Sir PeteWilson – Week 6

Knights of the Road – Week 6 (Photovoice submission for Sir PeteWilson)

As you look back at all the changes in your personal and professional life since the trauma you were involved in, are any of the changes positive? This week, share stories and photos about any good, positive, healthy or beneficial things that came about as a result of being involved in a tragic event.

What positive things, if any, have come from my accident? Well there’s an interesting question. This one sort of brings up the cliches myself, and I’m sure a great deal many more, hear after an incident like the one I endured. Think positive. Everything happens for a reason. At least you’re still here to talk about it. Someone was looking out for you… blah blah blah.

I can’t tell you how many nights I sat up, or laid in bed, uncomfortable from my throbbing hand that had 4 pins in it, wondering just what the F#$% the reason could have possibly been for taking away my dream, my old truck, endangering me and putting my family in financial peril. Yeah, somebody looking out for me alright.

It wasn’t until just 3 or 4 months ago the answer to this question sort of hit me like the ford pickup barrelling into my lane some 5 years earlier. A close friend and someone I respect greatly was chastising me for some of the moves I’ve made, things I had more or less been forced into that seemed to only put us further behind, but more so just how stubborn I have been about righting this ship my way.

In a moment of exasperation he blurted out, “Yeah, and just what has your stubbornness gotten you anyways?”

My calm and immediate response is what hit me so hard… “Payments and a healthy family.” He didn’t have a response, just nodded his head and walked away. Me however, I had 780 miles to drive that night and all the time in the world inside my head with those words.

Payments and a healthy family. Its utterly true. We are in debt up to our ears but the lights are still on. The truck that replaced my dream truck was an uncomfortable bucket of bolts that cost us a small fortune over the 5 years we had it, but it put food on the table every day. The stress of what we were going through drove my wife and I apart, to the point of calling it quits, but when I came back to pack my things… I couldn’t. We sat down that day and every ugly detail of our personal hells was laid out for each other to see. It wasn’t pretty but we rebuilt from that moment and ended up stronger than we had ever been.

The debt, the truck and the stress that replaced a fairly happy life after my wreck broke us and forced us to learn to communicate or cease to coexist. We learned to team up and soldier on no matter what got thrown at us. Those things help us every day to be the best parents we can to our 4 boys. Most people would never suspect the battles we face because of how we have learned to conduct ourselves facing extremely bleak situations.

So yes, all things considered, I am elated to still be here to talk about it. Maybe somebody was watching out for me. I can see, to a point, the reasons that wreck happened. Not only that, but it was only a few days after being hit by that ray of truth that I saw a post on Facebook, looking for truckers who had been in a traumatic fatal accident, and knew that 5 years later, I may finally be ready to use this event constructively.

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