A car accident nearly killed Craig Towler, but you won’t catch him dwelling on it. Doctors amputated his legs shortly after the grisly crash, but he feels no hatred or remorse.
Of course, if Towler could go back to that day, he would jump out of the way before the impaired teen drove his car into Towler and severely injured his legs. But he can’t go back. Because he knows that, he looks forward.
First, he looked forward to going outside after his surgery. Next, he looked forward to standing on his own one day. Now, he’s looking forward to walking with his new prostheses without a walker.
Towler is a natural athlete and loves spending time outdoors. Those two interests converged and led Towler to being an event coordinator and timing specialist for BBSC Endurance Sports. The organization puts on races for cyclists, runners, and swimmers, and frequently, they combine all three for triathlons.
Towler had just finished timing a successful race when he was unloading his car. That’s when the impaired teenage driver crashed into Towler from behind, changing his world forever.
“There is a reason that I’m still here, and I’m going to use every moment that I’m here to try and improve myself as well as the people around me,” Towler told Denver 7 News.
Towler has a passion for positivity and for helping people. He also recognized the large number of people who have helped and supported him through these hard days.
In a blog written for Rhone apparel, Towler wrote, “The number of people that are supporting me every day is enormous, and I am overwhelmed by their generosity and kindness. This shows me what a good opportunity I have to spread awareness and inspire change. ”
Many people would have been left embittered by the accident. For Towler, it simply reaffirmed how important time was to him.
He told Denver 7 News, “Things change very quickly. And when things change, the biggest thing for me was that I really understood how valuable time was, and that time could be taken from you just like that.”
A witness to the crash, Seth Muller, helped to apply tourniquets made of belts and shoestrings as instructed by Towler. Muller said, “Everyone at the scene was very impressed by his bravery and courage.” Few would have stayed conscious after such a bad accident; Towler was directing his own rescue operation.
After five surgeries that focused on cleanly amputating his legs, Towler received skin grafts to close the wounds. Then he started focusing on the future.
Towler shares his progress with photos and videos on Instagram. Scrolling through the photos gives you a pretty good picture of Towler’s tenacity.
You can see photos of him rolling his wheelchair outside during a blizzard or lifting massive weights while seated without his prostheses. The only constants are his smile, a positive message, and a relentless march into the future.
Towler has made tremendous progress and is now walking smoothly with a walker and his prostheses. He has a GoFundMe page to help defray some of the tremendous medical costs and to help modify his home for easier living. If anyone deserves a helping hand, it’s certainly Towler.
While so many of us would wallow in a pit of despair if we found ourselves in Towler’s situation, he shows us how to make the most of what we have. We all have something we could despair about. We all have things we could look forward to. And we all have only a short time on this planet to do one or the other.
In the words of Towler, “Choose to be free. Choose to be in control. Life is good.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. We’re looking forward to watching Towler’s progress as he continues to learn to use his prostheses and as he continues sharing his undeniably wise outlook on life.
