Ben Milstead

I’ve had amazing things happen over the last two weekends.  I’m still trying to come to grips with some of it in my mind.

I was with Brenden, Collin, and seven other friends at a motocross track last weekend (eight days ago).  On Sunday morning I had a wreck.  I went over a jump thinking there was a landing ramp.  There was a ramp but unfortunately it was about 20 feet behind where I landed.  I came down on the front end and went over the handlebars into the ground. 

The track EMS guys took me to my car where I thought I could recover.  After about five minutes I was convinced I needed a hospital.  I’ve never EVER been admitted to a hospital.  I’ve never had a broken bone.  So a friend drove me over two hours back to Anderson Memorial.  I felt fine in the car but when I stepped out at the ER it all hit me hard.

Long story short, I broke my scapula (shoulder blade), fractured my arm (up in the ball joint area), three ribs, and both lungs were partially collapsed.  I got to stay in the hospital until Tuesday evening because of the lungs.

I can’t tell you how lucky I am.  Its eight days later and I feel great!  The Orthopedic Doctor said it would be three weeks before I had significant motion in my arm and six weeks before I have no pain.  I was able to raise my arm above my head today with very little pain!  The ribs are getting better by the hour and my lung capacity was at about 95% when I tested it last night.  Trust me; I’m NOT a tough guy!  I hate pain.  I’m a baby when it comes to pain.  But for whatever reason, I’m not really hurting all that bad.  It’s a God thing as far as I’m concerned! I’m also lucky that it wasn’t worse and I thank God that he showed mercy on me and protected me from a much more serious accident.  I looked at my helmet and chest protector this past Wednesday.  Both had obvious damage and I realize that I could have been in very bad shape if my head would have taken the hit my shoulder took.  If God was trying to get my attention, he got it!

 I don’t know if I will ride again or not but I do know that I will never ride the way I was riding again.  I believe that this is a sport that can be done safely if you respect your limits.  I did not respect mine and paid for it as a result.  My kids absolutely love to ride!  It’s been an important thread in our father/son relationship and has been something that is ours.  I don’t want them to get hurt!  On the other hand I believe they are more careful than me and they have both started riding at a real young age so they are going to be much better at it than me. I just don’t know at this point.  What I DO know is that taking a deep breath no longer goes for granted.  Hugging my wife means more.  Hold my son is more special than ever.  The hussel and bussel of life doesn’t seem all that bad at the moment.

This past weekend was much more pleasant.  With the help of a couple of friends I was able to do my normal routine at Clemson.  It was a special weekend even though Clemson lost.   The highlight for me was that I got to lead the team through the first ever Tiger Walk.  I was supposed to interview Coach Swinney at the end of the walk.  By the time I got to that location, the only way to get the golf cart to the end of the walk was to lead the walk.  So I did!  It was amazing!  And we have been invited to do that every week now.  If you didn’t see the walk you can’t understand it.  But there were 10,000 people cheering on the team all in close proximity to me.  It was just amazing.

Is the glass half full or half empty?  Your perspective changes everything and it’s nice to be reminded that, no matter how bad it seems to be, things could always be worse. 

-  Your house isn’t big enough?  Tell that to the single mother living in a one bedroom apartment.  I talked to “that woman” this week.  All she wants is a house that belongs to her with more than one bedroom.

- You don’t have enough money?  There are 1.2 billion people in the world that live on less than $1 a day!  Another 1.8 billion live on less than $2 a day.  I’ll bet the $1 people think the $2 people are rich…..

-  Don’t like what you are eating for supper?  Around 45,000 people die EVERY DAY from starvation!

- Gas prices are too high?  90% of the worlds population do not own a vehicle.

-  Don’t like the taste of your water?  12 million people die each year from lack of water.  This includes 3 million CHILDREN!

- Finally, you think your kids behavior is bad?  I read this story today….

 SYDNEY, Australia —  A blank-faced 7-year-old boy broke into a popular Outback zoo, fed a string of animals to the resident crocodile and bashed several lizards to death with a rock, the zoo’s director said Friday.

The boy jumped a security fence at the Alice Springs Reptile Center in central Australiaearly Wednesday, then went on a 30-minute killing spree, using a rock to slay three lizards, including the zoo’s beloved, 20-year-old goanna, which he then fed to “Terry,” an 11-foot, 440-pound vsaltwater crocodile, said zoo director Rex Neindorf.

P.S.  Clemson fans!  You think your team is bad?  At least you aren’t a Gamecock fan!  Happy Friday.