I never considered myself unique, but people are constantly telling me, "you are a miracle." To me, I was just an ordinary "guy" with realistic goals and big dreams. I was a 19-year-old student at the University of Texas and well on my way toward fulfilling my "big dream" of one day becoming an 1)orthopedic surgeon.

 

On the night of February 17, 1981 I was studying for an 2)Organic Chemistry test at the library with Sharon, my girlfriend of three years. Sharon had asked me to drive her back to her dormitory as it was getting quite late. We got into my car, not realizing that just getting into a car would never quite be the same for me again. I quickly noticed that my gas 3)gauge was registered on empty so I pulled into a nearby convenience store to buy $2.00 worth of gas. "I'll be back in two minutes," I yelled at Sharon as I closed the door. But instead, those two minutes changed my life forever.

 

Entering the convenience store was like entering the 4)twilight zone. On the outside I was a healthy, athletic, pre-med student, but on the inside I was just another statistic of a violent crime. I thought I was entering an empty store, but suddenly I realized it was not empty at all. Three robbers were in the process of committing a robbery and my entrance into the store caught them by surprise. One of the criminals immediately 5)shoved a .38 6)caliber handgun to my head, ordered me to the cooler, pushed me down on the floor, and pumped a bullet into the back of my head - execution style. He obviously thought I was dead because he did not shoot me again. The 7) trio of thieves finished robbing the store and left calmly.

 

Meanwhile, Sharon wondered why I had not returned. After seeing the three men leave the store she really began to worry as I was the last person she saw entering the store. She quickly went inside to look for me, but saw no one-only an almost empty cash register containing one check and several pennies. Quickly she ran down each aisle shouting, "Mike, Mike!"

 

Just then the 8) attendant appeared from the back of the store shouting, "Lady, get down on the floor. I've just been robbed and shot at!"

 

Sharon quickly dropped to the floor screaming, "Have you seen my boyfriend? He has 9)auburn hair." The man did not reply but went back to the cooler where he found me choking on my vomit. The attendant quickly cleaned my mouth and then called for the police and an ambulance.

 

Sharon was in shock. She was beginning to understand that I was hurt, but she could not begin to comprehend or imagine the severity of my injury.

 

When the police arrived they immediately called the 10)homicide division as they did not think I would survive and the 11)paramedic reported that she had never seen a person so severely wounded survive. At 1:30 a.m. my parents who lived in Houston, were awakened by a telephone call from Brackenridge Hospital advising them to come to Austin as soon as possible for they feared I would not make it through the night.

 

But I did make it through the night and early in the morning the 12)neurosurgeon decided to operate. However, he quickly informed my family and Sharon that my chances of surviving the surgery were only 40/60. If this were not bad enough, the neurosurgeon further shocked my family by telling them what life would be like for me if I 13)beat the odds and survived. He said I probably would never walk, talk, or be able to understand even simple commands.

 

My family was hoping and praying to hear even the slightest bit of encouragement from that doctor. Instead, his pessimistic words gave my family no reason to believe that I would ever again be a productive member of society. But once again I beat the odds and survived the three and a half hours of surgery.

 

Granted, I still could not talk, my entire right side was paralyzed and many people thought I could not understand, but at least I was stable. After one week in a private room the doctors felt I had improved enough to be transferred by jet ambulance to Del Oro 14)Rehabilitation Hospital in Houston.

 

My 15)hallucinations, coupled with my physical problems, made my 16)prognosis still very bleak. However, as time passed my mind began to clear and approximately six weeks later my right leg began to move ever so slightly. Within seven weeks my right arm slowly began to move and at eight weeks I uttered my first few words.

 

My speech was extremely difficult and slow in the beginning, but at least it was a beginning. I was starting to look forward to each new day to see how far I would progress. But just as I thought my life was finally looking brighter I was tested by the hospital europsychologist. She explained to me that judging from my test results she believed that I should not focus on returning to college but that it would be better to set more "realistic goals."

 

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.

 

我從未覺得自己與眾不同，但人們常對我說：“你的生命是個奇跡。”對我而言，我只是一個普通人，有著現實的目標和遠大的理想。我曾是德克薩斯大學一名十九歲的大學生，在通向理想之路上信步前行，夢想有一天我會成為一名整形外科醫生。

 

1981年2月17日的晚上，我和交往三年的女友沙倫在為有機化學測試做準備。因為太晚了，沙倫叫我駕車把她送回宿舍。我們鉆進汽車，誰能想到在今后的生命中我不能再如此矯健地重復這樣一個簡單的動作。我很快發現油表空了，于是我把車泊在附近的一家便利店旁，想買兩塊錢的汽油。“我兩分鐘就回來，”我關上車門朝沙倫喊到。但就是這短短的兩分鐘改變了我一生的命運，永遠地改變了。

 

進入這家便利店就如同踏上了陰陽間的奈何橋，門外的我還是個健康的，活蹦亂跳的未婚大學生，而門內的我卻成了暴力犯罪的又一個犧牲品。我還以為店里沒有人，但我突然發現我錯了——有三個匪徒正在打劫這家店，而我的進入讓他們有些驚慌失措。其中一個匪徒迅速掏出一把口徑為38毫米的手槍用力指著我的頭，勒令我走到冷凍機旁，然后把我推倒在地，像執行死刑般從后面朝我頭部開了一槍。他沒再朝我開第二槍，顯然他以為我死了。打劫完后三個劫匪逃之夭夭。

 

與此同時，沙倫對我的不歸憂心忡忡。看到這三個匪徒離開便利店后她真的很擔心，因為我是她見到的最后一個進入店里的人。她趕快跑進店來找我，只見幾乎被一掃而空的收銀機上掛著一張帳單，還有幾枚硬幣散落在上面，四周無人。她在貨架間飛快地跑著、喊著：“邁克，邁克！”

 

這時一名服務員從店后面走出來叫到：“小姐，過來一下，我剛才被打劫了，他們還向我開了槍。”

 

沙倫跌跌撞撞地過來哭喊到：“你見到我的男朋友了嗎？長褐色頭發的。” 那人默默走到冷凍機旁，找到了我，此時嘔吐快令到我窒息了。他趕忙幫我擦干了嘴，叫了警察和救護車。

 

沙倫被嚇壞了。漸漸地她才明白我受傷了，但是她根本想象不到傷勢的嚴重性。

 

警察來了，他們很快斷定是殺人案，因為沒人相信我還能活過來，而救護人員說她從來沒有見過傷勢如此嚴重的人可以逃離死劫。下午一點半，我住在奧斯汀的父母被來自布萊肯瑞吉醫院的電話鈴驚醒，醫院通知他們盡快趕到奧斯汀，因為他們認為我熬不過當晚了。

 

但那晚我挺了過來，第二天清晨神經外科醫生決定給我動手術。但他立即告知我的家人和沙倫我存活的機會只有百分之四十。然后他還雪上加霜地告訴我的家人，向他們描述如果我萬幸活下來將面臨怎樣的生活——我可能再也不會走路了，不會說話了，甚至不能理解一些極其簡單的命令。這些對我的家人來說都是莫大的打擊。

 

本來家里人祈望能從醫生的口中聽到一點點鼓勵的話，而他悲觀的言語讓他們沒理由相信我還會成為一個對社會有用的人。在經歷了三個半小時的手術之后，我再次僥幸地活了下來。

 

醫生的話得到了應驗，我不能說話，整個右邊的身體癱瘓了，許多人認為我變傻了，但至少我身體狀況是穩定的。在私人看護病房里呆了一個星期后，醫生覺得我已經好轉了許多，并可以坐救護飛機轉到奧斯汀的德歐洛康復醫院。

 

意識上的幻覺和生理上的病疾使我的病情預斷非常的渺茫。然而時間的飛逝使我的意識開始變得清晰，大約六個星期以后我的右腿可以輕微地活動了，七周以后我的右臂開始緩慢地活動了，八周以后我終于開口說話了。

 

說話對于我非常地艱難并且開始的時候說得很慢，但是總算是開頭了。我開始寄希望于新的一天的到來，祈望著新的進步。但正當我以為生活總算初露光明的時候，醫院里有個歐洲來的心理學家對我做了測試。她向我解釋到，從檢測的結果來看她堅信我不能再重返學校，勸我對此不要抱有任何希望，希望我最好樹立些更現實點的目標。

 

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。