It was one of those stupid accidents that should never have happened. I had just gotten off work and thought I’d go out and get my hunting tree stand. When I climbed onto the stand, it collapsed and I dropped 25 feet to the ground. It turned out I had broken my back, bruised my spinal cord, and was bleeding internally. I kept falling in and out of consciousness but kept trying to yell for help, until I finally lost my voice. I thought it was all over and that I was going to die.

When I got to Kent, I was paralyzed from the waist down and was in constant pain. I also had terrible anxiety attacks. At that point, I didn’t want to live anymore. I remember one night it was really bad, and Shirley, one of the night nurses, came and sat on my bed and held my hand. She went above and beyond the call of duty that night and saved my life.

It was also like that the first day I was scheduled for rehab. I was tired, in pain, and depressed. Someone came to get me and I said, ‘I’m not going today – I’m just not up for it.’ I went back to sleep, and the next thing I knew I had nine staff members staring down at me. They said I had five minutes and wouldn’t give me a pass. They finally got me laughing and I said, ‘Okay, okay, I’ll come.’ Getting me out of bed was the best thing they could have done.

It’s all the little things that everyone at Kent would do. They were never too busy to stop by and see how I was doing, sit with me, and listen as I talked about what had happened and how I felt. They kept me going through the toughest physical therapy sessions imaginable and helped me build back my strength. I got to know them all – from the people who would pop in to say hi to the night nurses who always managed to find the time to talk to me.

I spent Christmas, New Year’s, and my birthday in Kent Hospital, and believe me, because of the staff, I will treasure those times for the rest of my life. The nurses made those days special for me and my family. The night before I left, they gave me a cake and a gift. Roseanne took pictures and mailed them to my home a week later with a beautiful letter enclosed. Even Kathy from administration ran to the lobby as I was leaving and gave me a card and a gift and wished me well. I think of these people every day.

I told them that I would come back and visit them and that I’d walk back when I did it. In September, I came back and surprised them. I came walking down the corridor in braces, with a walker, and hugged and kissed all the nurses. I presented an angel to Dr. Mary Eleanor Toms for all the staff there and told them, ‘You’re all my angels.'