Determination Turns to Victory: One Man's Struggle

Around Oct. 29, 2006, a man was playing football. He had just gotten home from a desert location, around July 4, and had a lot of things to tend to. This man had gotten off of the physical training program by scoring a 10:41 on the 1.5 mile run with a 37 in waist. Before October, he had gotten involved in intense games of football, and He pushed through people making touchdowns and getting great receptions. He was so good at catching and running through people that he started boasting about being the truck. He would say things like, "It's time for the train to hit you." He was good at tackling, and he also got a bunch of sacks. He was so pumped up and energized. He was determined to get a tackle, first down, catch, sack, touchdown, or block at any cost. He was good all around except for throwing; he was not a good QB. There was one detrimental time he missed the ball, and all together he missed only two passes out of all of the games played from July to October. He was doing well. So anyway, around in October, he went to the first down line to catch a pass. He caught the pass and started pressing forward. This person who was bigger than him grabbed him and in the tackle passes the first down line, but there was so much weight going both ways that every bone in the man's right foot was fractured or dislocated. It was so much pressure that it was like he had fallen off of a horse and land on that foot with 230 lbs of pressure. He got the first down for the team. He popped his foot back in place and limped back out to the field to play again. He did not want to fail his team, but he was obviously injured badly.

That weekend, he was in so much pain that he fell apart. He did not want to go back in crutches ever again. The guy knew that something was wrong. He went to the doctor and tried to rough it out at work through exercises and so on. Mind over matter was definitely a bunch of crap because his foot actually got worse. The man caved and finally went to the orthopedic doctor for an evaluation. This is when the doctor told him that he would not be able to walk right again. He was also scheduled for surgery the next day because they thought they could make it a little better so the injury was not extremely bad, but the man's career loading bombs, his hardcore exercise days, and days of playing sports was over. He was told he may have to leave the USAF because the injury has not had any real success rates for 100% recovery.

Driving to the shop that day to let them know what was happening, he cried and cried. Never did he feel so emotionally distraught. He cried wishing that God would take his life. As he got near the base, he cleaned his face off so that he could pretend to be okay and strong, but inside he was scared of losing all that he had worked hard for over a stupid game of football. As the man went home that day, he prayed to God and got ready to go to work.

This person threw his crutches against the wall at home and cried to God wondering why God would bring him through so much stuff only for him to be forced out from an injury. He said to God that He thought He was supposed to have victory over what he was dealing with.

God had told him that he would be healed from it, but the doctors had kept telling him he would not recover. The gentle voice inside said, "trust in me." So the man trusted with full faith. He was ridiculed. People said that he would not get well. Others had counted on him getting out of the AF because of the injury. This man had told people that he would heal up and be able to work again because God will fix this. Everyone laughed at him.

This man had faith and was determined to trust in God. He was put through many trials. For example, while still in a cast, he had to move heavy travel pods. He had to climb up ladders to clean walls. He had to walk miles during the exercises to get to work. It was like everything his profile said for him not to do, he was made to do. The man did not complain though. He just kept obedient to his authorities. Others had spoken up for him, but the man did not stand up for himself. He said that he would let God judge the deeds of those that put him through so much. His supervisor had given him 3 on his EPR because of all of this which means 3/5 evaluation (satisfactory). For all intents and purposes, his career seemed like it would be broken just from this.

Well God had different plans. He had heard a gentle voice saying that he would be healed up well enough to get off of the crutches the next day, and he believed it. When he went to the doctor he was told that he was healed up. This man had victory over his circumstances because God had heard his cry. He was told by many that the injury was not that bad, but the doctor was surprised that he was able to run for hours and lift heavy weights so soon after the injury. The reports from the orthopedic doctors were that he was not going to be able to even walk again. Now, he runs for about one to two hours a day at least. Usually about 11 miles he runs. His waist went up to 43 in and his weight was 253 lbs with a blood pressure of 159/80. Within less than three months it went down to 33 inches, 190 lbs, and 120/68. People said that it was not that bad after he told them about God healing him up. Because he healed so well, people say that he exaggerated on the injury. Well, believe what you will, but Dr. D and Dr. F at a certain orthopedics shop had looked at the injury themselves, and they were surprised that there was a full recovery. The man feels some pain every once in a while, but it is a reminder that he would be unable to walk and probably had lost everything if it weren't for God. He knows that God is the only reason he walks no matter what anyone else says. Praise God, he will always say.