My Second Chance At Life

By Sarah Deberry

This is my story of how a tragic accident had changed my life, and also changed my perception of life.  My story of what made me who I am today and how it can inspire the world to see that there is light at even the darkest tunnel.  

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781640964310

Book preview

cover.jpg

My Second Chance At Life

Sarah Deberry

Copyright © 2018 Sarah Deberry

All rights reserved

First Edition

NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING

320 Broad Street

Red Bank, NJ 07701

First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2018

ISBN 978-1-64096-430-3 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64531-313-7 (Hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-64096-431-0 (Digital)

Cover art designed by John Evans

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

The Beginning

Overcoming the Odds

Letting Go

Recovery

Not Giving Up

My Second Chance

The Next Phase

A Fresh Start

Being Different

Going Through the Inevitable

Preface

It never seemed so unsurprisingly beautiful, latched onto the sunset with a glowing aura, with the echoing crescendo of laughter, playful seagulls, and the mighty roar of crashing waves. It had been years since I’d been so close to the ocean; feeling the warm grains of sand between my toes, and the inviting breeze that made my bleach blonde hair dance so gracefully. I’ve never felt so at home and so blissfully unaware as I was that day. Scoping the Pacific and the angelic Golden Gate Bridge, my first day outside the hospital couldn’t have been more magical and childishly perfect than being at the beach. The peaceful serenity, although short-lived, had let me forget the glory-stripped tragedy that had unfolded just two months earlier. This is how my second chance at life began.

The Beginning

In one single moment, a mistake could be made that would change your life forever. In that moment, life as you knew it could be gone, and you could never take it back. That is what happened to me. My life was forever going to change as well as the lives of those who loved me because of one mistake.

If not for that one mistake, I would not be who I am today, and I would not have the ambition to instill hope in those facing challenges—for them to accept who they are, and to embrace their differences.

This is my story, of how my second chance at life began.

I woke to a comforting feeling of California sunshine resting on my forehead as it peaked through my bedroom window. The birds outside sang in harmony, as if to tell me it was going to be a good day. Though I already knew this because it was the last day of school before summer break! I could hear cars cruising the dirt road outside our little home. This sound could only mean one thing: it was time to get up.

If I had known what the day would bring, and what a tumultuous journey would follow, I would have stayed in bed. But I was an eight-year-old girl with the world at my fingertips, ready for my next adventure.

I struggled to open my eyes as I took in the aroma of fresh air and lilacs through the window that Mom had purposely left open. I could hear her inching closer and closer to my bedroom, on her way to tell me to get out of bed. A sense of dread and disappointment came over me thinking about having to crawl out of my soft, warm heaven of pillows and blankets. Knowing I would probably ignore her and go right back to sleep, she yelled so loud it could wake the dead.

Sarah! Wake up and get ready for school! she yelled, before coming through the door and over to my bed. She put her hand on my head, knowing that may have been a bit harsh. It won’t be that bad, sweetheart, she said with regret in her voice and reminded me that it was only a half day of school. This slightly eased the pain of getting up, so I half-heartedly creeped out of bed, grunting and moaning like someone ten times my age. As soon as I was up, the small dose of motivation I had had died, and I fell right back into bed.

Minutes went by, and as they did, Mom’s tender forgiveness began to fade. She decided I needed more than just a gentle rub on my head, so she started to raise her voice, regressing to her original plan. I was used to it, and as stubborn as I was, I tuned it out. After a few minutes, she became quiet. This silence made me wonder if she had left without me to get Nicole there on time.

Nicole was my sister. She and I were born in Stockton, California, just a minute and a half apart. I was taken out after her, but to this day, she’ll brag about being the oldest. We were healthy fraternal twins, each with our own personalities and ambitions to be whoever we wanted to be. We were happy because we had each other. Sure, we would take each other’s toys, and I, being the feisty one, would push her down or block her into a corner to get my way, but we had a happy childhood.

Since she and I were so close, I knew she wouldn’t get in the car unless I was right there next to her. Plus everyone knew I would cause too much trouble if I was left home alone.

As I sheltered myself under my safe haven of covers to capture what I knew to be the last ounce of time I could rest, I heard footsteps marching towards my bed. The thin layer of covers being ripped away had subdued my false sense of security, though the scowl on Mom’s face made me forget I ever had it. Bravely yet foolishly, I told her I didn’t get much sleep, so she should let me sleep for a while longer. I pulled the covers back over me as she stomped out of the room and into the kitchen. I heard the faucet running, followed by frantic footsteps down the hallway. I felt her anger as her voice echoed saying if I wasn’t out of bed by the time she got back, I would be soaked with ice cold water. Knowing I had crossed the line into temptation of fate, I quickly pulled the covers off.

All right! I’m up! I’m up! I assured her as she walked into my room to check if I was telling the truth.

Come on, hurry up! she exclaimed as she went to the closet to choose an outfit for me to wear. As she handed me some blue jean shorts with sunflowers on them and a turquoise tank top, she told me I was going to be late for school again. She walked out of the room, and I somberly put on the clashing summer attire. I knew we weren’t going to be late because it wasn’t even eight o’clock, and our school was right down the street. As usual, she was exaggerating because she wanted to get to work early.

I decided to hurry, so I could get to school and get the day over with. I quickly brushed my teeth, combed my hair, put on my shiny white sandals, and grabbed my backpack off the bedroom floor All right, let’s go! Mom yelled as she snatched her keys off the hook on the wall and opened the door.

As we walked out to the car, I dreamily stared at the backyard. I imagined myself jumping and playing, throwing my ball around, and soaking in the warm summer air. As soon as my daydream had gotten so vivid it nearly became reality, I heard the car door open. Just as sudden as I had drifted off, I snapped right back to what at the time was a depressing reality. We got in the car and began to drive away. I had this really strange feeling in the pit of my stomach, maybe it was because I hadn’t eaten breakfast, but something didn’t feel right, and I didn’t know why. I tried to ignore the dreadful feeling because I just wanted to get on with my summer vacation, but it made the five-minute drive to Burns Valley Grade School seem like an eternity.

When we arrived, I looked up at Mom and said, Hey, Mom, can we do something fun after school?

No, sweetheart, I have to go back to work, and I couldn’t find a sitter for you and your sister, so I’ll be picking you both up and bringing you to work with me for a few hours.

I didn’t like that answer because there wasn’t anything for us to do there, and she could tell that I was upset. I felt as though she didn’t even care if I had a good day or not, and I felt like my sister and I were always being put on the back burner. We’d probably be better off taking care of ourselves, but we were too young to do that. I just wished that Mom could see how unhappy I was with being put last all the time. She reassured me that I would have a good day and told me that we would go do something fun after she got off, but I didn’t believe her. I knew that once she was done working, she would take us to her boyfriend’s house, so she could go drink and do drugs. I knew this