Loved ones make each day Valentine's

Being Valentines Day, follow along with me as I relate a sweet love story

More than 10 years ago I sat in a room and listened while Jason Hall, a young friend from New Canaan, Conn., spoke to a group of young adults about his life.

At 15, Jason, an athletic young man who loved to play football, water ski and live life with the joy and abandon of the teenager, was having a great life.

On a family vacation to Lake Powell, he took a dive that was to change his life forever.

He hit a sandbar head on and heard the horrible sound of his neck cracking. He then remembers knowing he was drowning as he felt himself floating deeper into the water.

Now a C5-6 quadriplegic, he was unable to move in the water, when suddenly, inexplicably, he felt himself emerging on top of the water with his arm outstretched into the air. It was an impossible miracle and a consolation through the pain of recovery that he still must have things to accomplish in his life.

It is easy to imagine the pain of recuperation, the mental anguish and the fear of social failure that faced Jason. It was the social part that seemed harder.

As Jason said, "I've had thousands of concerns and worries about being disabled from that first day to today, but I will never forget my first. As I lay in the ER I wondered, 'Who will be my friend? What girl would want to go to a dance with a guy in a wheelchair? What guy would want to hang out with someone who could no longer water ski and play football?' "

As it turned out Jason was blessed, for there was many a girl who found him charming and handsome, and plenty of guys who wanted to answer the call and say, "I will be his friend." It was only his legs that didn't work, and the Jason who was their friend was still there.

He graduated from high school, went to college and because of his leadership skills was elected student body president of Brigham Young University.

He met a lovely girl named Kolette who chose to marry him. He got a great job as a financial planner where his success qualified as part of the top 6 percent of the professionals in that field worldwide.

Life was turning out just fine for him when once again tragedy struck.

One of the tires on his specially equipped van blew out while driving on the interstate. The force of the blowout caused his vehicle to veer out of control crossing several lanes of traffic, through the median, and eventually hitting cars on the other side.