Phillip’s Story

I live in a small town in North Carolina. On August 13, 2015, I was vacationing in the Dominican Republic with my wife and some close friends. We decided to go on a boat, where we could enjoy the beautiful water, snorkel and just have fun. There was a slide on the boat that went into the water. We had been going off that slide all day, but the boat had been moving over to shallow water, and I took a run on the slide head first. After that, everything changed… I came up, my friends pulled me into the boat. I ended up in a hospital in the DR where no one spoke English, I could not move, my wife worked hard to get us out of the Dominican, and into the States. I ended up in Miami, I had surgery, but I still could not move. My wife, Mom, Dad, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, and aunts came to Florida. I was there for about a month with much prayer and work, I was able to have some hand control.

God has carried me through. I would not have been able to get through this without God and my amazing wife. I used to be in construction, but currently unable to follow that dream. Things have been tough because everything in this world is so inaccessible when you can’t walk. But I am amazed by how God has poured down his blessings over me. With the help of people, my family, communities, extended communities, churches. I live in a modified house, drive and work out at Race to Walk in Mooresville. Therapy is the answer. It helps me feel better, and it will get me ready to move again. I have control of my hands, I started a new therapy of making wood burned signs, sell them at a local produce stand. I will never give up. Thank you for reading my story.