I feel guilty standing next to Garrett.

At 17, a junior at Cartersville High School, he towers over me. And as he stands beside me, I’m amazed that he’s even standing at all.
He’s on the Cartersville football team, but this was my first day meeting Garrett and I would later learn his incredible story. Over the summer, he was in a terrible car accident, when his truck plummeted off the road and into a tree.

And that’s the short of it.

It’s truly amazing the wreck didn’t take his life. As a result from it all, he now has a prosthetic leg.

As a parent, friend, coach, or sibling… I guess it’s normal to worry about someone’s physical state after an accident as tragic as this one. Finding a “new normal” isn’t easy when it’s something as drastic as this. But my question goes to another state, his mental state- how does someone mentally recover from something so severe… so life altering, and so sad?

Garrett has defied everyone’s expectations with the way he’s handled himself since the accident, and that’s what I found to be the most inspiring part about his story. Yes, it’s amazing to see him walk again, yes it’s incredible to hear about how he almost didn’t survive, but the fact that he has such a positive outlook on life is the most amazing part to me.

It's amazing that at his age he has such a solid foundation that sets the tone for who he is, and that’s a testament to his parents. No one would be surprised if he makes his way back to the football field for next season. He has big dreams. Dreams of playing football again, running through the smoke on game days and being in the Para-Olympics one day.

Everyone is rooting for Garrett.

The community has been amazing, supporting him through a “Go-Fund-Me” account that will go towards helping his family pay for future medical expenses, like a new prosthetic leg, which is outrageously expensive. They start around $25,000 dollars and have to be replaced every few years.

Here's a link where you can donate to Garrett’s fund: Go Fund Me

I hope that when you watch his story, you’re just as inspired as I am. And maybe… think twice before you complain about traffic, or weather or anything else for that matter. Garrett has suffered and lived through more than a lot of us will in our life time. There’s a lot we can learn from him.

Take a look…