Finding Purpose After an Accident

Finding Purpose

• Brad Turpin, a motorcycle police officer from Pasadena, almost lost his leg when his motorcycle crashed into a flatbed truck.
• Sonny Steed, a former minister of education, asked the author to visit Brad, who would be wearing a fixator.
• The author showed Brad pictures of his accident and recovery.
• Brad expressed doubt about his recovery and keeping his leg, as doctors were pessimistic.
• The author shared his own feelings during his early days and related to Brad's experiences.
• Brad's wife was tired of the lack of progress.
• The author shared an experience of fuming at his doctor and told them to be patient.
• Brad admitted that he can't control his emotions and feels like he is breaking down.
• He felt out of control and totally helpless.
• The author acknowledged that Brad was out of control due to his circumstances, including his inability to perform simple tasks.
• The author pointed out that Brad would lose weight and his muscles would atrophy.
• The author suggested managing visits and phone calls and encouraged Brad to be prepared for therapy.
• Reminding Brad that if he wanted to learn to walk again he would have to be patient and dedicated to therapy.
• The author encouraged Brad to let people know where he hurt and how they can help.
• Brad appreciated the visit, as the author was the first person who understood what it was like to live with pain twenty-four hours a day.
• The author offered his help but emphasized Brad would need to make an effort and be willing to reach out if needed.
• Brad's wife said that he needed the visit.
• The author said to Brad’s wife to not take it as a personal attack when Brad yells or screams it's the pain and frustration, not her.
• In a restaurant weeks later, the author saw Brad with his walker and told the author he was "doing okay", and thanked him for coming at one of his lowest moments.

Helping Others with Similar Injuries

• Two years after the author's accident, Chad Vowell was in a serious car accident and had mangled his lower leg and was in a fixator.
• The author had to see Chad after hearing he was in a fixator and when he walked into the room Chad was depressed and did not want to talk.
• Chad had the same reaction as the author, and felt angry and depressed.
• The author asked Chad if he remembered that the same thing that was put on him was put on Chad, which led to Chad having interest to engage with the author.
• The author was able to talk to Chad, hold his hand, and pray with him in a way that made him realize that the author identified with his plight.
• The author told Chad that the pain will last a long time, and the recovery will seem to last forever, but he will get better.

Memorializing Joyce

• Cancer claimed Joyce Pentecost and she left two read headed kids, Jordan and Colton.
• More than six hundred people packed the auditorium at Joyce's memorial service.
• Joyce had recorded several CDs of Christian music and she left a legacy for the rest of family and friends.
• She was a redheaded comet streaking across the stage of life who lived and loved to make people happy.
• The author shared a personal moment about the last conversation with Joyce before she returned home from the hospital was about Heaven as she never tired of hearing the author describe his trip to Heaven.
• She is absent from the body but with the Lord.

God's Purpose

• Since the author's accident, he has wished that someone who had already gone through the ordeal of wearing a fixator for months had visited him in the hospital.
• He tries to contact people who have a fixator so he can share his experiences.
• The author also provides comforting patients with long-term illnesses.
• God still has a purpose for the author on Earth.
• Sharing personal experiences has provided a pull for the author.
• Other victims first see the fixator, and especially when they begin to experience the pain and their inability to move, depression flows through them.
• The author says that it is a long-term commitment, and there's no way to speed up the process.
• He found purpose again in being alive and serving his purpose here on Earth.