On the afternoon of August 25, 2008 as I drove out to the Hamptons could have been the very last time I walked, talked or even been alive. That day marks a turning point as the trauma of what happened that day taught me a valuable life lesson. I was looking forward to a nice relaxing week with some friends. We were all walking out to sit on the deck at the house I was staying at and as I was not afraid of heights, I went to sit on the deck railing. As I began to raise myself onto the railing, I misjudged my strength and boosted myself right over. I landed 20 feet down onto the ground on my neck and was air lifted to the hospital.
Upon arrival the doctors found that I had bruised my lung and hip and broken the right side of my neck. For a while I didn’t realize how dramatic my fall was. It wasn’t until I started my physical therapy and was shown x-rays of the bone I had broken that I realized the intensity of the damage that had been done. The doctor told me how lucky I was that the bone I had broken in my neck was “the one bone you can break a hundred times and not have permanent damage’. It wasn’t until then did it really hit me how incredibly lucky I was. I began to take inventory of my life-not thinking just about where my career was going, or how much money I was making, but about LIFE. How beautiful yet fragile and short life is. It seems incredible, but it took an accident and a near brush with paralysis to teach me lessons that I thought I already knew.
I realized that some people want to be your friend when you are on the cover of a magazine, or on the red carpet. But where are those people when you need help to get into a shower because you can barely walk? In a time of need your true friends surface and I learned that the people I thought were my true friends were the ones who were abandoning me when I needed them most.
After healing physically I still hadn’t dealt with the emotional aspect of healing. I started to question why me? What was it that I was doing right that I was blessed with a second chance at life? Why is it that I fell 20 feet and came out okay, but people can trip over a rock and die? I came to the conclusion that I can’t dwell on those things and have them make me sad. I started to weed through all the negative people that surrounded me and eliminate the negative energy that others brought. I know what you’re saying to yourself – easier said than done right? I’m not saying that I am happy go lucky every day. Life has its challenges, but I have learned to value the ups and downs.
It has been a year today and I have such a big smile on my face and the most amazing friends and family. I think that my second chance at life has taught me to try harder to share my positive happy energy and I hope that I can put a smile on others faces. Now I fully understand what it means to say ‘at least you have your health’.
Julie
Editor’s Note: Model Julie Henderson has been making strides in her ever evolving career and has recently landed in American Photo Magazine. The exclusive interview with famed photographer Antoine Verglas describes Julie as a model who knows how to “feel and look sexy”. Verglas lauds her ability to strike poses she knows will be flattering and enticing.
