Falling Into You - Part 2
By Rob Decker
Copyright © 2017 All Rights reserved
Part 2
I remember hitting the glass. My foot had clipped an awning on the way down changing my fall and I hit the concrete on my left side. I shattered my left arm, collapsed my left lung, broke my right wrist and severed a vertebrae in my lower back.
Upon arriving to the hospital, I was taken immediately into surgery and eight hours later I was wheeled into a room. When I woke up my eyes slowly opened and they began to focus. I found myself staring at a bright light and an IV bag... a constant beeping filled the room. I was wearing a back brace, an external fixator on my left arm and a cast on my right arm. I had tubes coming out of my neck while they were pumping me with morphine. I couldn't lift my head... everything still hurt despite the morphine drip.
Eventually a police officer came into the room and informed me that I was under arrest and being charged with rape, attempted murder, and my current bail was set at one million dollars. The doctors told me that I would likely never walk again due to the severe damage to my spine. I wasn't allowed any visitors because I was under arrest. I was all alone.
There was a police officer stationed on duty in my room 24/7. One morning, the officer on duty flipped through the police report and aggressively blurted out "Mr. Decker... you aren't a very good guy."
I explained to the officer that I had made a lot a bad choices in my life but what I was being charged with was not one of those choices. As tears began to fill my eyes, monitors started to beep and a nurse walked in and asked me to calm down.
As the nurse left the room my heart sank as I saw my girlfriend enter the room, saying nothing and hiding behind sunglasses and a new hairstyle trying to disguise herself.
The officer came back into the room and approached the bed. His tone was softer as he asked, "Is that... who I think it is?" I nodded. The officer looked at the police report again and then back at me and said... "After what she says happened... something doesn't seem right; her showing up here." He then walked over to her and escorted her out of the room.
As I was lying there shackled to the bed and trying to make sense of what had happened, my mind went back to months earlier when I had felt God's peace in the bible study. I asked God, "Why would you do this to me? Why would you allow this to happen?" At that moment the bright lights of the room started to dim, the chaotic noises of the intercom, oxygen machine, rustling of the doctors and nurses all faded away.
I felt the intense pain subsiding and I heard this small still voice say, "The charges will be dropped, your bills will be paid and you will walk again." I then fell into a deep sleep.
When I woke, all the sounds of the hospital rushed back and the debilitating pain returned throughout my body. Despite all of that, I felt an overwhelming peace and calm... the same feeling I had felt after being prayed over.
In that moment I knew it was God filling me with hope.
A few days later a few policemen came and took the handcuffs off my wrist and told me that all of the charges had been dropped. I was finally allowed to have guests.
My Mom was the first to visit... tears streaming down her face. The doctors had just told her that I was probably never going to walk again. Silence filled the room until she said, "I had hoped life would have ended for you that day so that you would not have to suffer anymore." Her words sounded harsh but I knew it was coming from a good place.
A week after my first surgery, a couple nurses came into my room and wanted me to try and stand for the first time. It felt like an impossible task but I knew in that moment I needed to do it. I needed to do it to prove to myself that I might walk again. I needed to do it for my mom to give her hope.
I closed my eyes as the two nurses sat me on the edge of the bed and I imagined Jesus Christ getting beaten and broken while carrying His cross. I had to try.
As the nurses lifted me to my feet I felt excruciating pain surge through my entire body and immediately collapsed back onto the bed. My doctor was discouraged and informed me that there would be a second surgery. I was reminded of the promise that still, small voice had made to me and a smile spread across my face because I knew everything would be okay.
After my second surgery I was able to drag my left foot across the floor and within that same month I was eventually able to walk with a limp unassisted. I was determined to walk again.
My hospital bill of over $800,000 was miraculously paid for by the state. Just one more blessing that came to fruition in my walk with Christ.
After six weeks I was released from the hospital and I moved in with my mom. I was taking six different pain medications and drinking to help numb the pain. I felt myself slipping back to the dark place I had been before so I turned my focus to God.
I began praying all the time and reading my bible. I surrounded myself with other Christians that would come by and take me to church. I developed some really strong relationships with them as the days went by.
In early 2009 I went back for my third 8 hour surgery because my body was not healing. In this surgery half of my back was fused together. The operation left me with no curve in my lower back and put me into recovery mode once again.
Over the next couple of years I stayed with a good friend and his family. My mobility was constantly improving and I knew I was going to have to fight really hard to get back into shape and most importantly off the pain medications. I focused on building my body back up.
After three years I was able to stop all pain medication... working out was becoming easier and I felt I was getting my body back physically. I also continued to focus on my relationship with God and knew, without a doubt, that He had His hand in my life.
I knew the next step was to get off of disability and get a job. I decided to return to my passion of fitness as a personal trainer where I could now help others and use my experiences to make a difference in other people's lives.
I applied for a position as a personal trainer at a local gym. My boss assigned another employee to train with me to assess my abilities as a trainer. This was my first time meeting Alyssa. She had a smile that lit up my soul and beauty that radiated inside and out. We had a lot in common from the start.
She was an athlete and we instantly connected over that. I discovered that she was a Christian as well and we would often find ourselves talking about Jesus and how God was working in our lives. For the first time in my life I was in a healthy relationship where we leaned on each other and actually helped each other become better individuals.
Alyssa had a positive impact on all aspects of my life. She encouraged me to give up alcohol and in solidarity, she quit drinking simply because she wanted me to. She was helping me become a better man.
After dating for two amazing years, I asked her to marry me. We broke bread together and were baptized the night before our wedding. On March 16, 2014, she became my wife.
Today, my life is in a vastly different place because of God's transformative love and grace. God has continued to bless me and my family over the years. Alyssa and I now have a beautiful one year old boy named Caleb and I try every day to lead by example and raise him in a house filled with God's love.
My journey is now the fuel that drives me to share the power that God can have in people's lives. God promised me from the beginning of this journey that he would take care of me, and He has.
If God can take someone like me and bring me back from literally falling to the lowest of lows... he can do the same for you. If you fall... he will catch you.
Copyright © 2017 Rob Decker
Rob Decker is currently a personal fitness trainer at Lifetime Fitness in Colorado. He specializes in weight management, strength training, and nutrition. His primary objective is to share his story of a failed suicide attempt that led to a relationship with God and to inspire, encourage, and give hope to those who have had similar battles.
Visit Rob at his website: Rob Decker Speaks or Email Us to share a comment or thought about this story.
Be sure to read Part 1 of Falling Into You