Seth
Loughmiller
My name is Seth Loughmiller. I am originally from Idaho
and stall claim to be an Idahoan, but have lived here in
Provo off and on for the last five years, going to school
for a large chunk of that time. About eighteen months ago
I married my wonderful wife Kiersty and we have both been
attending school here at BYU. After being married for
about four months, (a little over a year ago) I was in a
car wreck that broke my T-9 vertebrae supposedly making
me a T-5 paraplegic. Right after my accident I was flown
over to Craig hospital in Denver to start rehabilitation.
I've often wondered why it is called rehab because I felt
like very little was being done to help me get back to
what I had before my accident. Don't get me wrong, there
were many kind therapists and doctors that taught me how
to live in a wheelchair, which was necessary at the time.
Nothing was really ever done to help me walk again and I
was told that chances were pretty slim that I would ever
use the lower half of my body again. I would like to
think I made the best of things, although I can't say
that I was very happy about life.
Three months after my accident I came back to school full
time and did the best I could to make life work. I did
alright, considering what I had gone through and that
Kiersty had to kick me out of bed most mornings. Without
that I probably wouldn't have ever gone to class. In
February I learned about Leighton and the Sit Tall Stand
Tall program from one of Kiersty's friends at school. It
wasn't two days later that we went into Leighton's and I
started the program. It has been the best decision I have
made concerning my health and well being since my
accident. Within the last six months I have learned to
crawl, walk on my knees, and since the end of July I have
been living full time in my leg braces.
I cannot explain how great life is standing up and
looking people in the eyes everywhere I go. This semester
I am going back to school walking and soon enough I will
be walking around without leg braces. It has really been
a miracle and a blessing from the Lord that has taken a
ton of hard work and the support of Kiersty, my parents
and family and Leighton and Rosa.