlier blog when I attended the Youth Leadership Forum for students with disabilities as a delegate in 2010. This year, the leader of the forum asked me to come back as a staff member and also as a speaker. I spoke about how I've overcome adversity as a result of my injury. As a staff member, it was my job to interact with the delegates. I was also a group leader, where we would meet in small groups daily and held discussions. My speech went ...