One of my former assistants returned to the working world the other day. Chris was in a terrible accident and they didn't give him much of a chance to live. We went down and visited him three months after the accident in a hospital in Missouri and things didn't look good. But now he is the sports editor in Abilene, Kansas. Here is his return column.
Out of bounds: Christian D Orr joins Reflector-Chronicle
Published May 16, 2008 11:13 PM CDT
First and foremost let me thank you for picking up today's copy of the Abilene Reflector-Chronicle.
My name, as you can tell from my byline is Christian D Orr.
Some of you might recognize my name for a few different reasons.
First and foremost you might recognize my name because I am a Class of 1990 graduate from Abilene High School. Abilene is the town in which I grew up in.
In fact, I am growing up in Abilene once again. I don't live in Abilene but I feel like I am growing up once again.
The reason I say that I am growing up again is another reason why some of you might recognize my name.
A little more than a year ago I was involved in a really bad accident that made national news. I was one of the individuals on top of the CatTracker fan bus.
When the bus passed under a bridge, I didn't duck fast enough and I hit my head. I suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Now if you don't know anything about TBIs, they are absolutely horrible. Your memory gets completely ripped out of your head.
A lot of people claim the heart is the organ in your body that is the strongest. But they are wrong.
The brain is the most vital part of your body. Do everything you possibly can to protect your brain. That is why God blessed us with a skull. The skull protects the brain.
Along with your memory, the brain also controls every muscle in your body.
It controls your heart.
Now why would anybody think the heart is the strongest organ in your body, if it answers to another organ? The brain is the boss.
This is my first job after the horrible accident I suffered. Just to have a job again makes me so thrilled.
I went through therapy until last October. I would repeatedly tell my therapists that I really wanted to be a sports writer again. They did everything they could to help me get back to being a sportswriter.
I'M BACK!
Thank you to each and every one of my therapists!
I also want to say a big thank you to my lovely wife, my two sons and each and every one of my great friends.
I am not able to drive again yet, but that day is coming very soon.
I am a lot better than a lot of other TBI victims, thankfully.
A lot of other TBI victims have lost complete control of their short-term memory. I am not like that, thankfully. I still have a decent short-term memory.
The one part of my memory where I still have problems is remembering pictures and faces. So even though I might have seen you and talked to you since my accident, please don't get offended if I don't remember your face.
The picture part of my memory still gives me fits. That really bothers me.
But other than that, my memory works just as well as most other normal people.
My plan right now is to make this column a weekly occurrence in this newspaper. It should run in every Saturday paper, it will be the area where I can tell all the great readers of this paper, my opinion on the world of sports.
Out of bounds: Christian D Orr joins Reflector-Chronicle
Published May 16, 2008 11:13 PM CDT
First and foremost let me thank you for picking up today's copy of the Abilene Reflector-Chronicle.
My name, as you can tell from my byline is Christian D Orr.
Some of you might recognize my name for a few different reasons.
First and foremost you might recognize my name because I am a Class of 1990 graduate from Abilene High School. Abilene is the town in which I grew up in.
In fact, I am growing up in Abilene once again. I don't live in Abilene but I feel like I am growing up once again.
The reason I say that I am growing up again is another reason why some of you might recognize my name.
A little more than a year ago I was involved in a really bad accident that made national news. I was one of the individuals on top of the CatTracker fan bus.
When the bus passed under a bridge, I didn't duck fast enough and I hit my head. I suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Now if you don't know anything about TBIs, they are absolutely horrible. Your memory gets completely ripped out of your head.
A lot of people claim the heart is the organ in your body that is the strongest. But they are wrong.
The brain is the most vital part of your body. Do everything you possibly can to protect your brain. That is why God blessed us with a skull. The skull protects the brain.
Along with your memory, the brain also controls every muscle in your body.
It controls your heart.
Now why would anybody think the heart is the strongest organ in your body, if it answers to another organ? The brain is the boss.
This is my first job after the horrible accident I suffered. Just to have a job again makes me so thrilled.
I went through therapy until last October. I would repeatedly tell my therapists that I really wanted to be a sports writer again. They did everything they could to help me get back to being a sportswriter.
I'M BACK!
Thank you to each and every one of my therapists!
I also want to say a big thank you to my lovely wife, my two sons and each and every one of my great friends.
I am not able to drive again yet, but that day is coming very soon.
I am a lot better than a lot of other TBI victims, thankfully.
A lot of other TBI victims have lost complete control of their short-term memory. I am not like that, thankfully. I still have a decent short-term memory.
The one part of my memory where I still have problems is remembering pictures and faces. So even though I might have seen you and talked to you since my accident, please don't get offended if I don't remember your face.
The picture part of my memory still gives me fits. That really bothers me.
But other than that, my memory works just as well as most other normal people.
My plan right now is to make this column a weekly occurrence in this newspaper. It should run in every Saturday paper, it will be the area where I can tell all the great readers of this paper, my opinion on the world of sports.
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