If I Could Do Anything
“We gotta go boys, this is gonna be a
bad one! Word came in from the sheriff; he says
the kid might not make it!” hollered EMT Mike
Meadows.
“Alright, alright already! I get it…! Just
let me finish getting my…” whined Junior EMT
Jacob Foster.
What does your dream look like?
“We don’t have time for this, get in the
ambulance NOW!!” Mike blasted back. “Okay, we’re all set. Steve, flip on the siren – we are
moving!”
Twelve minutes passed by as they raced to the crash site. They could see the smoke on
the horizon as they drew near the pulverized, shiny red Corvette, and the giant oak tree it
collided into with barely a scratch to its name. “Guys, I don’t think they’re going to make it… it
looks really bad,” muttered Jacob from behind. Through the windshield he could see the debris,
pieces of metal riddled across the ground, and a body lying face down about twenty feet from the
car.
“Jake, I swear if you don’t stop being so negative you’re going to be the next one
slammed into a tree!” retorted the second in command, EMT Steve Williams. Steve’s sharp
response was no surprise to Jacob; he knew Steve never liked him in the first place, especially
after he caught him flirting with his girlfriend back in med school. It was an honest mistake,
Jacob wasn’t much of a socialite anyways – he wouldn’t be able to recognize he was pushing
4
things too far even if you slapped him upside the head. Mike didn’t really care about Jake and
Steve’s feud, all that mattered to him was that the job was done, and that it was done well. Mike
had been an EMT for thirty-six years now, and he’d seen it all, heard it all, and done it all when
it came to field procedures. As far as he was concerned, Steve and Jake was just a bunch of
rookies who didn’t know any better. He figured when they finally got some experience under
their belts they wouldn’t be so temperamental, but more focused, like him.
“Dude, this is such a sick car, I’d be honored to drive with you! Thanks man!” Matt
excitedly responded.
“Well, get in then, we don’t got a lot of time so let’s get to it. I hope you like it fast!”
Travis confidently darted back.
Matt Bigos had never met Travis Pastrana before this day, but he knew it was a dream
come true to meet this motocross legend in person, let alone ride in his brand new Corvette. Matt
had been practicing all his life to ride motocross professionally and so this once in a lifetime
encounter with Travis meant the world to him. “Let’s kick it into fifth gear buddy,” Travis
grinned, as they shot across the interstate.
Matt could feel his heart beginning to pound
faster with the increasing speed of the Vette. He
loved the power behind the V-8 engine, and the thrill
of the gravity sucking him tighter and tighter into his
seat. “Thankfully,” he thought, “I have my seatbelt on. I wouldn’t want to crash going this
speed…”
5
He looked over to his left and noticed Travis wasn’t wearing his seatbelt and asked, “Hey
bro, you gonna put your seatbelt on anytime soon?”
With a quick smile and a little wink, Travis looked over to Matt and said, “No. I don’t
need one brother.”
Wanting to show off his new car, Travis thought it would be fun to speed around the bend
he saw about a mile up the road. It didn’t look like too sharp of a turn and not only that, a
Corvette was a Corvette for a reason, the car was meant to glide around the corners – it could
turn on a dime if it had to – so this should be nothing, he thought to himself. “You ready for this
Matty boy?! Here it comes!”
Of course Matt knew exactly what Travis was talking about, he could easily see the curve
in the road himself; the only difference was, Matt noticed the reduce speed to thirty miles per
hour, sharp turn sign that Travis didn’t, and they were breaching near one-hundred and sixty
miles per hour. “Travis…” Matt said with a slightly nervous and rising voice, “I think we need to
slow it down a little. There is a…”
“Nonsense, I’ve taken this turn a hundred times, we’ve got nothing to worry about,”
Travis retorted, as stepped down on the gas pedal even harder.
“No, seriously, WE NEED TO SLOW DOWN!” yelled Matt as he saw the sharp turn
approaching.
“Ha ha ha ha! Woooooooow!! We’re cruisin’ man!” laughed Travis as he continued to
press down even harder on the pedal.
“Wee-oooh, wee-oooh, wee-oooh,” blared the siren of the ambulance as Mike, Steve, and
Jake approached the scene of the accident and pulled in to a stop. They couldn’t believe what
6
they saw. The quietness of the air freakishly resounded deathlessly within the hearts and ears of
each of the paramedics as they got out of the vehicle and witnessed the chaos before them, the
hostile crackling of the infantile flames burning from the engine, the smoke silently suffocating
the immediate area around the Corvette, almost as if Death itself was choking out it victims for
one final, murderous blow. Suddenly Jake and Steve stopped quarreling with each other, the
gruesome accident almost too much for them to bear. The trio stood there for what seemed like
an eternity, the devastation silencing their speech.
Thankfully Mike had seen these situations many times before and rather than gasping for
breath in astonishment as to the bloody sight, he carefully analyzed and assessed the
circumstances and came up with a game plan. “Alright Steve, see the one over there lying on the
ground? I need you to sprint over there immediately and check his vitals! Make sure he is alive!”
barked Mike at Steve.
“Jake, you get over
there too, I need you to hustle
and I need you to help Steve
keep that guy alive – provided
he is alive,” quipped Mike to
the junior paramedic.
It was the duty of the seniormost EMT to take upon him or herself the most immediate of trauma victims – Mike bee-lined
straight to the crumpled vehicle. Sheriff Daniel Johnson was at the passenger side of the car
frantically pulling at the door. With the mounting frustration and the desperateness of the
situation, the Sheriff slammed his fist into the side of the vehicle, “Argh…! I can’t get this door
7
open! I’ve already checked the other kid lying on the ground, he’s gonna be fine… but this one is
GOING TO DIE if we don’t get him outta here fast!”
Mike could see that the entire front and sides of the car were mashed together, and that
there was no way they could get this dying young kid out of the vehicle. “Sheriff Dan, we can
get him outta here – come with me fast and we’ll get the Jaws of Life out of the back of the
ambulance,” Mike assertively commanded to his old-time friend. Mike Meadows and Sheriff
Johnson had known and served around for nearly twenty-three out of the last twenty-seven years,
and had grown to work quite well together. Johnson was generally even tempered, but when
situations grew rough, he became the fieriest of them all, his intensity far surpassing his
comrades – which spoke volumes as to how tightly slammed shut the car doors were, because
this man could lift a semi-truck if it was needed.
“Alright, Mike, let’s do this,” Johnson positively responded. With some effort, Mike and
Sherriff Johnson lugged the Jaws of Life and its heavy hydraulic equipment to the wreck. They
placed the cutters at the bottom of the support beam for the front and rear passenger-side doors
and began the extrication process. Within moments they were able to get to the lifeless body
inside the vehicle, and pull him out to safety.
A heavy fog weighed down upon Matt’s body and mind as he lay silently awake in his
hospital bed. He vaguely remembered getting in a vehicle with Travis Pastrana sometime the day
before, or even perhaps days before, he couldn’t tell. His sense of time was just as haywire as the
incredible numbness he felt all over his body. “What is going on?” Matt worriedly thought to
himself, “I gotta get moving…” frantically he attempted to motion himself out of bed and soon
found he was unable to move. From the chest down, Matt was paralyzed. His hopes and dreams
8
dashed away faster than the blink of an eye. Motocross gone. Years upon years of practice out
the window. Life as he knew it instantly overturned. An awesome despair sunk deep into his
heart as he realized it was over – his whole life, finished…
The interesting thing about life is that within the
human soul is a remarkable ability to overcome even the
most depraved and darkest of adversity, that in its lowest
state, it can yet stand triumphant over pain, sorrow,
misery, hopelessness, and weakness. The story related to
Like summiting Mt. Everest,
Matt Bigos was in for the
journey of his lifetime, but great
rewards awaited him as he gave
his best effort.
you above is part factual and part fiction; however, the
lessons learned from this miraculous tale help us learn that
no matter who we are or where we are in life, we can gain
victory above our seeming deepest losses, take control of
our lives, be accountable to our dreams, envision our hopes and achieve them, give our best to
bring out the best in others, live life to the fullest, find happiness and light in every dark corner
of our journey through mortality, and reach our potentials, having hearts filled with gratitude and
love forever.
The truth of this story is that Matt Bigos did get in a car with Travis Pastrana, and it was
their first time meeting each other, and they did crash violently into a tree – Travis wasn’t
wearing his seatbelt, he was thrown from the vehicle, he did survive with merely a few cuts and
scrapes, some torn ligaments in his thumb and is alive and well today. Matt, unfortunately, did
not escape so easily – aside from nearly dying in the accident, he in reality did suffer from
paralysis from the chest down and he was even told by his doctors that he would never walk
9
again. Sure, the paramedics and Sherriff Johnson do not necessarily exist, and the conversation
between Travis and Matt was not necessarily accurate, if it took place at all, but as my
grandfather always says, “Though the facts may be wrong – the story is still true.”
But what makes this story miraculous isn’t that there was an accident and that dreams and
hopes were shattered, it is what happened because of the accident that makes this story special.
Though Matt was immediately told he would never walk again and though he felt horrible about
it, no doubt, he didn’t give up on himself – in fact, he absolutely refused to quit. What is more,
Matt harbored no resentment toward Travis Pastrana for nearly costing him his life; he let it go
and moved on. Matt not only believed that he would be able to walk again, but he believed he
would be able to run, cycle, and even compete in triathlons and even Ironman’s – though he was
an upcoming motocross star, he was also an avid runner and biker when he had the opportunity
between his motocross practices. He didn’t trash his dreams because of his circumstances; he
held on to them tighter and pursued them even more passionately. It wasn’t until six weeks after
the crash that Matt was even able to wiggle his big toe and yet he still believed he was capable of
achieving his dreams – every small step was counted as enormous progress in his eyes and he
was grateful for even the least results. Positivity and hope surrounded his mindset, buoying him
up and giving him strength to press forward in his impossible goals. Literally, within four years
of the collision and the doctor diagnosed indefinite paralysis, Matt was not only able to achieve
his goal of walking again, but he was also able to run and even cycle, and furthermore, was able
to compete in the Ironman Florida, having competed in several triathlons prior to the event.
The elements of this story reflect a snapshot of each of our lives. Have you ever had a
beautiful dream, something you wanted more than anything else? Have you ever been able to
close your eyes and see your infinite potential? Have you ever in quiet moments been able to feel
10
the sublime happiness that comes to those who reach their highest goals? Like Matt Bigos, all of
us have at some time or another had a dream of whom and what we wish we could become.
Unfortunately, just like Matt, all of us are also faced with the critical moment where it seems our
dreams suspended in the air, about to be dashed into pieces – the moments where our hearts stop,
and it seems everything good in our lives has suddenly transformed into a useless pile of mush.
Have you ever felt like you had lost everything you ever dreamed of achieving in your life? Have
you ever felt like you could give nothing more? I’m sure you have. Some of you have come out
on top and used your experiences to better
Like Simba from The Lion King, each of
us is faced with our own critical
moment, and it’s never easy.
yourself and others. Some of you have used
your traumatic experiences as a crutch
and haven’t been able to move past your
downfalls. From personal experience and
the experiences of many others, it is my
belief that all of us can learn to see past
our worst circumstances and overcome
our greatest hurdles with an attitude of
positivity and hope. It is my proposition
that we begin to rethink the way in which
we view our lives and transform our thoughts from seeing ourselves as victims and out of
control, but to see ourselves as champions of our fate and victors of our lives and circumstances,
that life doesn’t “happen to us, but we happen to life,” as stated by Steven Covey in his book The
7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and live happily and abundantly so long as we shall live
upon this earth.
11
How we will go about achieving this purpose is to begin pursuing a course of life which
will lead us to the ultimate success: in Napoleon Hill’s famous book, Think & Grow Rich, there
are several principles upon which we can become the “masters of our fate,” as Winston Churchill
said. The first example is that of Edwin C. Barns, who as Hill states, “Thought his way into a
partnership with Thomas A. Edison.” The principle is this, Barns’ desire and passion was so
overwhelming that no outside force or circumstance could stop him from working to achieve his
goal – his mind was permanently fixed on his dream, and over time, with many setbacks,
eventually was able to partner with Mr. Edison and amass great wealth in working with him. We
need to set our minds on our dreams and not let anything stop us from achieving our goal – just
like Matt Bigos – we don’t care if we’re told we can’t walk again, we do it anyways because we
want it so bad we’ll never stop trying. The next important principle is that we are grateful for any
and all of our progress. This is a simple but tiring exercise in finding a proper balance of
perspective, which is to see life realistically – meaning you are capable of seeing things as they
are – and to see life through a lens of positivity and hope. We do this by being grateful. Gratitude
causes us to open our hearts to goodness and to let go of negativity in our lives. For those who
have read Tom Rath’s heavily researched book entitled How Full is Your Bucket?, you know that
in the recognizing of the strengths and goodness of others and ourselves, we become the most
productive and happy in our lives – and we help inspire others to do the same – it is a virtuous
circle of positivity and hope. In the example of Matt Bigos, he wouldn’t take never or no for an
answer, he sought out like-minded people to help him in his journey, and took hope in every
baby-sized progressive step and through it all was able to overcome paralysis and inspire
millions to believe in themselves and overcome their personal stumbling blocks. Lastly, we must
learn to give. Dave Ramsey is the author of Financial Peace, a largely successful book, and
12
founder of Financial Peace University – his works inspire millions worldwide to take hold of
their finances and to “live like no one else, so later [they] can LIVE like no one else.” His
“sacrifice to win” theories involve putting off unnecessary expense by saving money and
investing now so that later in life you will be able to be financially secure and will be able to
“change your family tree” for the better, and give of your wealth and resources to those in need
of your talents, abilities, and help. Learning to give is no small task, but it is the greatest lesson
any of us can learn in this life, for when we give, we also receive. For Matt, and many like him,
this meant sacrificing
his immediate desire to
compete in motocross
but instead work on
baby-steps of progress
until he was able to
finally realize his goal.
In the process of
overcoming his major
pitfall, he has inspired
many to become their individual best – it was in the giving of his best effort that he received his
greatest rewards, and that wasn’t fame, it wasn’t fortune, but it was individual contentment,
peace, and lasting happiness. After competing in the Australia World Cup in para-cycling, and
not placing as high as he had hoped, this is what he said:
13
In the end, I walked away with having learned a lot. I think that is the most I can ask for. I can't
say enough about all my new sponsors this year and my old ones that have stood by me no
matter what. It really is amazing to have so many people standing behind me and believe in me,
even when others don't.
I feel this quote epitomizes the whole process. In the end, what matters most is that we learn, that
we do our best, and be grateful for all the blessings we have been given. Thank you.
14
Works Cited
Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. 1st ed. New York: Little, Brown and
Company, 2008. 35-68. Print.
Kelly, Melissa. "Year Round Education: Pros and Cons." n. page. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.
<http://712educators.about.com/cs/reformtime/a/yearrounded.htm>.
Johnson, M. Alex. "Year-round school gains ground around U.S.." 10 2010: n. page. Web. 2
Apr. 2012. <msnbc.com>.
Grabmeier, Jeff. "YEAR-ROUND SCHOOLS DON'T BOOST LEARNING, STUDY FINDS."
Research News. n. page. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. <http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/yearrnd.htm>.
Hill, Napoleon. Think & Grow Rich. 2008 ed. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1937. Print.
Phillips, D.C., "Philosophy of Education", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2009
Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2009/entries/educationphilosophy/>.
"How the Brain Learns Best." teacher.scholastic.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr 2012.
<http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/brainlearns.htm>.
Covey, Stephen. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change.
Turtleback Books, 2004. Print.
Ramsey, Dave. Financial Peace: Revisited. Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated, 2003. Print.
Bigos, Matt. "Australia World Cup." No time for Never. N.p., 05 05 2011. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.
<http://mattbigos.blogspot.com/>.
Roenigk, Alyssa. "No time for never: after a paralyzing auto accident, rising motocross racer
Matt Bigos was told he'd never walk again. Yet his passion for competition and fitness proved
doctors more wrong than everyone imagined. Everyone except him!" Men's Fitness. 03 2008: n.
page. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.
<http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1608/is_2_24/ai_n24322467/pg_2/?tag=content;col1>.
15
16