I'm Alive

Today I'm filled with overwhelming gratitude for my health, my family, my daughter & that I'm Alive!!! 

Two years ago today I was in the worst car accident I've ever experienced. A lot has happened since then and I often think about July 21, 2014 as the day my life changed forever. I'm so grateful that even though I no longer have a spleen, and have a ginormous scar, I still have good health. Ryan told me in Peru they say, "Si no tienes salud, no tienes nada" which means "without your health, you have nothing." I have experienced this and it's true, if you are constantly suffering from illness then nothing else matters. You can't enjoy life! I'm so glad I went through this so I could better appreciate my body when it's healthy. I've started to focus on nutrition so much more. You only get one body & one life to live here on earth! Look down at your body. It's so perfect (even when you think it's not good enough), it's yours, you can choose your actions, what you eat, what you wear, what you do to it, how you live. Enjoy your life. You're alive!

I feel really strongly about cell phone use while driving. Ryan gets embarrassed because I'll roll down my window and yell at people who are on their phones if I see them. They have no idea the harm that can be caused by their selfish, thoughtless actions! At 70 mph, a vehicle travels 103 feet every second. That means when you look down for "just a second" on the freeway, you've just traveled over 100 feet without even looking at the road! I want my accident to raise awareness that texting or using your phone while driving can be deadly! An article on caranddriver.com compared it to driving drunk & showed the response statistics of people texting and people who are drunk. Read the article here:Texting While Driving

Here's an update two years later from my previous post:
          The police never found the man driving the Ford Escape that ran me off the road. The license plate was an old, unregistered Texas plate that was illegally attached to a brand new car. I've come to terms that justice isn't always served in this life. If you've watched the movie "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," I'm certain this man is one of my five people.
         The Brigham City Police Chief did contact me a few months later and said they found the woman EMT who helped me in the ambulance. She was off duty, saw the accident and pulled over to help. I was overcome with emotion at her kind act. I got her name and address and sent her a card and a hand-stitched heart thanking her for making that day more bearable for me. She was a real angel in my life.

         I had a pretty normal, healthy pregnancy. Liah June Harvey was born about 3 weeks early after I spent a month on "bed rest" unable to work. My poor little abdomen with its not-quite-healed incision held up better than anyone expected! Because I was a "high risk" pregnancy I got to have about 7 ultrasounds and see my baby all the time. I'll be sad for my next pregnancy when I'll only have two!

         We visited Dr. Lance Bryce last year and will probably go see him again soon. He'll be a life-long friend since he saved both our lives. 

         While I am forever changed from this experience, I have changed for the good. I know now that life is precious more than I've ever known it before. Trials are hard. I see life as a journey of mountains and valleys. When you are in the valleys you can't always feel the sunshine on your face. But if you keep climbing you will find the sun again. You will feel peace and be able to look down upon where you climbed from with pride that you made it out again. I couldn't have done any of it without Christ in my life, as my Brother and guide. I know He is there to grab your hands and lift you up as you keep climbing out of your own valleys.