Every Day is A Gift by Kyle Kirby
My day was absolutely blissful until my accident happened. I started my day by going to the gym and having an intense workout. Afterwards, I went to the beach and meditated for an hour. While I was biking home from the beach I remember having a huge smile on my face. A biker who was on the wrong side of the path crashed into me as I was making a turn and I immediately blacked out. I have no memory of what happened after I got hit. I was told that I ran from the medics and was so confused that I kept telling them that I didn't get into an accident. I was taken to two different hospitals and was put in the ICU. My skull was fractured and I had a TBI, I also lost some hearing in my right ear and lost lots of blood. The situation was serious but I knew I needed to stay positive and stay strong so that I could heal up as quickly as possible.
The positive and driven group of people I train with in HHI!
One quote that resonated with me through this is "every day is a gift!" This quote is what I tell people and truly live by. There are challenges everyday but I know that I have to roll with the punches and everything will be okay.
Healing is something you must take more serious than anything when dealing with a TBI. This whole thing made me think of all kinds of different strategies to help get better. I started reading a book called "The Concussion Repair Manual" by Dr. Dan Engle and this helped me realize all the things I could do to help myself. As a result of this book, I began taking yoga classes again and mediated more frequently. I checked in with my primary physicians a month after my accident then started to do aerobic exercises and lifting weights. Immediately I quit eating bad foods, I quit eating sugar, bread, and low quality foods. I ordered supplements that I researched and thought would help me. Music has also been a great recovery tool as well, "Brain healing sounds" by Dr. Nipun Aggarwal is a good one. Everything will be GREAT!
Paddle boarding with the dolphins.
I am trying my best to stay pushing myself to do better. I read that sleep is incredibly important in the healing process so I’ve been focusing on getting into good sleep schedule. I am more cognizant of my surroundings and aware of the possible risks. Some new things I am trying are a float tank session or sensory deprivation tank, being outside and using nature to help heal me, and recently I started gardening bell peppers and roma tomatoes because I read about horticulture therapy. I will never give up.
Some of my best friends!
Rock stack in Chattanooga, TN.
For me, moving forward is about living every day as a gift! I realized that this accident is life-changing but I need to stay positive and know that the situation could have been way worse. I will be thankful for every day I get to live. Currently, I'm beyond thankful for all the wonderful people that have helped me and felt the need to give back to a community that really supported me. This June I am doing a Great Cycle Challenge and hope to raise money for kids with cancer. I will bike 420 miles and hopefully be able to meet my fundraising target of $500. I have set goals for myself to achieve, including signing up for an ultra marathon in October. I hope this activity will help me push myself and be around athletic and positive people.
Yoga has helped my beaten up body from this crash feel more stretched out. Yoga has helped me repair mentally and physically. The amount of focus that you put into each pose helps so much. In the future, I will be doing more Qi gong yoga. I’ve also found that meditation is a powerful tool. I try to incorporate this into my life every day. Meditation helps me relax tremendously and gives me time for self-reflection. I am able to work through my problems while sitting peacefully. Meditation lets me disconnect from everything going on and focus on just myself, I will continue to try to get better at it. I have so much love for both yoga and meditation.
This accident proved to me that people have huge hearts and are willing to go above and beyond. I have great support from family and friends. I hope that in the future if someone I know has a TBI, I will be able to help them out. I love this life I am living regardless of my accident.
Just remember that every day is a gift and it will change the way you live each day.