The doctor told me and my family that I had sustained a Spinal Cord injury and I was never going to walk again. I was 18 years old. Prior to that day, I had never heard about Spinal Cord injury before. The news devastated me and my family. I was shocked! I thought he must be mistaken. Maybe he had the wrong chart or he was in the wrong room. I disagreed with what the doctor said. This could not be happening to me.

I do not remember being transported to the hospital but there I was in the Intensive Care Unit. I was heavily sedated with medication. I was on a respirator and unable to speak. I tried to move my arms and legs but I couldn’t. I felt like I was trapped under a house or something that heavy. I did not know how bad I was injured. I thought maybe after a week or two I would be discharged from the hospital and go home and things would return to normal. When my status was changed from critical to status I began to recognize my family who was by my bedside. They wanted to know what happened. Still unable to speak, I could only blink my eyes when I had to respond to what they were asking. After observing my family presence and the fact that I was alert, it was time for the doctor to deliver the devastating news.

We arrived at the dance and exited my car. I got out because I had to use the bathroom. After that, I got back in my car and was ready to leave when my friends came back and said they were not allowed to enter the dance. They needed a ride home. It was hard to say no because we lived in the same complex. They got back in my car but this time my friend with the gun was sitting in the back seat right behind me. I could not see what was going on but from the conversation it appeared he was playing with the gun. The other friends told him to put it away.

A minute or so later, I heard a loud bang! I was instantly thrown against the steering wheel. The back of my neck felt like it was on fire! I didn’t know what had happened. Everything was happening so fast. I heard people screaming. Some were swearing. I began to inhale fast; then it became faster. I could not exhale! I felt like I was drowning. The voices went from loud to silence. I started seeing flashbacks not of my life but of the moment my friend showed me the gun earlier that night. I thought I was going to die. I was afraid and did not want to die. I remembered saying, “God please don’t let me die here”. The next time I opened my eyes’ I was in the hospital.

As we were driving heading north on 35 W that night, one of my friends pulled out a gun. When I saw the gun I was immediately reminded of the tragic Liberian civil war. I became paralyzed with fear. I felt like I was back in Liberia and the civil war was still going on. I asked why he had a gun. He nonchalantly put it away. I did not want to be in that car at that moment. I figured the sooner I dropped them off, the sooner I’d be on my way home. But that did not happen.

We got to my car and the four of us got in. As we drove from the parking lot, I learned we were going to a school dance. One of my friends girlfriend attended the school. I had to be at work early the next morning so I had no intentions of sticking around once I dropped them off. Everything seemed normal while driving until one of my friends did something shocking I never expected.

The clock on the wall of my classroom displayed 2:00 pm. School was out and my weekend had officially begun. I went home and ate and headed to work at the Mall of America. I usually parked my car on the 3rd level of the parking ramp but this day I parked on the main level. Until this day, I still don’t know why I parked on the first floor. I started work around 5:00 pm. It was a very cold night. As a result, many people were not out shopping that night. After working a few hours, my boss asked if I wanted to get off early due to the slow night. I said yes and left work. I took a different route getting to my car because I parked in a different location. I ran into a couple of friends from high school. We chatted for a minute and I told them I was headed home. One of them asked me for a ride to Minneapolis. He wanted to go to a dance. I agreed to give them a ride. We headed to my car.

My morning began by waking up late as usual due to oversleeping from being on the phone all night talking to people I was going to sit next to in class the very next day. It was what teenagers did. I am sure you all can relate. Drove to school with my brother. By the time we arrived, it was time for class to start. There was no time for breakfast so I went right to class. It was a Friday and I was looking forward to the weekend. My plans were to work and have some fun.

I moved to the US in the early 90’s. Prior to that, I lived in my home country Liberia. I survived the brutal civil war that took the lives of more than 200,000 Liberians. I was excited to move to the US to live with my dad. I was looking forward to adjusting to life in my new country. I attended high school where I played soccer, made new friends and hung out with my friends and family. My plan was to become a Detective after graduating from college. Everything was going good. I did not think anything could go wrong. It all changed in the blink of an eye one night while out with friends.

 20 years ago while in high school, I suffered a devastating Spinal Cord Injury that changed my life forever and left me paralyzed from my shoulders down. A lot has happened since that time. Join me as I share with you what life has been like; highs and lows, failures, and successes.