09 August, 2020

Johnny 'Joey' Jones: I marked my 'Alive Day' this week, 10 years after losing my legs, and want to share this

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/johnny-joey-jones-alive-day-losing-legs

I've often looked back on that day with conflicting emotions. I’m grateful to have lived through it and angry about having to live with its permanent effects on my life.

But now, ten full years later, I realize this isn’t just some amazingly unique experience I have.

No, not many of us live through war but all of us survive life.

We live through bankruptcy, divorce, cancer and losing loved ones. But we’re all still here, not just making the best of our circumstances, but making our circumstances the best life we can live.

We get up every morning and decide the pain and frustration is worth it. That the smiles on the faces of our spouses and children make life a fight worth fighting and victories worth celebrating.

As one of a select few who is permanently attached to an “Alive Day” let me be clear -- we aren’t just the resentment of war, we are the resilience of war.

We are grateful to be alive and damn lucky to be Americans.

To each and every American struggling today to make it until tomorrow, let today be your “Alive Day” -- the day you chose to live. The day you get to look your pain and the uncertain path ahead in the eye and say, “I win.”