He is completely fine, yet I couldn’t stop my tears. Tanner took us to the cliff and recounted the incident. Ironically, we had just practiced falling at Tae Kwon Do the night before.” Landing on my side also kept me from being paralyzed. All of my injuries were on my left side and my right side was fine. "All the falling practice we do in class has made me naturally go to my side when I’m falling and my injuries prove it. I believe that Tae Kwon Do helped save my life and prevented me from having more serious injuries, along with a little bit of luck. In his words, Tanner writes: “I remember a little voice in my head telling me to relax and it would be OK.
The doctors told him was he was lucky to not be paralyzed or killed. Amazingly, his injuries were only a concussion, bruised left ribs and lung, broken left scapula, and his left knee was pretty banged up. The rescue took an hour to get him to the local hospital three minutes away. The EMTs had to use chain saws on the bushes to get to him. His head narrowly missed a boulder, and a rusty metal chair was inches from where he landed. He didn’t scream or make a sound as he fell 30 feet to the ground below. Right before midnight when the party was over, (and no, there was no alcohol involved), Tanner took one wrong step backward and disappeared off the cliff. Tanner’s family lives in northeast Iowa, bluff country, not flat corn land. Last May, Tanner and friends had an end-of-year bonfire celebration, burning their school papers. Tanner credits his Tae Kwon Do training in saving his life. He’s also a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. He is student council class rep, in National Honor Society, and will be attending Boys State in June.īesides all the above and good grades, Tanner has a booming business of lawn mowing and snow removal. He plays golf, basketball, and runs cross country. Now in high school, he is in chamber choir and madrigal choir. Tanner has been in band and choir, making the Iowa state Opus choir as an eighth-grader. That accomplishment alone attests to his character and perseverance, but he does so much more. We recently went to Iowa for his Eagle Scout ceremony. Tanner’s now 17 and like other kids then again, he truly stands apart. What do we truly love about other people? The qualities that set them apart.” At that moment, I’m sure his folks wished that he didn’t need a zapper or pill, but never would they wish he was just like everybody else. He wanted to be like other kids who went to bed without shots and pills. In 2003, I wrote: “Tanner was tired and just wanted to go to sleep. His body does not produce human growth hormone or cortisol. Years ago, I wrote about my godson Tanner, who as a tired little boy made the comment, “I wish I was like everybody else.”