“We’ve been fighting this battle to get ahead of this infection to stop the spread, we hate to tell you, the outcome is not good,” explained the doctors.
The news was anything but good. This was not the December holiday surprise Jim McCay was expecting. How could a small misstep one evening, at the end of a beautiful day out boating with friends turn into this…?
“If we don’t eliminate the infection, you will not be alive in 3 months,”
“My brain just turned off, and my wife said, I went totally white…” explained Jim.
To eliminate the infection, the doc was now talking about removing part of Jim’s leg. The exact words used were “to get the best outcome possible” we will need to remove from the knee down. And still there would be no guarantees that this would stop the spread of this vicious infection.
The surgery to amputate Jim’s leg from the knee down was now set for the first week of January.
As it turned out, the hospital was mobilized for a big accident the exact day of the scheduled surgery. The surgeon would not be available. This was anything but smooth sailing. There would be more surgeries and more drama ahead, but the one thing that was smooth sailing – was Jim’s commitment to his family to get through these rough seas.
More than five months since that dreadful day, and finally, Jim was on his way home. A home that Jim would need to adjust to all over again.
The Next Leap Forward
For Jim, it would not be the next leap forward, but the next step forward that mattered most. August would be a big month for his goal of taking that first step.
Jim would need to learn to walk all over again, this time it would be with the assistance of a prosthetic leg. There would be the physical therapy, and then an occupational therapist, so he could learn to drive a car with his new leg. The challenges would be many.
Ironically, when the accident took place in early October 2017, Jim was in the planning stages of launching a talk radio news program as a show producer and on-air talent. The show launched at the end of October as planned and Jim was right there to launch it.
He was there the first week, the second week, the tenth week, the twentieth week, and every week thereafter. Fact is, Jim never missed a beat. So while he was in hospitals, surgeries, therapy centers, God knows what – he had set a goal to be part of this project and was determined to see it through.
It is all about having the right mindset. The right attitude to be able to laugh back at life.
Jim McCay is a Brink Thinker and a man who loves life. His perseverance was and is remarkable. He never wavered.
We know firsthand here at America Out Loud, because Jim was instrumental in the launch and success of VIEWPOINT THIS SUNDAY.
My 4 Steps to Overcoming Adversity
1 – Stop living in yesterday’s world. You can’t change what has happened already, you can only learn from it. Focus on today and tomorrow, not yesterday.
2 – Surround yourself with positive, forward-thinking people. It is key to carefully select the people you associate with. Great relationships are not accidental, they happen when you give more than you take.
3 – There is a solution to every problem. Focus more on the solution and keep the problem the size of a mole hill. Everyone has their share of sad stories, it’s just some people choose to focus on the solution and not so much the problem.
4 – Don’t put the tough decisions off because you don’t want to face the music. They will just linger on your mind and continue to distract you from the real priorities. Face your problems with speed and integrity.
‘One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles possesses the only strength which can overcome adversity.’ Albert Schweitzer
