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Mrs. Appleby,
You have a beautiful family! The MAKUS video is a powerful testimony. My husband, who is this big S.W.A.T. team police officer, could not hold back tears when we watched it as a family. When I was 18 years old, I was thrown out of a car. Being under the influence of alcohol, the driver and I were too stupid to realize or care about seatbelts. The accident was on Blue Springs Road in Cleveland, Tennessee, in September of 1992. It was on all the news channels. That’s how the driver’s parents found out about the accident; though the media did not release names, his parents recognized the car. I was Life Forced to Erlanger Hospital and diagnosed with a broken leg and six fractured vertebrae at the top of my spine. I still suffer from these today. I had windshield glass lodged in my face. They removed all they could, and the doctor told me the rest would work themselves out over time. I had just begun modeling and, the day before the accident, had returned from New York where I had signed a contract with a modeling and acting agency. Due to my condition, they passed me up and signed someone else. I gave up on modeling, not because of the dismissed contract, but because of the depression I went through after the wreck. The driver was pinned in the car and received a dislocated shoulder, head trauma and scars he still has today. The State Trooper who worked our wreck said it was a miracle I survived. I landed in between a pond and pile of brush. One foot more either way, and I wouldn’t have made it.
Some of us go through a full, long life and never understand what we’re here for. In Michael’s short but beautiful life, he made such an impact on his peers that I believe God saw this angelic boy and used him as a chance to keep adults, teens and children safer. You paid the ultimate price in losing a child, but Michael is the ultimate gift because MAKUS saves lives! Michael planted a seed in all of us the day he died, and the harvest has been and will always be plenty.
When I showed the video at our school meeting last night, you could have heard a pin drop for the first few minutes. One teacher said, “If I had my entire life savings, I’d give it to MAKUS right here and now.” I think our teachers are agreeing to help because they realize what a gift MAKUS is to us and our entire school, and the least we can do is support you and MAKUS 100%. I am so excited about the program we are going to kick off in March.
Sincerely,
Tiffany Crider
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