Upon hearing her evaluation I became furious for I thought, "Who is she to tell me what I can or cannot do. She does not even know me. I am a very determined and stubborn person!" I believe it was at that very moment that I decided I would somehow, someday return to college.
It took me a long time and a lot of hard work but I finally returned to the University of Texas in the fall of 1983 - a year and a half after almost dying. The next few years in Austin were very difficult for me, but I truly believe that in order to see beauty in life you have to experience some unpleasantness. Maybe I have experienced too much unpleasantness, but I believe in living each day to the fullest, and doing the very best I can.
And each new day was very busy and very full, for besides attending classes at the University I underwent therapy three to five days each week at Brackenridge Hospital. If this were not enough I flew to Houston every other weekend to work with Tom Williams, a trainer and executive who had worked for many colleges and professional teams and also had helped many injured athletes, such as Earl Campbell and Eric Dickerson. Through Tom I learned: "Nothing is impossible and never, never give up or quit."
Early, during my therapy, my father kept repeating to me one of his favorite sayings. I have repeated it almost every day since being hurt: "Mile by mile it’s a trial; yard by yard it’s hard; but inch by inch it’s a cinch."
I thought of those words, and I thought of Tom, my family and Sharon who believed so strongly in me as I climbed the steps to receive my diploma from the Dean of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas on that bright sunny afternoon in June of 1986. Excitement and pride filled my heart as I heard the dean announce that I had graduated with "highest honors", been elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and been chosen as one of 12 Dean’s Distinguished Graduates out of 1600 in the College of Liberal Arts.
The overwhelming emotions and feelings that I experienced at that very moment, when most of the audience gave me a standing 17)ovation, I felt would never again be matched in my life-not even when I graduated with a masters degree in social work and not even when I became employed full time at the Texas Pain and Stress Center. But I was wrong!
On May 24, 1987, I realized that nothing could ever match the joy I felt as Sharon and I were married. Sharon, my high school sweetheart of nine years, had always stood by me, through good and bad times. To me, Sharon is my miracle, my diamond in a world filled with problems, hurt, and pain. It was Sharon who dropped out of school when I was hurt so that she could constantly be at my side. She never wavered or gave up on me.
It was her faith and love that pulled me through so many dark days. While other nineteen year old girls were going to parties and enjoying life, Sharon devoted her life to my recovery. That, to me, is the true definition of love.
After our beautiful wedding I continued working part time at the Pain Center and completed my work for a masters degree. We were extremely happy, but even happier when we learned Sharon was pregnant.
On July 11, 1990 at 12:15 a.m. Sharon woke me with the news: "We need to go to the hospital… my water just broke." I couldn’t help but think how ironic it was that my life almost ended in a convenience store and now on the date "7-11" we were about to bring a new life into this world. This time it was my turn to help Sharon as she had helped me over those past years.
She was in labor for 15 hours. At 3:10 p.m. Sharon and I experienced the birth of our beautiful daughter, Shawn Elyse Segal!
Tears of joy and happiness came to my eyes as our healthy, alert, wonderful daughter entered this world. We anxiously counted her 10 fingers and her 10 toes and watched her wide eyes take in the world about her. It was truly a beautiful picture that was 18)etched in my mind forever as she lie in her mother’s waiting arms, just minutes after her birth. At that moment I thanked God for blessing us with the greatest miracle of all-Shawn Elyse Segal.
她的這番結論讓我怒不可遏，“她是誰，憑什么告訴我能做什么或不能做什么。她根本不了解我。我是很堅強而固執的人!”我相信就在那時我決定無論如何，總有一天我會返回學校的。
在經歷了一年半垂死掙扎的生活后，在漫長的等待和艱辛的付出后，終于在1983年的秋天，我返回了德克薩斯大學。在奧斯汀接下來的幾年里我生活得非常艱難，但我確信為了看到生活中的真善美你必須要經歷一些苦難。也許我經歷的苦難太多了，但我有一個信念――充實地過每一天，盡力做到最好。
日子過的很繁忙、很充實，除了讀書，每周我還在要在布萊肯瑞吉醫院接受三到五次的治療。如果這還不夠忙的話，我還要隔周和湯姆?威廉斯飛到奧斯汀工作。湯姆是一個教練兼主管，他曾效力于許多大學校隊和職業聯隊，并幫助過許多受傷的運動員，如：厄爾?坎貝爾 和 艾立克?迪克森。從湯姆的身上我學到“沒有什么是不可能的，千萬千萬不要放棄，永不放棄。”
早在我接受治療的時候，父親總是重復他最愛的那句話，每天當我感到痛苦的時候我也對自己重復那句話，那就是“腳踏實地，切勿急功近利。”
1986年六月那個陽光明媚的午后，當我步履蹣跚地走上德克薩斯大學迪安文學院的臺階接受文憑的時候，我思索著這些話，想到湯姆、父母還有沙倫，他們都那么堅定地給予了我信任。當我聽到院長宣布我以最高榮譽畢業時，我的心中充滿了驕傲和自信。接著他還宣布我被選入美國大學優等生榮譽學會，并在1600名畢業生中當選為12名迪安文學院的杰出畢業生之一。
當場有許多觀眾站起來為我鼓掌，那一刻令我心潮澎湃、百感交集。我甚至覺得生命中不可能再經歷那樣的感慨和激情，這種想法一直延續到我獲得社會學的碩士學位，成為德克薩斯止痛減壓中心的一名全職工作人員。但幸運之神再次眷顧了我!
1987年5月24日，我覺得再沒有什么能與此時的快樂相提并論，我和沙倫結婚了。沙倫是我高中時代的女友，風風雨雨九年來，她一直陪在我身旁。對我來說，她是我的奇跡，是我在這個充滿困惑和傷痛的世界上擁有的一顆鉆石。為了能日夜守侯在我的身旁，沙倫在我受傷的時候放棄了學業。她的愛從未動搖過，她從未拋棄過我。
是她的忠誠和愛伴著我度過了無數個黑暗的日子。當別的十九歲的女孩子參加舞會、享受生活的時候，沙倫把青春獻給了病床上的我，等待我的康復。對我來說，這就是愛的真諦。
在那個美滿的婚禮之后，我繼續在止痛中心做著兼職的工作，并獲得了我的碩士學位。我們非常的幸福，而沙倫懷孕的消息更讓我們恩愛有加。
1990年7月11日12點15分，沙倫把我從夢中喚醒：“我們得去醫院了…… 我羊水破了。”我忍不住想命運真讓人啼笑皆非，它幾乎讓我在那家便利店里丟了性命，而在一個命名為“7?11”的日子里它卻讓我迎來新生命的出世。多年來沙倫幫我度過了一次又一次難關，這次該我來幫助她了。
沙倫經歷了15個小時的分娩。在3點10分的時候，沙倫和我一起迎來了我們美麗的女兒――蕭恩?艾麗斯?斯高。
當我看到美麗的女兒健康地來到這個世上，喜悅和幸福化作淚水奪眶而出。我們迫不及待地數著她的十個手指和十只腳趾，看著她大大的眼睛注視著她的世界。初生的嬰兒躺在媽媽柔軟的懷里如一副優美的圖畫將永駐我的心中。那一刻，我感謝上帝賜予我們如此最偉大的奇跡――我的蕭恩?艾麗斯?斯高。
