Beating the Odds

April 3rd of 2000 started out as a normal day for my family and loved ones, it was also a very special day, and a day we’d soon find out that we’d never be able to forget. This day was my uncle’s 5th birthday, I had no ideal that he’d later be my best friend. As the day passed by it became time for my mom to take him to their Granny’s house so that his father could pick him up for visitation that evening, up on dropping him off for the weekend she gently gave him a hug and kissed him goodbye and headed back home to Louisiana, she’ll never forget that gut feeling she had that day she left him in Gurdon Arkansas. As time passed everything seemed to be fine and that gut feeling began to fade. My mom laid down with me that night around 10pm and thought everything was fine. Just a few hours later she awoke to her mother frantically screaming, crying and knocking on our door, although she couldn’t understand what she was saying, she knew it was something serious and had to be something involving Justin, her little brother. Taking the phone from her mother, she heard a voice on the line, a surgeon from Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, explaining that just a couple hours prior, the 5 year old male had been in a life threatening car wreck as well as two other children and that he needed immediate consent to treat and operate on the child, as he had been airlifted from the scene and there was no adult present, without consent to treat and start immediate blood transfusions the child would not live another 30 minutes, meanwhile we’re almost 4 hours away. Consent was giving immediatily and prayers followed with the questions of “Why” and “What if? “Upon arriving at Children’s hospital my mother and grandmother was no where near prepared for what they was walking into as they felt their lives was soon to end as well. There was a family specialist awaiting their arrival to prepare them for the worst and walk them thru the details. For Justin’s 5th birthday his father thought it’d be a great night to drink and drive, resulting in a near fatal accident for his son, injuring another child and taking the innocent life of the 3rd child. All three children was airlifted to children’s hospital where they all had blood transfusions done and was giving a chance. That night Justin proceeded to have over three thousand stitches in face alone from ear to ear, his femer was shattered, his nose,ears and mouth was ripped off and teeth knocked out, 3 months of being in ICU, multi scares and turns for the worse, and several transfusions later he was released to go home with special care needs and a full body cast, the medical staff said he’d never again be normal, they said never he’d talk, run, walk or be able to enjoy life…. He beat those odds and proved that god was more than in control and powerful than the doctors! Without the blood donated he’d have never even had that chance, he’d never have came home from the wreck, but he did all because someone cared and donated blood, he was offered another chance at life. Justin underwent several more transfusions thru the years, 7 plastic surgeries, complete dental reconstruction and numerous months in therapy and rehab, today Justin just recently turned 20 years old and lives a healthy and happy life serving our country, his way of giving back and paying it forward, he’s my hero, my best friend, my rock and one of the biggest reasons I find it so important to donate blood, to give back, had it not been for the donation center’s and all of their effort and hard work my life and family would have forever been changed, my hero and best friend would be a mere memory. Thank you Blood Institution of Arkansas and all the donors who take time to save a life. You never know when tragedy will hit home, but when it does wouldn’t you want to know that someone out there cared enough to donate and possibly save your loved ones life… So why not do the same.