A single event—that’s all it took.
I couldn’t move. In a daze, I heard frantic voices. My eyes couldn’t seem to focus. There was the smell of burned rubber and gunpowder.
The next thing I remember was waking up in a hospital bed. The adrenaline was gone from my body, but I felt panic rising as the realization hit me.
I cannot move.
Pieces from the event that brought me here were slowly coming together. I had been riding in a taxi when the taxi driver was shot. The vehicle, now unmanned, veered off the side of the road and began rolling.
The doctors told me I’d never again move from the neck down. But after a miracle from God, I regained movement in my upper body.
I couldn’t change what had happened to me, but I could choose my response to the outcome.
I lost my legs, but
I hadn’t lost the
ability to choose.
I could still choose the direction my life would take. So I chose to use what I had and started a business making wire and bead crafts to sell outside of an entertainment arena.
Every day, I wheel myself around the busy traffic. What my body can or cannot do won’t steal the passion I have for life.
The accident hasn’t
stolen my joy.
My business is growing. For the first time, I’ve been able to save money and I now have my own specialty car. I have skilled hands that can create. I have a beautiful wife, two children and a sharp mind.
I hope that when people see me, when they see my smile, they don’t see what I‘ve lost—but what I’ve gained.
Musa
Wire & Beads Business Owner in Cosmo City, Johannesburg
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