Open Eyes: A Life Transformed

By Lee "Nico" Middlebrook

This book is an autobiography of Lee Nico Middlebrooks life. The story behind in Open Eyes is that it explains how Nico was able to see clearly how God was leading and how Gods hand was on his life. It is a look through Nicos eyes as to how God revealed Himself and the things that He has shown Nico.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 14, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512753684

Lee "Nico" Middlebrook

I would like to introduce myself you, my name is Lee Middlebrook, and I am currently employed with the Johnson County Texas Sheriffs Office, as a Corrections Officer, for the Johnson County Correction Center, located in Clebmne, Texas. At the time of this writing, I have been promoted to corporal and now work in the booking department. This is where we process those who have been arrested and place them into jail. At this facility we deal with people who have made mistakes in their lives. Some mistakes are minor infractions such as speeding ticket warrants, while other infractions range from theft to narcotics to murder. Some are truly sorry for what they have did or done, and in most cases are good inmates. On the other end of the spectrum we deal with those who have committed violent crimes, and they could care less about anyone or anything except themselves. These inmates show no guilt, shame or remorse for what they have done. Some of these inmates are hard to deal with, now don’t get me wrong, some of the less violent offenders are hard to deal with as well. I must also add, I have met some Correctional Officers, that are good, and I have met some that are not so good. In the ones who I classify as not so good, you have to look really hard to find any good in them, if you can find any at all. Most of the Correctional Officers are a pleasure to be around and work with. The other ones, well you just have to grin and bear it. I am sure that no matter what line of work you may be involved with, you deal with fellow employees on the same scale, and in the same manner. The reason I am writing this book, is to let people know, that no matter how bad or how difficult situation you may find yourself in, there is hope. I overcame many adversities and difficult situations in my life, and I am still faced with some today, but I will strive to overcome these as well. I know you can overcome your adversities and difficulties as well, if you will just apply yourself and trust in God. Life is not easy, but life is what we make of it. We have to work very hard sometimes to overcome the adversities life hurls our way. Once we work through our adversities, we come to the realization that through our hard work and efforts, we have become a stronger and better person.

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Copyright © 2016 Lee Nico Middlebrook.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-5369-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-5370-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-5368-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016913777

WestBow Press rev. date: 11/10/2016

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

About the Author

This book is dedicated to my precious wife

Melody Middlebrook

And to the loving memory of

Ruby Underdown

Foreword

I have known Lee Middlebrook for many years, and I have always held him in high regards. Lee chose to pursue a career in law enforcement and I can state that he is a compliment to his chosen profession.

In this short but precise biographical description of Officer Lee Middlebrook’s life, you will read about the difficult and challenging obstacles and situations life has hurled at him. How he overcame these situations and obstacles with his perseverance just to live and survive.

If you do not presently believe in miracles, this book could conceivably change your mind. Lee describes his frustrating battles of life and his battles with Polio. You will read about his courageous and successful fight to live and survive.

This book alone should give hope to anyone, who finds themselves in difficult situations. No matter what situation or dilemma you may be in or find your self- faced with, there is always a way to overcome these Hardships. It may seem fruitless, it may seem difficult, it may seem impossible, but after reading this book, you will find there is nothing you can’t overcome, if you put your mind, heart and soul into your endeavor.

Lee describes his deep abiding love for God, his family, and his friends. There are times we find ourselves thinking; life has treated us so unfairly. We may think we have had it so bad, and no one knows what I am going through, but after reading this book, you will know there is hope. This book will change your mind and your outlook on life.

In this honest and sometimes humorous book, of Lee Middlebrook’s life, you will find it will capture your attention as well as your heart. I know it did mine.

Your friend

Grady Pike,

Preface

I would like to introduce myself you, my name is Lee Middlebrook, and I am currently employed with the Johnson County Texas Sheriff’s Office, as a Corrections Officer, for the Johnson County Correction Center, located in Cleburne, Texas.

At the time of this writing, I have been promoted to corporal and now work in the booking department. This is where we process those who have been arrested and place them into jail.

At this facility we deal with people who have made mistakes in their lives. Some mistakes are minor infractions such as speeding ticket warrants, while other infractions range from theft to narcotics to murder.

Some are truly sorry for what they have did or done, and in most Cases are good inmates. On the other end of the spectrum we deal with those who have committed violent crimes, and they could care less about anyone or anything except themselves.

These inmates show no guilt, shame or remorse for what they have done. Some of these inmates are hard to deal with, now don’t get me wrong, some of the less violent offenders are hard to deal with as well.

I must also add, I have met some Correctional Officers, that are good, and I have met some that are not so good. In the ones who I classify as not so good, you have to look really hard to find any good in them, if you can find any at all.

Most of the Correctional Officers are a pleasure to be around and work with. The other ones, well you just have to grin and bear it. I am sure that no matter what line of work you may be involved with, you deal with fellow employees on the same scale, and in the same manner.

The reason I am writing this book, is to let people know, that no matter how bad or how difficult situation you may find yourself in, there is hope. I overcame many adversities and difficult situations in my life, and I am still faced with some today, but I will strive to overcome these as well.

I know you can overcome your adversities and difficulties as well, if you will just apply yourself and trust in God.

Life is not easy, but life is what we make of it. We have to work very hard sometimes to overcome the adversities life hurls our way. Once we work through our adversities, we come to the realization that through our hard work and efforts, we have become a stronger and better person.

Chapter One

I was born in San Jose, Costa Rica, in the year of 1969. For those who do not know where Costa Rica is located, it is a small country situated between Panama and Nicaragua in Central America. This small country of Costa Rica is ridden with crime, poverty, drugs and drug lords. It is a harsh place for anyone to spend their young life, but his is precisely where I spent my young years growing up.

Costa Rica is a country that produces a lot of coffee, bananas and cocaine. The bananas and coffee are legally shipped around the world. The cocaine on the other hand is unlawful. It is processed, packaged and smuggled to other parts of the world. This is why so many drug lords live in Costa Rica. They run and control their unlawful businesses with an iron fist, and will kill anyone who tries to step in their territory. Costa Rica also contains some of the most deadly snakes and spiders in the world.

I was the third child out of four born to my mother that I know of.

There is Patricia my older sister, Sonya my next oldest sister, and then there is me, and then my youngest sister Maya. We were born into poverty and we were raised in poverty. I never knew nor can I ever remember seeing or knowing who my father was. I never heard my mother speak of him or mention his name. The only memories I have, is that of my mother, and the memories I carry of my biological mother are not pleasant ones.

My mother was and still is very poor, and still lives in poverty. It seemed she never wanted to better herself. My mother is a very hateful, abusive, deceiving, conniving, and domineering woman. My mother was extremely mean and abusive to us, her own children, not only physically but mentally as well. It seemed to me, that we were in her way, and she did not really want us around.

I will never forget this one time when my mother came home and found us kids outside playing, and we had gotten ourselves and our clothes dirty. She got so mad when she seen us, that she ran into the house, retrieved a belt, came back outside and chased all of us kids back inside the house.

Once we were all inside the house, she took the belt and chased us around the house beating us with it. She was beating us like there was no tomorrow with the belt. Whose belt it was I don’t remember and I really didn’t care. I just know it stung, burnt, and left large whelps and bruises all over our bodies. It seemed the more we tried to protect ourselves from the belt and try to get away from her, the harder she would beat us.

There was this neighbor lady who lived next door and who was a friend of my mothers. She heard all the screaming, hollering, crying and commotion and came running over to see what was going on. Once she seen what my mother was doing, she tried to get my mother to stop beating on us.

This neighbor lady had no success, she could not reason or even talk with my mother, and my mother continued to beat on us. This poor lady did not have the power to stop my mother’s insane actions. It was as if my mother had snapped and went crazy, she just exploded. It was like a demon possessed her at that moment in time. She just wanted to hurt us really bad and it seemed the more she beat us, the more intense the beating became.

I can remember, on many occasion we received beatings from the hand of my mother, for no reason at all. Sometimes she would just come in the house and start beating on us. Like I said, I really think we were just in her way and she did not want us around.

My mother wanted to party, drink, get drunk and run around, with any man she could find to have fun and be with. We were a hindrance to her; we stood between her and the life style she wanted and desired to live.

I learned at very young age, that my sisters were the only ones I could turn to and depend on, for help and protection. All my sisters have been a big inspiration in my life, and continue to do so to this very day, and I love each of them with all my heart.

Patricia, my older sister, was like the protective mother figure, she was always there for us. Even at her young age, she would try to be the leader for the family. If one of us kids got hurt, she would doctor us up the best way she knew how.

If we became scared, she would try and console us and tell us everything was going to be alright. If we were hungry, she tried her best to find something for us to eat, even if it meant she had to steal the food to feed us. Sometimes she would eat very little, so we would have more to eat.

Sonya, my next older sister, well she was my warrior princesses. She would come to my defense in a heartbeat. If older kids were picking on me, teasing me, shoving me around and beating on me, she would lay into them with all her power and might, and she would start beating on them. When she did this, the older and larger kids did not like it. She would not take anything from them.

She would do anything in her power to protect me from the older and meaner kids, who wanted to beat on me for the fun of it. It seemed like the older kids got a bang out of beating on smaller kids. They got a kick out of beating up someone who was smaller and younger than they were. They knew we could not defend ourselves, and n they knew we were too small to fight back, this way they could have their way with us.

Maya, my youngest sister, and well she was too young, and she was too small to be of much help for the family. She really did not know nor had any idea what was really going on. She was the baby of the family, and we had to take care of her. Patricia took care of Maya, as if she was her own child, for our mother did not want to, or else she did not care about us.

When I was four years old, I became very ill and very sick, and for sometimes, they didn’t think I was going to live. My mother being very uneducated did not know what was wrong with me. And maybe, she really didn’t care what was wrong with me. I think as time went by and the worse I became, she did not want me to die in her house. She became worried when I got to the point that I could not even walk or stand by myself by the time she took me to the doctor or to the clinic, I was already very sick. It was at this clinic or hospital, whatever the case maybe; I was diagnosed with having contracted the dreadful disease known as Polio.

Polio is a disease that is feared, because it can paralyze or kill you within a short time.

It wasn’t long after I left the hospital or clinic, I can remember I had to wear a leg brace. For without the leg brace, I was not able to stand or walk. The one thing I do remember is that the brace was very big, bulky and heavy. But with this contraption, I was able to walk. To this day I still have to wear a leg brace, and I still have a distinct limp when I walk, but this comes with the paralysis of Polio.

For those who do not know what Polio is, it is a very highly and infectious disease, which is contracted through a virus. This virus infects the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in just a matter of hours.

Later in this book, I will go into more detail and explain what Polio is, and how it affects people differently. I will expand on what Polio does to people, and what it did to me. I will explain some of the procedures I went through with this dreadful