The Donkey in the Well Revisited Nine Years Later

Hundreds of thousands of our nation’s Veterans and Emergency Responders are coping with Post-Traumatic Stress. Here in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, there are at least 28,000 receiving treatment for PTSD and countless more that have not yet been diagnosed but are coping with the tell-tale nightmares and flashbacks associated with PTSD.

Our book,?Half Paralyzed, Twice Strong?is framed by the story of the Donkey in the Well. In the story, a farmer goes out to walk his land and hears a loud, distinctive “ee-ore, ee-ore” in the distance. He wonders what his old donkey has done now, and looks all over his property until at last, he finds the animal at the bottom of a long-forgotten well. The donkey's loud braying continues as the man sits and tries to figure out a way to get him out. Finally, the farmer decides that rescuing the donkey is impossible. So the farmer calls his friends and asks them to help him bury it while closing the well. They'd kill two birds with one stone; so to speak.

As the men began to shovel dirt, the donkey realized what was happening and he cried horribly. But soon all is quiet, except for the sounds of the working men. After about 20 minutes, one of the farmers looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every load of dirt that hit the donkey’s back, it had shaken it off and taken a step up. The donkey was about half way out of the well. All at once, the work became a rescue mission. Pretty soon, to all of their amazement, the donkey stepped up and over the edge of the well and trotted off!?When this happens, the farmers all dropped their shovels and applauded the old stubborn beast with newfound admiration.

So what is the moral of the story?

When someone has a serious injury, society will usually try to do its' best to bury them. A person has to fight like hell and show that they will absolutely refuse to quit. If they do so, then caring individuals and organizations such as the Stand Up and Play Foundation, Hardee's, One Nation Coffee, and the When Life Sucks Foundation will come on a rescue mission to help them.

When I first read the story of the Donkey in the Well I knew it was a perfect metaphor for anyone facing a long road to recovery from an injury, illness, or challenge. We always have the choice to be a victim or a survivor and the story could be used to encourage and uplift people to never quit and persevere despite their circumstances.

There are times in life when all of us feel like that old donkey. We are stuck in a situation where we just don’t know how we’ll get through, and there is little or no hope for rescue. I've been there myself. In fact, that's where I first met Fred Gutierrez after my own life-threatening injuries left me at rock bottom flat on my back with nowhere to look but up.?

My long road to recovery took nearly four years and 12,000 hours of rehab but I finally was able to step up out of that well. That was when I made a solemn promise to Fred Gutierrez that I would help him any way that I could.?After being rescued by God myself, I was not going to leave my friend behind when I was in the position to possibly help him.

The Bigger Picture

As I thought about the story some more I realized that it was also a great metaphor for what Christ did for humanity.??When he chose to live, suffer and die as one of us, he redeemed us. He came on a rescue mission to save all of humanity. When Jesus rose from the dead he offered a hand up to mankind.?Upon realizing that it was placed on my heart to be Christ-like and lead a rescue mission to help Fred and others that were trapped in the well. Jesus had given me my strength on my deathbed and it was revealed to me that this was the important mission that he wanted me to do.

I have always loved the idea of paying it forward, and as I was writing the epilogue of Half-Paralyzed, Twice Strong, I could only dream of recruiting an "army" of individuals that had been rescued joining us at the top of the well and reaching down to give others a hand up. As I was writing the words, tears began streaming down my cheek.?Nearly ten years later, with this vision having started to become reality, I want to thank everyone that has joined us at the top of the well who has reached down into the well to give Veterans and Emergency Responders a hand up. We truly are on the front lines in the battle against PTSD.?To-date, forty Veterans or Emergency Responders have told us that they are alive today because of our Golf Therapy programs. We are now dreaming of how many lives could be saved and transformed if we are able to get additional funding for this important mission.

Thinking back through our story and how it all began with all of the pain and suffering that Fred and I both endured for all those years, to where it has brought us now, we know that God knew all along how this story would turn out.

Closing Prayer:

LORD, please protect our nation’s Veterans and First Responders both locally and nationally as they cope with the nightmares and flashbacks associated with Post- Traumatic Stress.?May organizations like ours help them trade their nightmares and flashbacks for new dreams and friendships. Please also protect the families and give them patience and understanding as their loved one copes with the challenges of PTSD.