Nowadays when I get any alone time, I stop and think to myself, “How did this happen to me, and why did this happen to me?” Sometimes I go the whole day thinking of that turning point. No one knows the complete story, not even I do. I mean it happened so fast, at least for me it did. This is what I can piece together from what people have told me.

I was the best basketball player in the neighborhood and as the best I was always trying to find ways to improve my game. I was playing with my friend Robert, who was pretty good himself. It was hot that day, hot enough to bake an egg on the side walk. So after our game of one on one, we went to the pool. It looked so delicious at the time. Then everything went black. Robert went looking for me, because it’s been ten minutes since I went to go change. I was face up at the bottom of the pool.

After the lifeguards pulled me up out of the water, Robert went to get my parents. As soon as my dad heard what happened, he zoomed to the pool. My mom was already tearing up, and when she saw me she was bawling her eyes out. An ambulance finally showed up to take me to the hospital. I was in a coma for two weeks. When I woke up, I saw my dad at my side. My body forgot how to function. For that first week after I woke up out of the coma, I couldn’t talk. I knew how to talk, but when I tried to speak, the words just didn’t come out the way they used to. My only means of communication was a small white board. The first thing I said was, “What happened?” My dad told me everything he knew. Miracles happen.

After one week I was transferred to Children’s Hospital from St. Joseph’s Hospital in Denver. When I got to Children’s Hospital that’s when the rehab process began. So I had physical therapy (PT) and speech therapy (ST). ST was hard because I couldn’t talk. I knew what to say, however, the words wouldn’t come out right. The therapist told me it was because my vocal cords didn’t open up fast enough. PT was challenging the first week because I completely forgot how to use my legs. All I needed was just a little time. I have lost friends, and gained friends. Since I almost drowned some of my old friends think I’m dead.

Looking back now, I don’t know if this was a good thing for me, not being alive, but the crippling effects of drowning. Now I try twice as hard as I used to, putting 200% into everything, just to be as capable as I was before. Things come at me with bigger meaning. It’s overwhelming to have that type of pressure on you, with the addition of family expectations. Life goes on though; it doesn’t wait on anyone. That’s what my parents, teachers, and everyone tells me. So giving up is not an option; it shouldn’t be for anyone. I am indeed grateful to be alive; God is good. He makes miracles happen. I’m a miracle.