No Arms, No Legs but Love

In 2012, bomb disposal expert Taylor Morris was severely injured after the explosion of an improvised bomb in Afghanistan. The explosion took all his limbs and changed the life of the 23-year-old US military soldier forever. While recovering from the injuries in hospital, Taylor was confronted with the painful realization that his limbs had gone. He also had to face the fact that he would be dependent on assistance for the rest of his life. It was an incredibly difficult situation not only for him but also his family and especially his long-term girlfriend Danielle. But instead of ever giving him up, Danielle became Taylor’s pillar in life. She helped him recover and took care of him during this incredibly challenging time.

Danielle played an important role in Taylor’s quick recovery. She never went away from his side and assisted him greatly when he learned to walk again with his new prosthetic limbs. After Taylor had recovered, he proposed to his beloved girlfriend and they got married. It’s a beautiful ending of an incredibly inspiring love story that shows that nothing can ever stand in-between two people who really love each other.

This is the story of Taylor Morris, a 23 year-old Navy EOD tech:

Taylor Morris learned at an early age he was hooked on the outdoors, adventurous, the middle of 4 children and always the last one inside for dinner at his home in Cedar Falls, Iowa. His mother Juli recalled, "Our family took a camping trip from Niagra Falls down the East Coast one summer. Taylor set up the tents every night, started the fires, cooked the meals. Taylor was only 8 years old." As Taylor grew older and took to extreme water sports and rock climbing, Taylor discovered he was also very calm under extreme pressure. This quality would later make him the perfect candidate for the Navy's EOD, Explosive Ordinance Disposal.

Explosive ordinance disposal specialists were made famous in Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker. They are the preeminent tactical and technical explosives experts. Nicknamed 'The Shield', OED specialists always lead, the first to put themselves in harm's way to tackle unexploded ordinance and IED's.

Less than one month ago near the Kandahar province in Afghanistan, Taylor was doing his job, right out in front.

Leading a team of Army Special forces to a classified location, Taylor stepped on an IED. It exploded underneath him and blew off all four of his limbs. Taylor recalled the moment to me over the phone,

"As soon as I stepped on it, I knew. There was a moment, then I heard the blast. I felt the heat. I knew I had lost my legs. As I somersaulted through the air, I watched my legs fly off."

Taylor landed back in the blast crater. This is where the story of Taylor's bravery goes next-level.

After the explosion, Taylor didn't lose consciousness, he didn't go into shock. His thoughts immediately crystallized. Even though Taylor was bleeding to death, he called to the oncoming medics NOT to come get him, putting their safety in front of his own life.

"I recounted the moment of the explosion. There was no visual on the mine and no sound ID on my mine detector. That told me the mine was old. If there were other mines out there, the medics wouldn't see them or detect them unless it was cleared properly. I knew I had arterial bleeding from all 4 limbs and I was bleeding out fast. I told my buddies to stop, it would only have hurt me more if somebody stepped on another one."

The area around Taylor was finally cleared by the second EOD and the medic finally administered combat casualty care. Taylor remained conscious through the ordeal.

Three days later on May 6th Taylor landed back in the States and was transported to Walter Reed hospital in Washington D.C. to begin the long and painful rehab process. Upon his arrival, Taylor became only the 5th person at Walter Reed to ever survive a four limb amputation. His physical progression in the last three weeks has defied everybody's expectations, "My body is responding well. I'm already sitting up. I'm very fortunate." Just yesterday, the stitches in his arms were removed and he was fitted for prosthetics.

I asked Taylor if he's been given a time frame to return home to Iowa.

"Nobody really wants to give me a time frame, I understand that. The doctors here are amazing but I don't know when I'll go home. I've got goals though, personal goals, and I intend on achieving them."

As our conversation drew to an end I asked Taylor if he needed anything medically, "No, I'm fully covered by the Navy for my medical needs." I asked, "Ok, Taylor, if you could have anything in the world, what would it be?"

Taylor paused and finally spoke,

"I've always dreamed of having a log cabin in the woods on a lake. A traditional wood cabin on the outside with a modern interior. And good lighting. Good lighting is important. My girlfriend Danielle and I, we live simple lives but we've always loved being active, spending time outside with our families."

I asked Taylor's girlfriend Danielle about this dream cabin. She said, "Taylor and I are both savers, and we had been working our butts off to ensure we'd have a cabin, close to water to do water sports, and places we can hike. After what happened, we will not abandon that dream if it takes years of saving."

After I thanked Taylor for the zillionth time for his service, I hung up the phone and sat in silence recalling our conversation. I was so nervous when we first started chatting but somehow Taylor sets you at ease. He made it ok to ask hard questions about the explosion that nearly killed him and his painful rehab. I recalled something his mother had told me over the phone, "Taylor has a certain humility about his pain, it comforts you."

I knew I had just spoken to a hero, not the movie kind either, a real one. And I think he deserves a hero's homecoming. Taylor hesitated to tell me his own timeline to return home, that hope belongs to him alone, but I believe when he does return home at the end of this long journey, HOME should be to a place he's always dreamed about.

 

A Weightlifters Promise

When Susann saw Matthias Steiner, an Austrian weightlifter, during a contest on TV, she immediately became interested in him. She was so determined to meet the athlete that she kept asking the TV commentators for his contact details for so long until they finally gave in. Once she had his email address, she contacted him and they both agreed to meet each other. It was love at first sight and the two married not long after meeting for the first time.

The young weightlifter moved for his wife to Germany and applied for the German citizenship. He was so in love with her that he also promised her that he would one day bring her an Olympic medal. Matthias Steiner was determined to live up to his promise, but things came differently. In 2007, his beautiful wife Susann died in a car accident. It was an unimaginable tragedy for the young man. But he remembered what he had promised his wife. It was the promise that kept him going through this difficult time. He became so determined that he was finally selected to become part of the German Olympic team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

During the contest, Matthias Steiner was faced with incredibly challenging competitors. He had three weightlifting attempts but failed in two. Seeing his chances of ever reaching the podium diminishing, he put everything he had left into the third and final attempt. And as luck would have it, he managed to lift the incredibly heavy weight, which won him the Olympic gold medal. The scene when he was awarded the medal was broadcasted to millions of viewers all around the world and Steiner simply couldn’t help himself but broke out into tears while holding a picture of his wife into the cameras.

The Man Who Moved a Mountain

There are people who say love can move mountains. This might not be physically possible, but Dashrath Manjhi, also known as the ‘Mountain Man’, came quite close. In one day of his life, his wife fell while crossing a nearby hill and hurt herself seriously. She needed quick medical assistance, but that wasn’t possible due to the hill that isolated their small village from the next town. Tragically enough, his wife died from the serious injuries before Dashrath could do anything about it. It was the night when Dashrath Manjhi decided to carve a small path through the mountain in order to give his village easier access to medical assistance.

It was an ambitious plan and he was heavily ridiculed for it. But after working for 22 years with the greatest determination and willpower, a path was carved into the hill. Even though he was initially mocked and ridiculed for his mission to give his hometown easier access to the nearby town, he finally succeeded. His life’s work helped to reduce the distance between the two towns from 55 km to only 15 km, so that never again such a thing would happen.

The Shark - Short Story By Leo Tolstoy

Once, a ship was anchored off the coast of Africa. The weather was pleasant in the morning, but a hot breeze from the Sahara desert made it extremely hot and humid towards evening.

Just before sunset, the captain came on deck and called out, "Time for a swim."

Immediately sailors jumped into the water, lowered a canvas mat and made it into a swimming pool. They had been waiting for this moment the whole day.

There were two young boys on the ship. They both jumped in, but swam out into the open sea since it was too crowded inside the ‘pool’. They played and chased each other in the open sea. Their fathers cheered them on, often egging one of the boys to prove his mettle over the other.

Suddenly, somebody from the deck called out, "Shark! Shark!"

Confusion and panic ensued, and everyone scrambled to safety. Everyone, except the two boys. They had not heard the shouts.

The shark was moving towards the boys.

The gunner shouted, "Come back my boys! There is a shark out there!" One of the boys was his son. For the first time in his life, he didn’t know what to do. He could not think clearly.

The people on the deck screamed hysterically. But the boys could not hear them. They continued to play and to swim, oblivious to the monstrous danger approaching them fast.

The gunner's face became as white as a sheet. He could feel the ground under his feet slipping away. He appeared to go into a trance.

The sailors lowered a boat, jumped into it and rowed towards the boys. Just then, one of the boys looked back and saw the large animal he knew too well. He screamed with fright. The other boy heard the screams and saw the shark. Panic seized them, and they began to swim in different directions.

Their screams brought the gunner back to his senses, and he rushed towards the cannon. He turned the barrel of the cannon, aimed it and lit the wick. He had to get it right. If he made a slight mistake in direction, all would be lost.

A shot rang out. The gunner dropped down beside the cannon and covered his face with his hands.

There was complete silence. No one could see what had happened to the shark and the boys, as the smoke was too thick. When it faded, people roared with joy. The gunner got up and looked out at the sea. The dead shark was floating on the waves with its yellow belly up.

Then the boat reached the boys and brought them back to the ship.

The gunner allowed himself a smile.

The Little Girl And Mushrooms

The Little Girl And Mushrooms

Short Story By Leo Tolstoy

Innocence and love are characteristic features of little children. Leo Tolstoy’s story about two sisters meeting with a near disaster brings out the extent of innocence, heart wrenching emotions and love that are the hall marks of kids all over the world. Read on to familiarize yourself with this story.

It was a fine summer morning, perfect to be outdoors. Two sisters had been out mushroom picking, and were on their home with heavy baskets full of mushrooms. They sang songs on the way, and played with each other.

Soon they reached a point where they had to cross a railway track. They did not think twice about crossing it since there was no train coming, and they could not hear any whistle. They slowly climbed the embankment to cross the track, taking care not to drop the baskets. They were very near the track and the little sister was about the cross it, when they heard the distinct horn of a train.

The older sister got frightened and ran back. She thought that the young one was following her. She turned back and was shocked to see her little sister still crossing the track. “Come back here, run back fast,” she screamed.

It seemed that the little girl could not hear her sister. She was still concentrating on stepping over the track with her little feet, and holding on to the basket. Then she tripped and fell on the track, scattering her mushrooms around. She sat down and began picking them up and putting in her basket.

In the meanwhile the elder sister had become hysteric. She cried and screamed, calling her little sister to leave the mushrooms and run back, but it seemed as though the little one could not hear her.

The engine driver panicked on seeing the girl and blew his whistle with all his might, but she appeared not to hear the whistle. Her sister was now crying loudly, overcome by panic, as the little sister crawled between the tracks on her hands and knees, to pick the rest of the mushrooms.

The engine driver was helpless as it was not possible for him to stop the engine suddenly. He blew the whistle as hard as he could, but the engine rolled over the little girl. The older sister clasped her face with her trembling hands and cried bitterly. The passengers too panicked at the thought of the sight they would have to witness. The guard ran down to the end of the train to see what happened to the little girl. When the train passed, everybody saw her lying very still between the tracks with her face down.

Then she raised her head, sprang to her knees and began gathering the remaining mushrooms.

The big sister ran towards her, tears streaming down her face. They hugged and kissed each other, crying out of happiness, tears of joy flowing down their little cheeks. Never were two souls so happily united as at that moment. She promised her little sister that thereafter she would hold her hand tightly while crossing the railway line.

The two sisters then picked all the remaining mushrooms, and hand in hand, solemnly walked back home. They were indeed two souls who had become wiser than their years, in the span of a few minutes.

Beautiful Garden

The story is told of a nobleman who had a lovely floral garden. The gardener who tended it took great pains to make the estate a veritable paradise. One morning he went into the garden to inspect his favorite flowers. To his dismay he discovered that one of his choice beauties had been cut from its stem. Soon he saw that the most magnificent flowers from each bed were missing. Filled with anxiety and anger, he hurried to his fellow employees and demanded, "Who stole my treasures?"

One of his helpers replied, "The nobleman came into his garden this morning, picked those flowers himself, and took them into his house. I guess he wanted to enjoy their beauty." The gardener then realized that he had no reason to be concerned because it was perfectly right for his master to pick some of his own prize blossoms.

Asking Not, Expecting Not

Our Daily Bread, June 4, 1997

Imagine what a heavy schedule of appointments President Abraham Lincoln had to keep day after day. Yet when an elderly woman with no official business in mind asked to see him, he graciously consented.

As she entered Lincoln's office, he rose to greet her and asked how he might be of service. She replied that she had not come to ask a favor. She had heard that the President liked a certain kind of cookie, so she had baked some for him and brought them to his office.

With tears in his eyes, Lincoln responded, "You are the very first person who has ever come into my office asking not, expecting not, but rather bringing me a gift. I thank you from the bottom of my heart."