Why Not Me By Carlos Valdez

My Story

Hello, my name is Carlos Valdez. I am from the colorful state of Colorado. I was born on December 18, 2007, in Hemet, California. If you see me in person or if you know me, you might notice that I have one major difference from other people. That difference is, not having legs. I was not born this way however.

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Growing up I've always loved the water. I love lake days, pools, and just swimming in general. I was always the kid full of excitement. I loved the adrenaline rush. I was always looking for things that would give me a sudden rush of adrenaline. One summer, I got an adrenaline rush, but it was not in the way most people think. I was nine years old the summer of July 3, 2017.

It was the summer after third grade and I would be going into fourth after that summer. It was a huge family gathering at lake Minitare, Nebraska. It was a perfect summer day. When I say perfect I mean perfect. It was hot, no breeze at all, calm, and peaceful. My grandfather Rigo, had just gotten his boat fixed and couldn't wait to test it out. He was giving people rides on it all morning and afternoon. Now I was giving my cousins rides on a paddle board we had.

I came into shore for a capri-sun and as I was going back out my mom Lizeth came up the hill. She was yelling at me to put a life vest on. Oh I wanted to ignore her so bad being the stubborn nine year old I was but she said something that made me think twice. She said, "no life vest, no paddle board." I reluctantly agreed. My cousin Alvaro whom I'm very close with wanted to ride with me. So we set sail out onto the lake.

Now my grandfather was going to change spots with my uncle David because he was hungry. Right before they switched the boat jams in reverse. I could hear my mom and grandma screaming but I didn't listen. All I remember after that is falling into the water. Well it turns out the boat hit the paddle board and I got swept under. That's just a portion of my story.