We slept in a little late today because we didn't have to be anywhere until later in the day. We goofed around for most of the morning. As always, we were invited to spend this fourth of July with my uncle and his family. Sometimes my uncle would get a campsite on Lake Ouachita but this year we were going to his house to have a cookout by the hot tub and swimming pool.

I started gathering our things to go to my uncle's house. I had just bought Steve a new swim suit that resembled the american flag. I grabbed it to take with us but he told me that he did not want to go swimming. I convinced him to take it because he might change his mind when we get up there. We loaded everything in his new truck and headed out. We stopped by the dealership, where he was the parts department manager, and picked up a part and an invoice for a customer that lived close to my uncle's house. This man needed a part badly that day for his tow truck. We met the customer in a grocery store parking lot. He paid for the part and started telling us why he appreciated my husband bringing this part to him. He told us about his recent back injury. He said that he had broken his back about a year ago and nearly lost everything he owned because he was unable to run his towing company. We stayed and visited with him for about a half an hour.

We were just a few miles from my uncle's house. We were talking about what this man must have gone through and felt very sad for him. My oldest son questioned Steve and I about what he would get if Steve were to die. Steve laughed and told him at this particular point he wouldn't get anything.

How the Accident Occured
We arrived at our destination and my two sons headed straight for the swimming pool. The whole gang was there. Some were lying by the pool, some in the hot tub, others were just sitting around the picnic table visiting. We ate our dinner and after resting for awhile a few people decided to go swimming again. My two sons were playing "follow the leader" off the diving board. Steve decided that he would join in the fun (good thing I brought his swimming suit). He got in line behind the boys and waited his turn. They took turns off the diving board making cannon balls and other tricks. My youngest son, Chase, decided he would dive in with his hands down to his side. Steve was next, copying Chase's dive. Before anyone realized how dangerous this type of dive could be it was too late. My uncle had it on the tip of his tongue, to warn him not to make this kind of dive, as Steve was leaving the diving board. It wasn't long before Steve surfaced to the top of the water, but then he went back under. I was at the opposite end of the pool watching him. About the time I realized that he was in trouble, Steve looked over at me and I read his lips saying "help me". By this time everything started moving very quickly. Everybody knew that something was wrong and jumped up to help. Chad, my oldest son, jumped into the water and pulled Steve out of the deep end and into the shallow. My cousin, a registered nurse, took over from there as someone else called 911. Steve told us that he had broken his neck and he could not breath.

It took about 5 minutes for the ambulance to get there. They stablized his neck, placed him on a gurney, and put him in the ambulance. The driver decided to take it real easy on the way to the hospital to keep from jarring him around. The ride to the hospital seemed to take forever.

The ambulance arrived at the hospital around 7:00 that night. They rushed Steve back to the trauma room. I was left to fill out the paper work. This was so hard for me to do because I was more worried about what was going on with my husband. I managed somehow to get through all of the paper work while the rest of my family was making phone calls to others to inform them of the accident. I was then called back to the nurse's area. They asked me to sit down. The doctor that would be treating Steve came up and introduced himself. He explained to me that the extent of Steve's injuries were very critical. At this point the doctor's concern was to get his blood pressure, breathing, and his neck stabilized. He told me that it appeared he had broken his neck at the C-6 vertebra. He explained that we had a long road ahead of us if Steve made it through the night.

Now I had to call Steve's family. I tried several times to reach his mom and dad before I finally got through to them. I didn't know exactly what to say to them. They had 5 children. Their oldest son had been killed in a motorcycle accident about 25 years ago. Then, a year after the oldest son's accident, Steve's other brother had a car accident and was paralyzed from the waist down. Now, the 3rd and youngest son was in a diving accident and was now paralyzed from the chest down. I felt as much grief for them as I did for my husband. I explained to them what happened. His dad asked me if Steve was going to be a "quad". I had no clue at that time what a "quad" was so he decided not to try to explain it to me at that time. They seemed very calm, yet very worried. They contacted the rest of Steve's family. They planned to leave immediately from Missouri, with Steve's youngest sister.