Josh Grant is going from Tragedy to Triumoh!

My name is Joshua S. Grant. My friends just call me Josh. I was born on February 21, 1983. My mom and dad divorced when I was only one year old. I attended school in the small town of Columbia, Louisiana until the fourth grade. Then mom, my little brother and I moved to Olla, La. where everyone knows everyone.Life seemed somewhat ordinary until the eight grade when things began to change for me. I decided to try out for sports and amazingly, discovered that I was pretty good. Plus, I really loved being active and involved. That year, my classmates voted me Most Athletic and Most Handsome. I had finally found my calling, a future in sports. I felt really special, even invincible.

My High School Years...As a freshman at LaSalle High School, I became a very busy person. I was popular with all the girls, had a lot of friends, and was very athletic. I was to be a starter on both the football and basketball teams at L.H.S.. And I knew that with me on the teams that L.H.S. would be the State Champs. However, at the end of my freshman year, this life was shattered in the blink of an eye.June 10, 1999 started just like any other day. However, by the end of that night, I was totally unconscious, unable to move, and not even ecpected to live through the night. This turn of events started when I decided to skip basketball practice and go to a party with my friends.We started drinking early and I had drank a lot. I remember being thrown into the swimming pool by my friends who were trying to sober me up. Then I went to sit in a friend's truck because I was cold. A girl I knew drove up and I got into the car with her. I was very intoxicated, and of course being drunk makes most everyone do things that they would never consider doing if they were sober.

THE WRONG DECISION: I decided to steal the car and being invincible, I drove it at the top speed of 130 miles per hour. Unfortunately, I drove the car off a bridge while going at this speed. I crashed into an embankment under the bridge. Luckily my head went through the sunroof, so the paramedics were able to keep me alive until the Jaws of Life arrived. They then had to cut me out of the car. I was taken t a nearby local hospital and was then transported to LSU Medical Center. I had a broken back, suffered traumatic brain injury and multiple facial fratures. My family was told that I may never come out of the coma and that if I did, I would probably be a vegetable.I don't remember much of anything else or what happened a afterwards. They told me that I was in a coma for almost two months and was in the hospital for over four months. Even though I lived through all that, I ended up paralyzed.Yes, sometimes I am still amazed and shocked by it all. No more normal sports for me. I can't run or even feel a mosquito bit on my legs. Can you imagine never being able to feel your legs itch and the relief you get from scratching them?I took so much for granted. Simple things, like scratching mosquito bites. In some ways, I lost everything that I held close to my heart. I loved to play sports and now could only watch. I had planned a future playing sports and this was no longer an option for me. I was no longer popular as many of my former friends avoided me. All because of one simple choice. A choice of driving while I was drinking.

The CHALLENGES:The next few months were very difficult and challenging for both my family and myself. Time, being such a small word, took on a completely new meaning. The second it took to choose to drink and drive became a lifetime. Time became endless for the mother who wondered if her child would live or die. And then the she would constantly wonder how long, if ever, the road to recovery would last. My mother did not sleep for two whole days after the accident.WHERE DO THE FRIENDS GO WHEN YOU REALLY NEED THEM?As I began to realize, I didn't have as many friends as I had once thought I did. I also realized that being popular wasn't really all that important to me when you're wondering if you will ever walk again. I discovered that a few true friends who stand beside you at all times, such as my family and girlfriend, are better than a multitude of friends who disappear when you need them.Yet, being young, I can now understand how hard it would be to hang around someone whose life had been so totally altered. Especially when you aren't ready to change your own lifestyle of doing things. I can understand the feelings of guilt that may be felt when your own physical body is whole and from the relief you feel that you are not the one in the wheelchair. I can understand the discomfort of facing the fear and the sadness of a mother's face as she kneels at the beside of her son.

FRIENDS:I've learned that true friends will accept you for who you are, and you don't have to drink and party with them to keep them around. True friends will never encourage you to do anything potentially harmful because they care about you. You may be thinking that people who don't drink and party are very boring, incapable of having a good time. In looking back and comparing my party days to the good times I have now, I can honestly say that depending on alcohol to have fun is absolutely unnecessary. Not only can you enjoy yourself without alcohol, but you can remember everything the next day in accurate detail and you don't even have a headache!Many people of the community came forward to show true friendship and caring. Several tried to raise money to help with my hospital bills and held a softball benefit in my behalf. There were many involved, but the ones mostly responsible for the benefit were my Uncle Stevie, Chris Barnhill, Raylin Hatten, and Bret Hester. They have remained close friends throughout this entire ordeal. (I even made it a point to talk with the father of the girl whose car I stole. He was very forgiving and understanding. Tonya, his daughter, even let me ride in her car during the Olla Homecoming Parade when I finally got out of the hospital.Before my wreck, I heard numerous, "Don't Drink and Drive" speeches. I never applied anything that was said to me. I never thought that this could really ever happen to me. I was wrong. It can happen to you, your friends, and your family. No one is exempt. I used to think I was invincible--I was so wrong about that, too.

WHAT I'M DOING NOW!I am still in the choice making business, as we all are everyday that we live. I choose now to focus on the positive side of my situation. For one thing, I have developed massively huge arms from pushing my wheel chair around, that could be considered dangerous weapons! Another choice is to try to keep people from making the same mistake that I did by going to schools and talking about my own life and the accident.Almost seven years have passed since my accident. I am involved in many activities for people in wheelchairs. When I was released from the hospital on September 29, 1999, I was made captain of the football team for LaSalle High School. In 2001-2002, I played basketball with the Lafayette Rolling Cajuns, although eventually this drive was just to much. Lafayette is over two hours from Olla. I tried to start a team in Alexandria, La., but not enough people were interested.SPECIAL OLYMPICS:In 2002, I carried the torch for the SpecialOlympics, and very proud to do this. I also threw the first pitch for the Alexandria Aces. In 2003, I went to Florida to a training camp for hand cycling and was also nominated for the Young Hero Award through Louisiana Public Broadcasting. I was nominated for this award three years in a row, and was in the top ten the last year.For the past three years, I have worked for the Caldwell Correctional Center , which is a medium security prison. This provides me with many opportunities to talk with inmates about decisions they make and to try to help change their goals in life. Many of the inmates have made terrible, irreversible decisions and can therefore relate to my story and the determination I have to succeed with my life.Currently I am serving as the Assistant Director & Special Olympic Coordinator for the new park in Olla, I will help advise the committee about sports for people that have a handicap. I consider this opportunity an honor to give back to the community and help others with their disabilities.

MY GOALS:I am in the process of organizing a "Ride for Life" across America in the very near future. To bring more awareness to theI also hope that in some way that my story will touch you and help detour you away from the wrong decisions in life. You know, it only takes a second to make the wrong decision, but a lifetime to think about it.Thanks for taking the time to stop by my site and read my story. If you would like to contact me, you may do so by emailing me.

Thanks and God bless....

Never give up!