I owe my life to Dr. Neil Martin and the team of Neuro-surgeons at UCLA Ronald Reagan. Three years ago to this day I had an aneurysm rupture near my brain stem and although I didn’t know who he was and what it was he did I will never forget the work that they did to keep me alive. How does one handle adversity and challenges is a question that we all ask ourselves at some point in our lives. We are all faced with tough choices and uphill battles which is what makes life interesting. Some people would prefer to just sit and wait to get better but I knew that I could not do that for my own sanity. I am thankful for those people I have had around me and even for those willing to come into my life only to leave it. There is a reason for everything and I appreciate everything that has helped me with my recovery from day 1 until now. I have been back and forth as to even posting this wondering who would even care to read it and I appreciate if anyone took the time to read it. I try to gauge my life one year at a time to see what it is that has improved and what I would like to see improve and all I could say is something which I have been saying for years. Physically I am not yet at the level I would like to be at but I am continuing to fight for my progress and mentally I am still not fully there yet but I could proudly say that the hard work I put in along with the hard work my family has put in has not been for nothing. I have learned so much from this experience from not being able to walk, eat, and barely being able to talk to the fear of doing simple things like sitting down on my own or just living on my own. I took the risk of living on my own very early on in the process and thankfully the reward has been much greater than the risk. From the moment I could think for myself and actually remember anything at UCLA I told myself that I would try to recover and go back into normal life as soon as I could and that is how I have lived my life. I could still remember when I couldn’t do a lot of things at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehab Center and I had no clue how I would find my way but I knew that with the support of my family and the fact that I just wanted to get back to school so bad I’d accomplish everything I would want. I might not be to where I want to be at and don’t know if I will ever get there because I ask a lot of myself but am where I am at because of support. To the doctors who were able to find a way to save my life with minor complications I am more than thankful for. I realize that they get compensated and that it is their job but their compensation does not equal the level of work that they do. To the people who work at Rancho you saw me at my lowest point and were there to help push me upward through your special skills, these skills aren’t just treating the patients to improve but your bed side manners to go above and beyond to make sure that your patient is as well off as they can be. I am trying to take the positive things I have learned and while I will never forget the pain and hard work that it took to get to the level I am at I will try to focus on the positives today. It is a very tough time in my life because today is the day the trajectory of my life truly changed. This recovery has tested me as a person and my bonds with those I love but thankfully things have worked out, not by luck but with hard work. I am one year away from achieving my goal of finishing school and could not be more excited as to what the future holds. I look forward to the future and know that with hard work and careful strategizing we, as human beings, could achieve whatever we set our minds to. Well not to get too peachy thank you to those who read this and an update will come next year at this time, 9.2.2011 is a day that hit close to home and tested my every being and so far it has not won out(I was 22 and am 25 now, a whole life ahead of me). And thank you to the bafsupport.org community, it helps to know that you aren't alone.
Happy Annie Versary...As some one young you have learned so much more then your peers...you will embrace life like no other...Thank you so much for sharing your inspiring story...keep on taking care of YOU along the way...and Congratulations for all your achievements...Thoughts out to you ~ Colleen
It's great to celebrate your anniversary and think of all the folks you are grateful for, Arturo. Good luck with school! I am glad you are doing so well.
Wow! Good for you Arturo! Congratulations on all you have accomplished and all you are going to accomplish.
Wishing you a blessed year.
Laura