Eyes That See the Good in Things - March 19, 2018

I recently started reading a book that’s been difficult for me to put down. Gratitude in Motion is a true story about hope, determination and the everyday heroes around us.

Colleen Kelly Alexander is a lifelong athlete and motivational speaker who inspires positive change, contribution, determination and actionable gratitude.

​It was a beautiful fall day in Connecticut when Colleen Kelly Alexander was riding her bike home from work. Her life was as good as it had ever been, she had previously survived some serious health problems, was working in a fulfilling career and had married the person she called her soulmate. As she coasted along that day, she remembers meeting the eyes of a truck driver as he approached the stop sign beside her. He didn’t stop; she remembers the truck running over her lower body, with first the front tires and then the back tires, dragging her across the pavement.

“I thought those might be my last moments on Earth. I could see my bones, my blood and things that were supposed to be inside my abdomen that were open and exposed.”

“Please, I’ve just been reconnected with my soulmate,” she pleaded with the paramedic. “We just got married and we’re trying to have a baby. Please don’t let me die.”

She stayed conscious during the entire hour-long ambulance ride to the hospital but says she “flatlined” within a few minutes of arrival through those trauma doors. An enormous team of people worked at saving her life: from the runner who brought blood donations, the medical team who took turns doing CPR, to the surgeon who refused to call the time of death.

During this time, her husband had no idea how serious her condition was. He was only told in a phone call that she had been in an accident and probably had a broken leg. Although he had been placed in a special waiting room for people whose loved ones were expected to die, it was hours before he was told that his new wife wasn’t likely to make it through the night.

She was stabilized and then put in an induced coma to help her body heal. Her description of the induced coma was amazing. The coma was like a hazy, dreamlike state. She didn’t have fully formed thoughts but still felt pain, and she formed memories about things her brain invented, to try and make sense about what was happening to her.

She could feel hands touching her and comforting her and she could hear the beeping of machines around her, but she had no control over anything that was happening. In this state, her brain convinced her that she was being tortured as they changed dressings; unpacking, cleaning and then re-packing her serious abdominal wounds. Her brain couldn’t comprehend that they were really helping her.

However, she said that in her induced coma state, she could differentiate between voices. She could recognize her husband’s voice and his touch, and it was soothing to her. 

When she came out of the coma, most of her lower body was shredded in ways that could never be properly put back together. She realized that their dreams of having their own baby would never happen. At one point, she wasn’t sure she wanted to live.

At that point, Colleen Kelly Alexander realized, “All this emotion I wasted feeling miserable and sorry for myself needed a direction. I could sit there wallowing in the pain or I could do something to improve my mental health, even while there was nothing I could do about the physical side of things.” The direction she found was gratitude.

It was then she remembered all those heroes who had saved her life. The bystanders who leapt to action on the road, the man who stood spread-eagled in the middle of the street to keep her from being run over again, the EMTs and her medical team. Then, she thought about the people who had been working on saving her life, before she was even in need of saving. The blood and plasma donors and the workers at the blood bank. She had used 78 units of blood and plasma from more than 150 donors.

“It suddenly felt very real to me that I had the lifeblood of countless people running through my veins. People of all races, religions, genders and ages. People who liked rap music and country music. People whose lives looked nothing like mine, and who had rolled up their sleeves and donated this gift to a person they’d never met. I felt a responsibility to do something positive to honor these many, everyday heroes who’d saved me.”

Five weeks in a coma and 29 surgeries later, Colleen Kelly Alexander survived. Rather than let the trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder control her life, she became determined to find a way to make something positive come from her pain. She started to run again and dedicates her race medals to the everyday heroes around us. She is now a spokesperson for the Red Cross and shares her incredible, inspirational story to encourage others to take that first step forward.

She says that although she will never be able to compete in the sense she once did, that level of competition is no longer the point. The point is that she’s out there in this world, doing the things she loves, challenging herself and showing her gratitude wherever she can.

Colleen Kelly Alexander’s achievements serve to underscore her belief that there is a hero in everyone. Regardless of situation, adversity or obstacle, the power to triumph is universal – even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

“We can’t control life’s unexpected twists, only our reactions to them. Finding gratitude in the midst of even the toughest times is a gift from the heart, both for the sender and receiver. Sometimes a small shift in perspective can change the course of your life.”

We would love to share local stories about the good things your eyes are seeing.

Stop in to share your stories with us, give us a call at 947-2417 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Or send a letter to Eyes That See the Good in Things, c/o Allison Lindgren, The Transcript, 6 8th St N., New Rockford, ND 58356.