[Bad@ssCamaro]

Originally Posted by Hammer St. James

Now that I am home I can type this on my laptop instead of the iphone.

Allow me to share one the "dark hours" in my life. This may offer some encouragement and hope.

When I was 29 years old I knocked up my live-in girlfriend of 4 years. I was an aspiring guitarist in a promising local band that was just getting some attention. The music biz is a tough area to break into and the rock n roll highway is littered with the corpses of those that dared to tread down that road. I gave up the scene and was compelled to "do the right thing" and get a real job to support my kid. So I enrolled in truck driving school and scored a gig hauling a different kind of heavy metal.

11 months into my new profession and through a hydraulic failure I low bridged a train trestle. I was left with 6 compressed discs, a herniated disc, and pinched nerves along my spine. I was bed-ridden and could not walk more than 12 steps for 2 years. Modern medicine and physical therapy didnt help. On top of that my employer fought my comp case all the way to the state supreme court. I couldnt work and I didnt receive any benefits. I needed to take care of my baby and this crushed my spirit and morale.

Somehow we stayed alive although we didnt have a telephone and the utilities were constantly getting shut off at my house. We were truly living on a prayer.

I gave up on the doctors and therapists and decided to give chiropractic a chance. What did I have to lose? I had over 200 visits in one year and there was much improvement. I was still in incredible amount of pain but at least I could stand straight and walk short distances, albeit very slowly.

About this time, my girlfriend's habits began to change. She was becoming aloof and distant. She would leave the house more often. I had a feeling that she was cheating on me but would deny it up and down.

I eventually won my back pay which amounted to $23k. After paying the bills that accumulated I had around 18k in a joint account with my girlfriend.

One night I went to the atm to get some cash for dinner and the machine said I had ZERO in my account. WTF? I head home empty handed. "Sorry honey, atm says I'm broke. We dont eat tonight". She says that there must be a mistake, call the bank in the morning.

I wake up in the morning to find a dear john letter written on my computer. I called the bank and all my money had been withdrawn. I drove the kid to school and 2 hours later she took the kid out of school and I didnt see or hear from them for three years.

I was devastated. Broke, out of work, lost my kid, and about to lose my home. The tramp slandered my name throughout town and lost most of my friends. I had to move out and rent out my home to just to get the money together to pay the real estate taxes. My dad took me in, thankfully.

I'm not very religious but I began to pray for guidance. My life was in shambles. I was directed to call the county occupation rehab office. I
went through a battery of tests and was offered an education of my choice (within my physical limits). I choose medical technology and enrolled in school.

I busted my ass to score a gpa of 3.45. After graduation, I landed a gig for a large medical institution. Today, I have a 3 bedroom ranch in a nice 'burb, 2 Harleys, a Honda, 3 cars including a brand new Camaro, plus many other toys and gadgets. I am dating a great chick and I found my daughter on facebook and am trying to rebuild our relationship.

It was truly a dark tunnel I was traveling. It took time, perseverance, and a desire to live better than my ex. She is living in the ghetto with a drunk and her mother and sister while I'm rollin' large.

I hope you find inspiration and hope to carry on.

You sir are an inspiration to what can be acheived when you start to believe in who and what you can do and what can be overcome Kudos and much future success will follow