A Testimony to Live For
autobiography by Robbie Robinson
As a teenager in high school I volunteered with a student organization that put students on the frontline learning how to care about others. Through this organization I was introduced to the South Carolina 4-H Camps where, at 15 years old, I became a summer camp counselor. For three summers I worked with over 300 children at the camps just in my groups alone. Each summer there were groups that rented the camp to hold special conferences, meetings, revivals, etc. Toward the end of my third summer one of my counselor friends came to me with a CD and said that there was a group on camp the week before, the week that I was scheduled to work at a different camp location, and he was sure I would like them. I listened to the CD and learned every song word for word. Obviously I liked this group a lot! As I started my first semester of college I was busy working as a pediatric rehabilitation aid each day and teaching the young Royal Ambassadors program at my church on Wednesday nights. I thought it would be great to take the RA boys to see this group if they were ever in concert in our area. I emailed the lead singer of the group and he invited me and a friend to attend a community revival in his hometown where they would be performing. He invited us to stay in his home despite the fact that he had never met me. The only knowledge that he had about me was that I was a 4-H Camp Counselor. We stayed with him and then left early Sunday morning so that we might be able to be at our home church by the Sunday night service. This was the beginning of the longest drive of my life.
My friend and I attended the concert/revival and it was awesome! The guest speaker spoke of his youth in the "MOB" and how God got him out alive. The music was great! The message was great! And at this point my friend and I were so full of the Holy Spirit that nothing could ever bring us down. We spent the night with the lead singer of the group and he invited us to visit his church with him that morning. However, I was so anxious to get back to my own church and share the awesome testimony that I had heard the night before. We thanked him for his hospitality, looked forward to seeing each other again, and then we were off.
I drove for a while until I was finally too exhausted to drive anymore. We needed gas anyway so I took the next exit and from there my friend would drive. As she started the Explorer she said "put your seatbelt on". Laughing I replied "why it's not like it helps anything anyway." She knew that I always wore a seatbelt despite the arguments that some say one is better off without it. As I buckled up I reclined my seat and I looked forward to waking up when we were almost home and then I would drive again and give her a break.
I woke up ready to go to church that night when I noticed that I was in a hospital bed. I was so confused because I was sure that I didn't remember going to the hospital. Well the obvious conclusion was that this had to be a dream. I guess a nightmare would be more like it. A nurse came into my room and I asked her why I was there. She hesitated to answer and then told me to look into the mirror and turn my head towards the left. Aside from the fact that I looked like a skeleton after loosing 55 lbs in two weeks time I could not believe the size of the scar on the right side of my head. What was going on?!?!?!?!?!?!
My family started trying to explain what happened when they saw that I had no recollection of the accident. The right-rear tire exploded and caused the Explorer to flip on Interstate 77. Allegedly I was thrown from the vehicle after shattering the passenger side window with the right side of my head. Doctors had to remove a blood clot from my right temporal area. While I was trying to grasp all of this information I had no idea that the details would soon prove to be one miracle after another.
As my friend and I were traveling on I-77 through Columbia, SC the right rear tire exploded and the vehicle rolled to the left into the median. What if we would have been in the right lane when this occurred and there was traffic in the left lane? There was a tractor-trailer truck in the right lane beside us so can you imagine what it would have been like if the left rear tire would have exploded? After the Explorer rolled my friend crawled out of the Explorer and as witnesses saw blood coming from my eyes, nose, mouth, and ears they kept her from seeing me. There was a cement ditch running down the median but I just missed it when I landed on the patch of grass beside it. By the grace of God the Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital was on the next exit so there were medical staff that witnessed the accident, already with me on the scene. But wait it gets better!
In Columbia we were approximately one hour from our homes. My friend called my house hoping that someone would be home so that she could tell them to get to Columbia as fast as they could. Luckily my sister, who was 8 months pregnant, was home when my friend called. After my family drove, what they say was the longest drive of their lives; doctors informed them of the severity of my condition. For a couple of days doctors tried to get rid of the blood clot in my brain with medication but it was just not working. On Thanksgiving Day of 1999 one of the neurosurgeons came in and told my mother that he had a "hunch in his belly"
and needed to check me. After he examined me he returned to my family saying that it was necessary to do surgery immediately. My mother didn't take kindly to this news and asked that we get a second opinion. The Dr. told her that there was no time. As she was signing the papers she looked to my sister in tears and said "I feel like I'm signing his Death Certificate." After preparing for surgery the doctor looked at my mother and said "I don't mean to offend you but I must do this." He took my hand and prayed a lengthy prayer. My mother was definitely not offended!
There were countless predictions of the possible outcomes that doctors had to warn my family of. For example, I might never wake up, I could be mentally challenged if I were to wake up, I might lose some or all of my memory, I may not be able to stand, I would probably never be able to play or hum a tune, etc… My mother had a bench in the courtyard of the hospital where she would go to pray on regular bases. One day as she came back in to the ICU Room where I was laying, so she thought, she first saw a nurse with her jaw dropped. As she got closer she saw that I was standing beside the bed trying to pull the life support from my throat. I thank God that I have no memory of this stage in my recovery. Finally I was moved to a rehabilitation hospital in Augusta, GA to be a little closer to my home. This is where my first memory of the accident takes place.
I was not told of any of the predictions because no one wanted to discourage me from trying. The lack of musical abilities was a great fear for my family. Of all the songs that I had written I had only recorded one on a tape for my mother. I gave the tape to her the day my friend and me left for the concert. Unfortunately, my mother got the flu and was not able to be at the hospital for a couple days. Each morning my physical therapist and I would do a walk around the hospital to work on balance and to build strength in my legs. As we were walking we passed the chapel where I saw a piano. I asked that we take a break. With what was almost a look of fear he insisted that we finish our walk and come back later when my family arrived. Being stubborn I walked into the chapel anyway. Knowing that I loved children and worked with them as a pediatric rehabilitation aid he urged me to proceed to the gym because there may be children in there that I could help. I knew that it was too early for children to be in the gym so I found my way to the piano. As I started to play his eyes widened and I tried to sing. Of coarse it did not sound like me because of the open ended tube that was still in my throat. This was my mothers first day back to the hospital after the flu so, of course, she was there early. As she was passing the chapel she heard my song and because I was not supposed to be able to do this anymore her first thought was "who
is playing his song?" As she walked into the chapel she dropped all that she was carrying and started to cry. After I was finished playing the song I turned to her and said "was it that bad?" She and the therapist both laughed and said "you have no idea how good it is!" That night two of my best friends that sang with me on a regular bases before the accident sang with me in a special concert for my family in the chapel. Though I was still confused about a lot, things were looking better and better.
