“Falling down is part of life. Getting back up is living.” –Anonymous
A broken Murray (smiling the best he can) with his niece, Allison, in 2008 Polk Van Zandt, Mary Balfour Dunlap, Seth Olson, and a new Murray Dunlap
Eight years of unremitting work, from left to right.Friends and family (and a new Murray) thank God for his second chance at life.Murray Dunlap says, “The old Murray died on 6-7-08 in a car wreck, so I’ve been forced to reinvent myself. I spent 3 months in a coma followed by about six months in a wheelchair (I can’t remember how long due to amnesia –it seemed like forever) and maybe six months using a walker. I had 3 fractures in my pelvis, a broken clavicle, 9 sutures in my head, and five stitches in my ear. I also had 4th nerve palsy (double vision) which required surgery. Worst of all, I have a traumatic brain injury -a complex injury with a broad spectrum of symptoms and disabilities.” D.R. Dunlap says, “Brain injuries can be classified into mild, moderate, and severe categories. The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), the most commonly used system for classifying TBI severity, grades a person’s level of consciousness on a scale of 3–15 based on verbal, motor, and eye-opening reactions to stimuli. It is generally agreed that a TBI with a GCS of 13 or above is mild, 9–12 is moderate, and 8 or below is severe. In patients with a scale from 5 to 7, about half will die or remain in a vegetative state. My brother was a 5.” Murray adds, “I was forced to relearn to walk, to drive, to stop speaking with a slur and crooked eyebrows, and the worst thing (to me personally), a smile that drooped on one side of my mouth. I put myself back together and jog/walk most days (as a former distance runner, this is now a slow, strange gait –but I’m out there!), lost the 50 pounds I gained in my wheelchair/walker/Athens-ice-cream days, and gave up alcohol & caffeine. I speak clearly with very little slur, my eyebrows line up, and my smile is finally straight. I finished my second book (‘Fires‘), wrote a book of poetry (‘Proof’) –forthcoming at Unbound Content, wrote a children’s book (‘Crash!’) –now with an artist, and ran/walked a 5K. I was 3rd in my age group. But, there may well have only been three runners my age. That said, it was more than a little faster than in my wheelchair. Around the next corner, my sister-in-law introduced me to the love of my life –an Episcopal priest.” The new Murray says, “From nearly dead to newly wed, I’m making the most of it. Life is hard… but, NEVER GIVE UP!” Kara L. Swanson says, “The curious thing about the auto accident that ended my life was that I lived through it.” Dunlap remarks, “Just like that, my original plan for life vanished. But, as one life ended for me, a better and more fulfilling life began. Thank you Ed.” “There was this funny thing of anything could happen now that we realized everything had.”-Raymond Carver, Where I’m Calling FromNon-fiction: What it Feels Like… (Stories of surviving the unimaginable) B-Metro Non-fiction: The Girl with the Red Scarf (…the Dunlap wedding) Germ magazine Non-fiction: Endorphin Warrior of the Month Endorphin Warrior says, “Three months in a coma, a terrible traumatic brain injury, six months in a wheelchair, having to re-learn how to walk, battling depression and suicidal thoughts, completely dependent on others, and fighting like hell to regain his life…the strength that Murray exhibited in his I’d-never-want-to-be-in-his-shoes life was inspiring to me beyond words.” Non-fiction: “This I Believe” This I Believe is an international organization engaging people in writing and sharing essays describing the core values that guide their daily lives. Non-fiction: We Weren’t Born here, but it Feels like Home The Pilot Non-fiction: Author finds a second life, writes book after crash Mufreesboro Post Non-fiction: “Times I Nearly Died” Fried Chicken and Coffee Non-fiction poetry: “In an Instant” Vox Poetica . Interviews…TV: https://www.youtube.com Kathleen Hinman – WKRG Radio: Vox Poetica Annmarie Lockhart Text: http://www.smokelong.com Kelly Spitzer http://www.smokelong.com (#2) Kelly Spitzer http://www.endorphinwarrior.com Endorphin Warrior http://www.al.com Emily Hill http://press53.tumblr.com Press 53 http://www.rkvryquarterly.com R.kv.r.y http://blog.al.com Leigh T. Moore http://literarylab.blogspot.com TheLiterary Lab http://blog.fictionaut.com Fictionaut http://www.whohub.com Who Hub “My brother still has issues with memory, balance, and anxiety, but based on where he came from, this is nothing short of miraculous. I believe, with God’s help, he will run again.” “Five years after a near-death, and life altering, experience, he can walk and talk and exercise and write and laugh. It’s as if his eyes are opened for the first time to who he is and what his life means to him and others. And it is a new life. Remarkably, he is a better person after having gone through his extremely difficult ordeal. An ordeal, recovery, and awakening, that was in my mind so clearly God driven.” D.R. Dunlap –the best, and most supportive, brother ever. . In Another LifeI might understand
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