Peace after Paralysis
After becoming paralyzed in a rollover crash, I kept thinking, “Why me?” But doing a few things has helped me feel peace.
Photographs courtesy of the Traveller family
In 2022, my friends and I were riding a small, off-road vehicle in the desert when we got in a rollover crash. I woke up lying on the ground, covered in blood. I couldn’t feel a thing. Soon a helicopter came to take me to a hospital. I found out I had broken my neck in two places and that I was paralyzed from the shoulders down.
At first, it definitely tested my testimony. I kept thinking, “Why me?” I didn’t understand why all my friends walked away from the accident and I didn’t. I was a 16-year-old gymnast and cheerleader, and this was not what I’d pictured for my life.
Choose Gratitude
One day after the accident I was having a really crummy day, and I didn’t want to get out of bed and go to physical therapy. But I went, and I saw a man there who was paralyzed and had been burned. He was smiling and talking to all the therapists, and I thought, “If he can do it, I can too.”
After that experience, I was able to focus more on gratitude. I realized how lucky I was, and I was able to accept my situation a little more. I realized I have to choose to wake up and focus on the good things, like my amazing family and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Look beyond the Labels
I’ve found that helping other people helps me. I remember seeing a couple of teenagers at therapy who were paralyzed. I went up to them and talked to them, because I would have loved it if someone had done that for me.
So many people are going through hard things. At physical therapy, you see all these trials around you that are so visible. In high school, everyone is going through a lot too, but no one really knows it. It’s more hidden. There are all these labels, like “football player” and “cheerleader.” Sometimes it’s scary to break out of the labels and make new friends. I like cheer and tumbling, and I always thought that those things defined who I was.
But I realized that those labels aren’t everything in life. How people look, how different they are from you—those things don’t really matter. You can reach out to everyone and focus on helping them. And now some of my best friends are people I never would have imagined being friends with before.
Trust in the Savior
After some time in a rehabilitation center, I have been able to gain movement in my arms and some feeling in my legs. I continue to progress every day.
I don’t know what my future’s going to be like, and without the Lord, I’d be pretty scared. But I recently got my patriarchal blessing, and it helps me feel confident that whatever happens, I’ll be OK. Reading the scriptures and saying my prayers every day has also helped me through a lot. Without Jesus Christ, I know that my struggles would feel so much worse. He helps me feel peace even when things are hard.
The author lives in Utah, USA.