My Story 

          It all started with a fall at work. I was installing solar panels on a two story house with a steep metal roof. The roof, being metal, was very slick.  I was walking across the roof to make my first panel mark, when I slipped off the second story roof and fell.  My rope and harness caught me, but it whipped me into the first story roof. I ended up with a concussion, a neck sprain, and back sprain. 

          Now fast forward two months. I was sitting on the couch one night and I started getting sharp pains in the left side of my chest.   They started off very faint, but grew too much for me to handle.  I had to call 911. The ambulance showed up and ran their tests, but everything came back normal. I decided not to be transported the hospital. I went back inside the house, with help from my dad, and began to lose feeling in my feet.  By the time I made it to my bed, the numbness had made its way to my shoulder blades. 

         By the time I got to the hospital, the numbness had made its way to my chest. Within a two hour time frame, I went from sitting on a couch to paralyzed from my chest down. My MRI scans came back and showed a blockage in my spinal cord. It was decided, that I would be transported to Washington Regional Hospital, to undergo surgery. The surgery found that the blockage was, in fact, a blood clot causing the paralysis. The condition is known as “Dural A-V Fistula”

          I have been transported to Baptist Health in Little Rock to begin vigorous rehab to learn to walk again.  I will return to Washington Regional Hospital within 4-6 weeks, to undergo neurosurgery.  We are hoping that the surgery will correct the problem and I will be able to walk again.  In the meantime, I am trying to stay positive and keep living life.  I have two children, 6 and 1 years old, that keep me going.  I have a long road ahead of me and I ask for your prayers for me and my family.