John: Five weeks later I woke up and my arms are black, my legs are black. I'm like, mom, what's going on? And, well, you're septic and they're gonna have to amputate your arms and legs.
Emma: Welcome back to Conversations. I'm Emma.
Ginny: And I'm Ginny.
Emma: And today we're interviewing a friend of mine, John McCurdy. John McCurdy had a health crisis not too long ago that completely changed his way of life,
Ginny: and something beyond what you and I could even imagine going through somehow has come out on the other side with some joy and optimism.
Ginny: So let's meet him.
Emma: . John, welcome to the podcast. We're excited to
John: Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it. Excited.
Emma: So, prior to, uh, what we're gonna be talking about, one of the first things that kind of caught my eye with you, John, is how many people you know and how outgoing you are. So prior to like your life changing event that we'll get into, go ahead and tell us a little bit just about yourself and how you have such a big group of people in your life. A good community of people.
John: Well, I grew up in Hickory from sixth grade on before that I was in Hawaii, and then went to UNC Charlotte and I was very involved with, uh, fraternity and, uh, social events and athletics, you know, go to all the games . Met a lot of people, you know, I tend to stick around.
John: I'm pretty loyal. Um, had the same job up until the life changing event 25 years. So, um, a lot of the same customers, same group of friends. You know, being in one place, I've been in my neighborhood for 20 years. Um, so, you know, I tend to get comfortable somewhere and stick, stick with it.
John: I think that, , has let me, keep those friends and keep those relationships going.
Emma: I've heard your story many times, John and I am always delighted to hear it. You're so just. Excited to share it and you're good at sharing it. So I wanna give you kind of the platform and kind of tell our listeners and Ginny, um, your story that gives you the day-to-day life that you have now.
John: Okay.
John: It's September, uh, September of 23. It's the second game of the season, and I actually went to Maryland to see Charlotte play Maryland. And um, then came home and worked that week. And then Saturday I was really in bad shape and one of my friends called me and said, whatcha are you bringing to the tailgate today? I'm like, I don't think I can go. He said, what are you talking about? , I just, I just don't feel good. He's like, okay, well I hope you feel better.
John: , I'm sub stubborn, single guy. I'll be fine. I'll sleep it off. As Saturday progressed, I guess it got worse. . I got a phone call from my yard guy and I answered the phone, and I guess I was really delirious because he's like, you don't sound good. Let me come over. I'm like, no, no.
John: I'll be fine. I'll be fine. He said, well, let me send you some food. Well, okay, that'd be great. Send me some Chick-fil-A. He's like, okay, I'm gonna send you some Chick-fil-A. , I guess I fell asleep on the couch and he um, he called me again. He said, John did get your food. I'm like, uh. I don't know. Go check, go check. And it took every ounce of energy I had to get off the couch. And when I got up, I just fell down and I really had to crawl to the front door. But one thing I wanted there was a coke. 'cause I just, my stomach was aching. I wanted something to sell on my stomach, and of course I dropped it all over the floor. Like, well, forget this. So then I had to crawl up my stairs crawled down the hallway.
John: I crawled in the shower and, uh, took a shower. Then I crawled to the the dresser, got some new clothes on, crawled in bed, and I went to sleep . My friend called me he said, how you doing? I said, oh, and he told his wife
John: john's in trouble. I need to go there and take him to the hospital. And she's like, Jason, you're not gonna be able to take him to the hospital. You're gonna have to call an ambulance. Next thing I know, the, uh, medics are knocking on my door, coming upstairs, taking me outside. And uh, this is Sunday morning.
John: . So we go downstairs and three of my neighbors are on the sidewalk, what's going on? I'll be fine. I'll be home in a couple hours. And uh, they got me the ambulance and I remember about two minutes of that ride. And um, next thing I really remember is five weeks later I woke up and my arms are black, my legs are black.
John: , It's October now. October 25th or so. I'm like, mom, what's going on? And, well, you're septic and they're gonna have to amputate your arms and legs. Oh, okay. Well, they feel like two by fours and they're worthless. So when are we doing this? She said, tomorrow. ,
John: and you know, for whatever reason, I almost, and like accepted it. I was just like, well, let's just get it over with and I'll get some, you know, bionic arms and hands and legs and I'll be fine. , But I lost about five weeks of my life where I don't remember anything except bits and pieces of come people coming in, but really I don't remember anything.
Ginny: that's quite, , amazing to wake up and where am I , just to kind of try to figure out where you are and what's going on. Did they say why you became septic? Was there a infection or
John: There was an infection and, , I had, at one point, two or three years previous, I had a, uh, , defibrillator pacemaker put in me the infection that I had went straight to the, uh, the lead on the pacemaker. I'm not saying that's what caused it, but you know, I, I had an infection. Whenever you have a foreign object in your body, it goes straight to that.
John: But ultimately, I think maybe my stubbornness, uh, I should have probably gone to the hospital Friday and got checked out. , During that time I had 106.5 fever and, um, they told my family that there's no way I was gonna make it through the night.
John: And I kept, you know, kept advancing, kept waking up, I had pneumonia. My kidneys were shut down. Everything except for my brain and my heart were basically dead. At one point of the doctors told my stepfather, you know, if you just withhold dialysis, he will die peacefully and, dignified. And he's like, what are you talking about? And , he says, what kinda life? He's gonna have a dialysis and no arms and no legs. And my stepfather's well, he's a fighter. And you don't get to make the decision. I. So, you know,, here I am and miraculously my kidneys came back and, that took probably two months and then I started, functioning properly.
John: And, you know, thank God they didn't just say, okay, let's do it. You know, it's, um, it's pretty miraculous.
Emma: When you had to have your arms, legs amputated, you're just like, okay, do it. Because at that point you were just like, I have no use for it. Like it was no second question or guessing. Um, and for some people you would think, oh, maybe it would give them like, oh my gosh, my legs, my arms.
Emma: Can't you save them? You didn't have that reaction. Um, what about when you were home after all the hospital stays? Did you have the same kind of like acceptance of the new life that God has, uh, given you? I mean obviously he has so many purposes for you, John, and he's using this. Was that easy for you to accept or did you kind of question your faith a little bit or can you
John: Yeah, I definitely questioned it. It was, um, it was accepting when I was there. But, you know, coming back home, there are moments where you're just like, you know this, this is not fun. , Or this is this terrible, why, why do I have to do this? You know, every day is not peaches and cream.
John: , There are definitely down moments, but, the support I've had from my church and my friends and my neighbors has just been unbelievable and everyone's so supportive. I mean, I, you know, this life is temporary, right? I'm, I'm 51 years old now, and, however much longer I have here, we have an eternity in heaven.
John: , One of my pastors that came by he comes by once a week and visits and, um, I had a dream one night right before he came and, we were all standing around and, and I heard the trumpet sound and I was like, oh, Jesus is coming back and. I get new arms and legs and I was so excited.
John: And before all this happened, you know, , I don't want 'em to come back yet. I got a life to live and, I wanna experience what the world has, but, you know, the world is painful and , even though I've experienced a lot of love and support, it's not what God designed us to be. And, um, once that time comes, you know, when eternity's here, I'm gonna be full and happy and there's gonna be no more pain and this will just be a distant memory. So it is a blink of an eye for what eternity is gonna be.
Ginny: Wow, that's such a great perspective. You know, our listeners, everybody's had something in their life, some sort of tragic event that they didn't expect. You know, the end of a marriage or a health issue, losing someone they love. So when you wake up in the morning, what do you think about or how do you motivate yourself? Is that an issue for you?
John: Sometimes it is. I mean, because it takes a lot of work to get up. I'm in, laying in bed and um, you know, I set up my, my legs to where I can, I can sit up in bed. Now my core strength is good enough where I can, you know, use my elbow and pop myself up. I'm able to pull up with my, my residual or nubs and, uh, then snap on my legs grab my walker, stand up and walk over to
John: where my arms are and put my arms on and then, you know, go take care of my, uh, personal hygiene and, know, get going in the morning. But when you're laying in bed, sometimes it's like, oh, you know, this is gonna take a few minutes. Um, you know, the first day was probably 10 minutes, but now I can get it down in just a couple minutes.
John: , I guess the hardest part is. If you have to go to the bathroom or you wanna get up and get, you know, a cup of water, it's not as simple as just throwing your legs on the floor and standing up and, and taking care of it. It is a process.
John: , You know, I am working from home. , So that gets me motivated to get up and, you know, make a living, make some money. There are motivations.
Emma: Let's dive a little deeper into that just because other people who have gone through other things in their life, maybe again, not to the same degree, but they may just, whether they have arms or legs or not feel like they don't wanna get out of bed, and they feel like their life might be over, or How do I move on from whatever just happened in their life that's tragic to them.
Emma: Do you have any, I guess maybe the word would be advice, maybe encouragement would be another word for it, for people who feel like they can't move past and move on and, uh, find this new way of living.
John: Now you gotta, I guess, dig deep and, and just find that will and that desire because, you know, we're here to promote God's love for us and to show other people what Jesus did for us. And, gotta put on a happy face and, and try to
Emma: You
John: make.
Emma: put on a happy face. Don't feel like you ever have to put on a happy face,
John: Well, well, I want to, you know, it's, um, I can, I can choose to be miserable and just, this stinks. But, you know, I've been given tools to make my life as comfortable and normal as possible. Going back to the therapist I work with, it's just been amazing and encouraging and, me every opportunity that I have. I take, you know,, if they ask me to do something, I'm like, yes, let's do this. Do you wanna do this? Yes, let's do this. If you say no, and you keep saying, no, no, no, people are gonna , not wanna help anymore. Just the, um, the financial support I've gotten from my church and the people willing to take you to an appointment or, you know, come over and help you with something. Just offering I don't wanna squander that by, I. You know, just being like, this stinks, my life stinks. I want to give up. That's like a slap in the face to everyone that's been there for me.
John: , I want to, um, pay them back by being the best I can walking on my own and, and , being as independent as possible
Emma: it's okay to have those days though, where like. You can't do it and you need a break. . I know working with you like it's like, okay, there gets to some times where you need grace. We're human. We have those days all the time where we're like, today's just on our day. And what I love about me and Ginny's relationship is we work so great as a team and kind of from the beginning look, if you're having an off day respect, like understood. We have very different lifestyles and so we wanna be able to honor Hey, today I am not feeling well, or Today this happened.
Emma: Okay.
John: , There are definitely setbacks. I mean, I've had days where, you know, my leg won't walk properly, takes, takes longer to get my leg on. Or you know, yesterday my arm, wouldn't open and close, right? And so I texted my prosthes.. I'm like, Matt, I said, my arm's not working. And I said, I need to get it fixed because I'm going outta town this week into a friend's wedding.
John: And, um, I don't want to go without an arm. And sometimes the, the patience is just like, you know,, sometimes I gotta hold my tongue not to, not to get angry and just to, you know, accept it with grace. But thankfully I got my arm fixed yesterday.
John: Fixed it right away. And, uh, I'm back. But, they're definitely, uh, valleys in this, uh, journey there are definitely some setbacks, but, you know, I try to just look for,, you know, God's blessing in what he is done for me.
John: You know, I've had actually people tell me, you know, if it were me, I would've just thrown the towel. But, you know, I wanna live and I know there's a purpose for me. Y ou know, I've been reading a devotional book for the last month by, uh, Johnny Erickson Tada. I don't know if you've ever heard of her, but she was,
Ginny: Yes,
John: I think she was a diver in high school and she was paralyzed. I. And, um, you know, I think about her, she's been in a wheelchair for 40, almost as long as been alive.
John: She's probably in her early sixties now. , Just reading what she says about the, the promises that God gives us and how, you know, there's more to come into this life. I'm thinking to myself, you know, I have mechanical arms, mechanical legs. I can move, I can get up, I can, you know, I can take care of myself.
John: And she is completely dependent on everything. And if her attitude is like, you know, thank you God for today. Thank you for the opportunity to be a blessing to others, you know I got it easy compared to her.
Ginny: Yes, Johnny Erickson has been a huge encouragement to so many people. I have a friend who's gone through health issues for, I don't know, 25 years she was just a huge inspiration. She got to meet her actually,. I think so thanks for reminding us about her. Um, what kind of things practically can you do?
Ginny: You said you can walk around, are you still able to go to the football games and those
John: I went to,, all the football games for, uh, UNC Charlotte this year. I went to two basketball games. I get out, I can, I can go to the restaurant., I. I can eat, I can um, you know, do the things where you spare your dignity,
John: and, um, before that I was completely dependent on somebody to help me make sure it didn't fall down or I could get up from a seated position. I've, uh, worked on shaving, brushing my teeth, eating with, , my prosthetics, is very simple.
John: Drinking is pretty good. I did get some, um, new mechanical hands that have fingers on them. The only thing with those fingers is they don't move independently, so I can't play the piano again or I can't play the guitar. But they are hands and they look cool, but the hooks are actually more functional for, um, dexterity things on 'em.
Ginny: You kind of got those bionic
John: Yes,
Ginny: they look like
John: yes. Yeah, they're, they're pretty cool. What's to come with, uh, technology down the road is exciting. Thinking about how this happened in 2023 and not 2013 is, uh, probably just, you know, it's a blessing.
John: And who's to know what's to come in 20 33? What, what's gonna be out there will I be able to feel with my hands again? Because, you know, one thing with prosthetics is you don't, you don't feel things. Um, so like running your hands through your hair, holding a girl's hand or you know, the feelings of touch, things like that are things that I do.
John: Really, I do miss that. And, um, it would be nice one day if that's, uh, that's an option or, you know, possible.
Emma: You should, uh, see John's set up at home. He has a, a lot of things like his shower can turn on. If you say like, turn on shower, it's doors. A lot of things are, he has a pretty fun setup, so I think it would, be cool one day if a whole house could, you know, be bionic or whatever, but would you want to share any like articles or your Facebook for people to follow along with your journey for our listeners,
John: Yeah,
Emma: do you feel
John: , You know, I do post videos of myself on Facebook, you know, how I get up in the morning, walking and uh, you know, just simple little small victories like open the candy bar or, um, doing,
Emma: very.
John: yeah, it's, you know, how much I love candy and sweet.
John: , I'm completely open to sharing all this stuff you know, the more people that know about it and more people I can help is, you know, that's part of the reason why I'm still here.
Ginny: It strikes me just listening to you,
John: I.
Ginny: what a blessing you could be or maybe already are too, let's say younger. I mean, there must be. Children, teenagers, young adults that go through what you're going through that have an amputation or something. just to give them a role model, right?
Ginny: Someone who's been through it. I know this actually is very recent for you, so I'm just thinking down the road, what God might have for you even ministering to those kids.
John: Yeah, I've had a lot of, uh, friends that say I should be a motivational speaker and, um, you know, , I don't have to try to do it, but I guess maybe my attitude comes through to some people
John: And While I was always involved with church, you know, I was an elder in my church. I taught Sunday school, you know, been a Christian, but maybe, maybe God is bringing me closer to him to realize that, hey buddy, get your head straight.
John: You know, it gives you some, perspective that you know life. This world is not what we're meant to be in. You know, God created the world and it was perfect and there was nothing wrong. And then, you know, sin entered the world and now we're stuck with pain and suffering and, you know, shame.
John: And,, I've lived half my life and, um. I had a really good life. Really fun life, but you know, it's nothing compared to what we're gonna see when, when Jesus comes or when we're called home.
Emma: I know we kind of joked about you know, I was gonna make you a motivational speaker, you're gonna go to Vegas and stuff.
Emma: And even though that didn't happen, because I don't have any connections in Vegas, unfortunately, um, you know, our podcast, we do have so many people that are listening. And so this does give a, a good opportunity for you to reach out to, you know, hundreds or thousands of people. Um, so I do think that God put me in your life, John, um, to be a special. Uh, part of your life and put me in Ginny's life to be a special part of her life and you both a special part of my life, um, to have this podcast. Together and for us to, you know, have you as our guest today. Um, but thank you for taking this time this morning. Um, and I'm excited to, you know, get this posted so people can hear your
John: Yeah, I'm excited too. I really appreciate the opportunity to share my story and just, you know, talk about this.,
Ginny: , And I think you're having such an effect and you're such an inspiration. Without even knowing it. I mean, I didn't know your story and now I feel very inspired and encouraged,
John: It is, uh,
Emma: so thank
Emma: . Keeping you, John. Seems like you're doing something right.
John: I appreciate that.
Emma: Welcome back to Conversations. I'm Emma.
Ginny: And I'm Ginny.
Emma: And today we're interviewing a friend of mine, John McCurdy. John McCurdy had a health crisis not too long ago that completely changed his way of life,
Ginny: and something beyond what you and I could even imagine going through somehow has come out on the other side with some joy and optimism.
Ginny: So let's meet him.
Emma: . John, welcome to the podcast. We're excited to
John: Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it. Excited.
Emma: So, prior to, uh, what we're gonna be talking about, one of the first things that kind of caught my eye with you, John, is how many people you know and how outgoing you are. So prior to like your life changing event that we'll get into, go ahead and tell us a little bit just about yourself and how you have such a big group of people in your life. A good community of people.
John: Well, I grew up in Hickory from sixth grade on before that I was in Hawaii, and then went to UNC Charlotte and I was very involved with, uh, fraternity and, uh, social events and athletics, you know, go to all the games . Met a lot of people, you know, I tend to stick around.
John: I'm pretty loyal. Um, had the same job up until the life changing event 25 years. So, um, a lot of the same customers, same group of friends. You know, being in one place, I've been in my neighborhood for 20 years. Um, so, you know, I tend to get comfortable somewhere and stick, stick with it.
John: I think that, , has let me, keep those friends and keep those relationships going.
Emma: I've heard your story many times, John and I am always delighted to hear it. You're so just. Excited to share it and you're good at sharing it. So I wanna give you kind of the platform and kind of tell our listeners and Ginny, um, your story that gives you the day-to-day life that you have now.
John: Okay.
John: It's September, uh, September of 23. It's the second game of the season, and I actually went to Maryland to see Charlotte play Maryland. And um, then came home and worked that week. And then Saturday I was really in bad shape and one of my friends called me and said, whatcha are you bringing to the tailgate today? I'm like, I don't think I can go. He said, what are you talking about? , I just, I just don't feel good. He's like, okay, well I hope you feel better.
John: , I'm sub stubborn, single guy. I'll be fine. I'll sleep it off. As Saturday progressed, I guess it got worse. . I got a phone call from my yard guy and I answered the phone, and I guess I was really delirious because he's like, you don't sound good. Let me come over. I'm like, no, no.
John: I'll be fine. I'll be fine. He said, well, let me send you some food. Well, okay, that'd be great. Send me some Chick-fil-A. He's like, okay, I'm gonna send you some Chick-fil-A. , I guess I fell asleep on the couch and he um, he called me again. He said, John did get your food. I'm like, uh. I don't know. Go check, go check. And it took every ounce of energy I had to get off the couch. And when I got up, I just fell down and I really had to crawl to the front door. But one thing I wanted there was a coke. 'cause I just, my stomach was aching. I wanted something to sell on my stomach, and of course I dropped it all over the floor. Like, well, forget this. So then I had to crawl up my stairs crawled down the hallway.
John: I crawled in the shower and, uh, took a shower. Then I crawled to the the dresser, got some new clothes on, crawled in bed, and I went to sleep . My friend called me he said, how you doing? I said, oh, and he told his wife
John: john's in trouble. I need to go there and take him to the hospital. And she's like, Jason, you're not gonna be able to take him to the hospital. You're gonna have to call an ambulance. Next thing I know, the, uh, medics are knocking on my door, coming upstairs, taking me outside. And uh, this is Sunday morning.
John: . So we go downstairs and three of my neighbors are on the sidewalk, what's going on? I'll be fine. I'll be home in a couple hours. And uh, they got me the ambulance and I remember about two minutes of that ride. And um, next thing I really remember is five weeks later I woke up and my arms are black, my legs are black.
John: , It's October now. October 25th or so. I'm like, mom, what's going on? And, well, you're septic and they're gonna have to amputate your arms and legs. Oh, okay. Well, they feel like two by fours and they're worthless. So when are we doing this? She said, tomorrow. ,
John: and you know, for whatever reason, I almost, and like accepted it. I was just like, well, let's just get it over with and I'll get some, you know, bionic arms and hands and legs and I'll be fine. , But I lost about five weeks of my life where I don't remember anything except bits and pieces of come people coming in, but really I don't remember anything.
Ginny: that's quite, , amazing to wake up and where am I , just to kind of try to figure out where you are and what's going on. Did they say why you became septic? Was there a infection or
John: There was an infection and, , I had, at one point, two or three years previous, I had a, uh, , defibrillator pacemaker put in me the infection that I had went straight to the, uh, the lead on the pacemaker. I'm not saying that's what caused it, but you know, I, I had an infection. Whenever you have a foreign object in your body, it goes straight to that.
John: But ultimately, I think maybe my stubbornness, uh, I should have probably gone to the hospital Friday and got checked out. , During that time I had 106.5 fever and, um, they told my family that there's no way I was gonna make it through the night.
John: And I kept, you know, kept advancing, kept waking up, I had pneumonia. My kidneys were shut down. Everything except for my brain and my heart were basically dead. At one point of the doctors told my stepfather, you know, if you just withhold dialysis, he will die peacefully and, dignified. And he's like, what are you talking about? And , he says, what kinda life? He's gonna have a dialysis and no arms and no legs. And my stepfather's well, he's a fighter. And you don't get to make the decision. I. So, you know,, here I am and miraculously my kidneys came back and, that took probably two months and then I started, functioning properly.
John: And, you know, thank God they didn't just say, okay, let's do it. You know, it's, um, it's pretty miraculous.
Emma: When you had to have your arms, legs amputated, you're just like, okay, do it. Because at that point you were just like, I have no use for it. Like it was no second question or guessing. Um, and for some people you would think, oh, maybe it would give them like, oh my gosh, my legs, my arms.
Emma: Can't you save them? You didn't have that reaction. Um, what about when you were home after all the hospital stays? Did you have the same kind of like acceptance of the new life that God has, uh, given you? I mean obviously he has so many purposes for you, John, and he's using this. Was that easy for you to accept or did you kind of question your faith a little bit or can you
John: Yeah, I definitely questioned it. It was, um, it was accepting when I was there. But, you know, coming back home, there are moments where you're just like, you know this, this is not fun. , Or this is this terrible, why, why do I have to do this? You know, every day is not peaches and cream.
John: , There are definitely down moments, but, the support I've had from my church and my friends and my neighbors has just been unbelievable and everyone's so supportive. I mean, I, you know, this life is temporary, right? I'm, I'm 51 years old now, and, however much longer I have here, we have an eternity in heaven.
John: , One of my pastors that came by he comes by once a week and visits and, um, I had a dream one night right before he came and, we were all standing around and, and I heard the trumpet sound and I was like, oh, Jesus is coming back and. I get new arms and legs and I was so excited.
John: And before all this happened, you know, , I don't want 'em to come back yet. I got a life to live and, I wanna experience what the world has, but, you know, the world is painful and , even though I've experienced a lot of love and support, it's not what God designed us to be. And, um, once that time comes, you know, when eternity's here, I'm gonna be full and happy and there's gonna be no more pain and this will just be a distant memory. So it is a blink of an eye for what eternity is gonna be.
Ginny: Wow, that's such a great perspective. You know, our listeners, everybody's had something in their life, some sort of tragic event that they didn't expect. You know, the end of a marriage or a health issue, losing someone they love. So when you wake up in the morning, what do you think about or how do you motivate yourself? Is that an issue for you?
John: Sometimes it is. I mean, because it takes a lot of work to get up. I'm in, laying in bed and um, you know, I set up my, my legs to where I can, I can sit up in bed. Now my core strength is good enough where I can, you know, use my elbow and pop myself up. I'm able to pull up with my, my residual or nubs and, uh, then snap on my legs grab my walker, stand up and walk over to
John: where my arms are and put my arms on and then, you know, go take care of my, uh, personal hygiene and, know, get going in the morning. But when you're laying in bed, sometimes it's like, oh, you know, this is gonna take a few minutes. Um, you know, the first day was probably 10 minutes, but now I can get it down in just a couple minutes.
John: , I guess the hardest part is. If you have to go to the bathroom or you wanna get up and get, you know, a cup of water, it's not as simple as just throwing your legs on the floor and standing up and, and taking care of it. It is a process.
John: , You know, I am working from home. , So that gets me motivated to get up and, you know, make a living, make some money. There are motivations.
Emma: Let's dive a little deeper into that just because other people who have gone through other things in their life, maybe again, not to the same degree, but they may just, whether they have arms or legs or not feel like they don't wanna get out of bed, and they feel like their life might be over, or How do I move on from whatever just happened in their life that's tragic to them.
Emma: Do you have any, I guess maybe the word would be advice, maybe encouragement would be another word for it, for people who feel like they can't move past and move on and, uh, find this new way of living.
John: Now you gotta, I guess, dig deep and, and just find that will and that desire because, you know, we're here to promote God's love for us and to show other people what Jesus did for us. And, gotta put on a happy face and, and try to
Emma: You
John: make.
Emma: put on a happy face. Don't feel like you ever have to put on a happy face,
John: Well, well, I want to, you know, it's, um, I can, I can choose to be miserable and just, this stinks. But, you know, I've been given tools to make my life as comfortable and normal as possible. Going back to the therapist I work with, it's just been amazing and encouraging and, me every opportunity that I have. I take, you know,, if they ask me to do something, I'm like, yes, let's do this. Do you wanna do this? Yes, let's do this. If you say no, and you keep saying, no, no, no, people are gonna , not wanna help anymore. Just the, um, the financial support I've gotten from my church and the people willing to take you to an appointment or, you know, come over and help you with something. Just offering I don't wanna squander that by, I. You know, just being like, this stinks, my life stinks. I want to give up. That's like a slap in the face to everyone that's been there for me.
John: , I want to, um, pay them back by being the best I can walking on my own and, and , being as independent as possible
Emma: it's okay to have those days though, where like. You can't do it and you need a break. . I know working with you like it's like, okay, there gets to some times where you need grace. We're human. We have those days all the time where we're like, today's just on our day. And what I love about me and Ginny's relationship is we work so great as a team and kind of from the beginning look, if you're having an off day respect, like understood. We have very different lifestyles and so we wanna be able to honor Hey, today I am not feeling well, or Today this happened.
Emma: Okay.
John: , There are definitely setbacks. I mean, I've had days where, you know, my leg won't walk properly, takes, takes longer to get my leg on. Or you know, yesterday my arm, wouldn't open and close, right? And so I texted my prosthes.. I'm like, Matt, I said, my arm's not working. And I said, I need to get it fixed because I'm going outta town this week into a friend's wedding.
John: And, um, I don't want to go without an arm. And sometimes the, the patience is just like, you know,, sometimes I gotta hold my tongue not to, not to get angry and just to, you know, accept it with grace. But thankfully I got my arm fixed yesterday.
John: Fixed it right away. And, uh, I'm back. But, they're definitely, uh, valleys in this, uh, journey there are definitely some setbacks, but, you know, I try to just look for,, you know, God's blessing in what he is done for me.
John: You know, I've had actually people tell me, you know, if it were me, I would've just thrown the towel. But, you know, I wanna live and I know there's a purpose for me. Y ou know, I've been reading a devotional book for the last month by, uh, Johnny Erickson Tada. I don't know if you've ever heard of her, but she was,
Ginny: Yes,
John: I think she was a diver in high school and she was paralyzed. I. And, um, you know, I think about her, she's been in a wheelchair for 40, almost as long as been alive.
John: She's probably in her early sixties now. , Just reading what she says about the, the promises that God gives us and how, you know, there's more to come into this life. I'm thinking to myself, you know, I have mechanical arms, mechanical legs. I can move, I can get up, I can, you know, I can take care of myself.
John: And she is completely dependent on everything. And if her attitude is like, you know, thank you God for today. Thank you for the opportunity to be a blessing to others, you know I got it easy compared to her.
Ginny: Yes, Johnny Erickson has been a huge encouragement to so many people. I have a friend who's gone through health issues for, I don't know, 25 years she was just a huge inspiration. She got to meet her actually,. I think so thanks for reminding us about her. Um, what kind of things practically can you do?
Ginny: You said you can walk around, are you still able to go to the football games and those
John: I went to,, all the football games for, uh, UNC Charlotte this year. I went to two basketball games. I get out, I can, I can go to the restaurant., I. I can eat, I can um, you know, do the things where you spare your dignity,
John: and, um, before that I was completely dependent on somebody to help me make sure it didn't fall down or I could get up from a seated position. I've, uh, worked on shaving, brushing my teeth, eating with, , my prosthetics, is very simple.
John: Drinking is pretty good. I did get some, um, new mechanical hands that have fingers on them. The only thing with those fingers is they don't move independently, so I can't play the piano again or I can't play the guitar. But they are hands and they look cool, but the hooks are actually more functional for, um, dexterity things on 'em.
Ginny: You kind of got those bionic
John: Yes,
Ginny: they look like
John: yes. Yeah, they're, they're pretty cool. What's to come with, uh, technology down the road is exciting. Thinking about how this happened in 2023 and not 2013 is, uh, probably just, you know, it's a blessing.
John: And who's to know what's to come in 20 33? What, what's gonna be out there will I be able to feel with my hands again? Because, you know, one thing with prosthetics is you don't, you don't feel things. Um, so like running your hands through your hair, holding a girl's hand or you know, the feelings of touch, things like that are things that I do.
John: Really, I do miss that. And, um, it would be nice one day if that's, uh, that's an option or, you know, possible.
Emma: You should, uh, see John's set up at home. He has a, a lot of things like his shower can turn on. If you say like, turn on shower, it's doors. A lot of things are, he has a pretty fun setup, so I think it would, be cool one day if a whole house could, you know, be bionic or whatever, but would you want to share any like articles or your Facebook for people to follow along with your journey for our listeners,
John: Yeah,
Emma: do you feel
John: , You know, I do post videos of myself on Facebook, you know, how I get up in the morning, walking and uh, you know, just simple little small victories like open the candy bar or, um, doing,
Emma: very.
John: yeah, it's, you know, how much I love candy and sweet.
John: , I'm completely open to sharing all this stuff you know, the more people that know about it and more people I can help is, you know, that's part of the reason why I'm still here.
Ginny: It strikes me just listening to you,
John: I.
Ginny: what a blessing you could be or maybe already are too, let's say younger. I mean, there must be. Children, teenagers, young adults that go through what you're going through that have an amputation or something. just to give them a role model, right?
Ginny: Someone who's been through it. I know this actually is very recent for you, so I'm just thinking down the road, what God might have for you even ministering to those kids.
John: Yeah, I've had a lot of, uh, friends that say I should be a motivational speaker and, um, you know, , I don't have to try to do it, but I guess maybe my attitude comes through to some people
John: And While I was always involved with church, you know, I was an elder in my church. I taught Sunday school, you know, been a Christian, but maybe, maybe God is bringing me closer to him to realize that, hey buddy, get your head straight.
John: You know, it gives you some, perspective that you know life. This world is not what we're meant to be in. You know, God created the world and it was perfect and there was nothing wrong. And then, you know, sin entered the world and now we're stuck with pain and suffering and, you know, shame.
John: And,, I've lived half my life and, um. I had a really good life. Really fun life, but you know, it's nothing compared to what we're gonna see when, when Jesus comes or when we're called home.
Emma: I know we kind of joked about you know, I was gonna make you a motivational speaker, you're gonna go to Vegas and stuff.
Emma: And even though that didn't happen, because I don't have any connections in Vegas, unfortunately, um, you know, our podcast, we do have so many people that are listening. And so this does give a, a good opportunity for you to reach out to, you know, hundreds or thousands of people. Um, so I do think that God put me in your life, John, um, to be a special. Uh, part of your life and put me in Ginny's life to be a special part of her life and you both a special part of my life, um, to have this podcast. Together and for us to, you know, have you as our guest today. Um, but thank you for taking this time this morning. Um, and I'm excited to, you know, get this posted so people can hear your
John: Yeah, I'm excited too. I really appreciate the opportunity to share my story and just, you know, talk about this.,
Ginny: , And I think you're having such an effect and you're such an inspiration. Without even knowing it. I mean, I didn't know your story and now I feel very inspired and encouraged,
John: It is, uh,
Emma: so thank
Emma: . Keeping you, John. Seems like you're doing something right.
John: I appreciate that.
