On June 24th, 2022, my life took a drastic turn. While headed to pick up our two daughters from daycare, my wife, Taylor, hydroplaned and collided with a concrete light pole, striking it directly on the driver’s side. Arriving at the hospital, I was led into an ER waiting room. Surrounded by a few friends, I was told that it was not going to be a good night. It was then that I knew my life’s trajectory had taken a profound shift.
Thanks to the remarkable efforts of the first responders, including the firefighters and paramedics from the Newberry Fire Station, as well as the quick response of two friends/deputies in Alachua County, Taylor was extracted and transported fast enough to hand over to the medical team at Shands. She had sustained multiple internal injuries that needed to be addressed immediately. Her spleen had shattered resulting in significant internal bleeding. She also had several broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a severe traumatic brain injury. They were able to stop the internal bleeding, solving the most immediate trauma. However, I was told with her brain injury that she would not be out of the woods for several days.
Taylor was then transferred from the ER to the Trauma floor. There we learned Taylor had tested positive for Covid, meaning only one visitor was allowed in her room until she tested negative. As I entered her room, my heart sank. The woman I loved, the most confident, strong willed person I knew, was now confined to a bed with numerous IV’s and hooked up to a ventilator.
Over the next few days, my focus remained fixated on the purple lines fluctuating on the hospital monitor. These lines indicated Taylor’s Intracranial Pressure (ICP). If the pressure spiked, surgery would be necessary to relieve it. Additionally, I learned that Taylor showed signs of a Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI), a condition where the brain’s hemispheres shear against each other, causing nerve fibers to break. That night and every day thereafter, I pleaded with God to spare her life, for immediate healing, praying for her to “rise up.” I held onto the belief in God’s power, calling out to Him daily to shock the doctors by awakening her and restoring her to her usual self.
That miracle I had pleaded with God for didn’t happen, at least not in the manner I hoped for at the time. However, in the year and a half following her accident, God continually has revealed to me that despite my despair, anger, guilt, and sorrow, He was (and still is) in control. Just because God can move mountains, doesn’t guarantee that He will. It took approximately one month for Taylor to come off the ventilator completely, two months for her to learn how to walk, talk, and eat again, six months for her to understand me as her husband, and even longer to rebuild her relationships with our daughters. To this day, she is still making improvements and we continue to rediscover one another.
When I look at history, I see countless individuals who faced challenging mountains and went on to save lives, shape society, and bring about significant change. The first and best example of this would be Christ.
Over the past year and a half, the account of Christ in the garden, crying out to God to take the cup and spare Him from the torture and death that lay ahead, continues to play in my mind. Yet, God did not move that mountain, and for that, I am grateful. Christ endured beatings, mockery, crucifixion with a crown of thorns pressed onto His head and paid the ultimate price for us all. The mountain remained unaltered, but He triumphed over it.
Examining another historical figure, Abraham Lincoln, one of the most renowned presidents of all time, faced profound personal tragedy. Within a year of his presidency, during the Civil War, he suffered the loss of his 11-year-old son. Despite the anguish and sorrow, Lincoln persisted and ultimately sacrificed his life to preserve the union and was extremely instrumental in abolishing race-based slavery, showcasing resilience in the face of towering mountains.
Moving on to arguably the most notable president of all time, George Washington. At the age of 9, Washington’s life took a challenging turn when his father passed away after falling ill. Denied a formal education throughout his childhood, he emerged as a successful surveyor at a young age. While serving in the British Army, Washington led a group of men who were responsible for starting the French and Indian War. When the Revolutionary War erupted, he was appointed the General of the Colonial Army. Despite the challenges of harsh weather conditions, dissent, and being significantly outmatched, Washington orchestrated one of the most remarkable underdog stories in history. In the 1780s, he presided over the Constitutional Convention and was subsequently unanimously elected as the First President of the United States, cementing his legacy as a leader who faced and conquered towering mountains throughout his remarkable journey.
I share these stories not to offer a history lesson (though history is indeed the best teacher), but because I genuinely believe that the mountain I faced (and continue to face), the mountain you may be encountering, or the mountain your loved one is currently scaling, holds the potential to transform another person’s life or even change the world. Consider what might have transpired if Washington or Lincoln had given up, or if Christ had chosen to walk away knowing the agony that was ahead of him. As humans, we often lean towards selfishness, desiring an easy life filled with comfort and material prosperity. However, comfort rarely provides the opportunities for impact and world-altering change that discomfort or trauma can offer.
When faced with a mountain in front of you, it is hard to see anything else, much less see what lies beyond the mountain. Oftentimes, my goal was to just get through the day. But, in the grand scheme of things, life extends beyond our individual selves. If you find yourself in a traumatic situation, whether you’ve been in that hospital bed or, like me, have held your loved one’s hand, pleading with God for a miracle, witnessing them fight for life, YOU MUST PERSEVERE. You must think beyond yourself and understand how you can be a catalyst for change and purpose. In doing so, you’ll discover that your purpose not only propels you forward but guides you towards something more significant than you ever envisioned. Always remember, the battle belongs to the Lord. Do not stop fighting. You are NOT alone.
If you find yourself in need of support, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. You can connect with us through the contact button on our website or by sending an email to ProjectOne45inc@gmail.com. We are here for you.
God Bless,
Tyler Eastridge
Co-Founder, Project One45