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[Odysious]

I was injured at work. I'm a gymnastics & wrestling coach and student. I arrived to work early, it was a cloudy spring day, April 29, my birthday is coming up, Gymnastics today at a private club "Le Club Gymnastics", the only reason I'm working here is because I was a passanger in a violent car accident 4 months prior. I suffered a ruptured liver, multiple head injuries and a severed tendon in my hand.

One of the other coaches was working out on a mini- trampoline, you know the kind cheerleaders use. I warmed up a little and started doing some tricks, front layouts to my back, then one & three quarter front flips, I did about 3 and then on the 4th one I lost concentration and crashed. I spun my head around 180 degrees, the tearing, crunching and grinding was horrendous, I lie there paralyzed, I heard Debbie scream, Jerry was coaching the team, he ran over, Randy he yelled, you OK, no I replied, I broke my f**king neck, I was a clown and he didn't believe me until he saw me lieing the in a twisted heap.

A C5 dislocating, 3 days later I was brainstem on life support, they told my family I was going to be a vegetable, "they" didn't know me. I lost 60 lbs. In 2 months, 95 lb. I was a human skeleton. Over the next 2 years I got stronger, started coaching wrestling again, I went back to school, engineering and in the first semester I was lecturing the department, I quit school soon after.

That was 1980, I've coached a 3 High Schools since, took 2nd place at the California State Championships in the '90s, I have 15 inventions or so, I was the first person on total life support in the world to skydive, I fly stunt kites, bowl, drive RC cars, dance a little, I played and coached Power Soccer for awhile, made a sidecar for my motor cycle that I drive into, I worked as a Rehabilition Specialist for a little while.

There's more to the story, but that's not my point, we are human, the highest in the chain of life, but there is no rhyme or reason to how we deal with this kind of life altering accidents, diseases, crap. Please, everyone reading this, there are no rules to live by, do the best you can, help your family and friends the best you can, if you need to scream and yell get it over with and move on, If you need to cry do it' whatever you need to do, do it and move on, we have too much to offer.

Tears,

Randy Haims, C2 Quad
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[goose]

Great attitude. Pretty gutsy to skydive....my hat is off to you!!!!!! I see you're a veteran to SCI. Oh, do you bowl using your chair to push the ball?

I'd love to hear more about your adventures....do tell!!!

LIFE is full of ups and downs......you just have to make the very best of it you can!!!