One year ago today on 4-11-16, on a daily drive home from picking my daughter up at school a heavy duty pickup truck and trailer lost control, jack-knifed and crossed the center line, hitting us head-on - smashing into us and slamming us into a 600+ pound intersection light/post which subsequently also fell on our Jeep (after being snapped off). It all happened in an instant. I have zero memory of any of it as I was knocked unconscious immediately upon impact, which was literally exactly on my driver's side door primarily. I do remember a few seconds before the wreck - what my daughter and I were talking about, but then woke up a couple days later in the hospital/trauma ward after two major surgeries, with family and friends around me - and no memory of the event, which is probably for the best.

I wasn't supposed to live. But I did. I certainly don't *deserve* to, but God and His protective angels were watching out over my daughter and I that day.

Why do I say that I wasn't supposed to live? Because I was warned exactly one month prior to the wreck that something bad would happen to me and/or my daughter (in a "dream" event). I can prove that with a time-stamped message to a small group of friends. The warning I received was not from God or angels. It was from a person that I don't know. He told me, without giving any details that something bad would happen. At the scene, Jaws of Life was used to extract me, which I'm sure took quite a while... and NO LifeFlight was called - for whatever reason. They took me by ambulance. A family friend from the school was also quickly on the scene was told by the paramedics that he would likely have to be the person that would have to tell my wife that I didn't make it. But that wasn't necessary. And my daughter was UNHURT. Praise God.

I haven't really talked too much about my injuries, but I will do for this post. I only say this to show you how God has worked thusfar in this situation... all injuries were to my left side.

• A shattered left hip, now with 8 or 9 metal rods in it that held it together while it healed. No hip replacement. Kind of resembles a Swiss Army Knife.
• Fractured C7 vertebrae, now fused to C6 with a metal plate and screws. That breakage alone could have paralyzed me forever. But it didn't. Now, I don't notice the plate, but it makes me feel a bit like Frankenstein when I see X-rays. They went in through the front of my neck to fuse the vertebrae. Scar nearly gone, but still a little visible.
• Fractured left knee. No surgery. This proved to be one of my most difficult things to overcome. Not painful though. Scar tissue.
• Concussion / fractured orbital bone (forehead). Plastic surgery. No one would even see it now. No brain damage... and NO SNIDE COMMENTS, thankyouverymuch! :)
• Fractured ribs (2). They never really bothered me at all. They must not have been that bad. With all the other injuries, I didn't really notice.
• Huge, deep gash in my left leg where the dashboard drove into it. 7-8 inches long. Healed. Not much of a scar now.
• Severed nerves on my left side causing partial numbness in my left foot, but is 80-90% better now.
• Multiple cuts, gashes, bruises and marks that are pretty much all healed now.
• No pain meds at all. Ever. (other than whatever they used to get me through the surgeries, I have no idea). The nurses kept trying to get me to take drugs, but I always refused politely. No Pharma. No addictions. Only natural health products and fresh green juices some as well when they were brought to me.
• Almost no pain in general while I was in the hospital.
• Now, I only experience stiffness and discomfort, but luckily, not all the time. Still no "pain" per se.

I couldn't walk for 4-months; I used a wheelchair and walker. Then a cane after that, for about 3-weeks or so. Completed physical therapy almost one month ago (July through mid-March).

I say all of this.......... only to bring glory to God and what HE DID. Jesus Christ, what He did - allowing me to live... I didn't do ANY of it (as I was unconscious). I just dealt with it and tried to maintain a positive attitude, which wasn't always easy.

The bottom line is, I believe I should have lost my life that day (as do others who were around me), but God intervened and prevented something truly terrible from happening. Yes, this was bad, but it could have been far worse. For me, the worst part was losing our beloved doggie, Boston. But I never doubted for a second that I wouldn't be back to 100% at some point. I'm about 95+ percent now. Unless I tell people this happened, they have no idea. That is truly a blessing.

The people who have been around me helping have all been huge blessings. And my Facebook friends who have written me, sent gifts, etc. are also huge blessings, so thank you.

And an incredible 'thank you' to my beautiful and precious wife, Michelle and our kids. I don't deserve you. All praise to God.

If you don't believe there is a God in Heaven... you should. He believes in YOU. But He won't force Himself on you - because He's given you His Own free will to make your own decisions - right or wrong.

I hope this story helps someone out there.

FYI, my first Facebook post after the wreck... 4-23-16, https://www.facebook.com/diamondisc/posts/10205658905902460 [send me a friend request if you'd like to see it]

Blessings,

Your friend,

Doug Diamond, producer and engineer
Lost Arts Radio with Richard Sacks