If I die young: The story of the man who saved my life

In the fall of 2005, I began my freshman year of high school. Scared and nervous, I had no idea that the upcoming year would change my life forever; Had I known that I would fall in love, true, true love only to lose him in a fatal car accident 6 months later... I would still do it all the same.

JD Ervin was a junior when I was just a wee little freshmen. Of course, I knew exactly who he was before he knew who I was. At 6'4" 230 pounds of solid muscle, he was a hard fella to miss :) Plus the fact that he was one of the most popular guys in school, captain of the football team, and extremely good looking also had something to do with it.

I met JD for the first time at a JV football game, right after I had finished my softball game. I was a freshmen, starting on varsity so I was feeling pretty darn good about life. We had just beat a team ranked higher than us so it was a pretty big deal, ha. I went to the football game directly after, still in uniform, head held high, and everything. JD was sitting with some people that I knew so I went and talked to them, not thinking much of it. When I started telling said friends about the game, JD chimed in with his big ol' grin and said, "so wait... you won right?!" I shakily/giddily replied with, "YEAH WE DID!" He then proceeded to give me a high five and a congratualtions. I literally about pee'd my pants from excitement {HE TALKED TO ME!} and swore to never wash my hand again. For the next few months we randomly started chatting in the hallways *hi, hey* what's up*... You know, high school lingo and also on xanga ((anyone remember that?!)). Then one day he gave me his number saying we should hang out sometime. Holy bananas. I was ecstatic. I will never forget talking to my mum saying, "so... should I text him?!" she said, "Why not? What do you have to lose..."
The rest is history! We ended up talking all the time after that, hanging out, making out {yeeeah buddy} and then after a few weeks (which of course in high school time is like 947569587 years) we became an official couple.

We quickly fell madly in love. Not just the typical high school puppy dog love. I mean the real deal, his and her, never part, need each other kind of love. The kind that makes you a better person. The kind that constantly supports you in all you do in life. The kind were nothing else matters except making that person happy for the rest of your life and giving them the world, no matter what the cost. The kind where neither person loves the other more, just simply equal amounts of unconditional love. When I would travel to my mums house for the weekends (divorced parents) he began traveling with me and staying the weekend with my family there because we couldn't stand to be apart for more than a day. He was literally everywhere I was, and I with him. We began talking about the future and making plans for his football career (as he was already getting letters from OU, TU, and OSU to play-- seriously, kid was a beast). He decided that he would play at TU first so he could stay close to me :) Sweet boy. Then, once I graduated we would make a decision on where we wanted to go together.

On the night of April 21st 2005, all those plans we made, all the promises we had said, came to a horrible end. JD and I were out with a big group of our friends, seeing scary movies then driving through the countryside to go see haunted graveyards.. The weird stuff you do in high school that seems so cool at the time. There were so many of us and not many cars, so 8 of us crammed into an Explore Sport SUV, a car that typically sits 5 people. JD and I were in the very back cargo area, sitting horizontal to the direction of the car. We were only going less than 5 minutes up the road... What could go wrong, right? Wrong. On the way to the haunted landing, our driver lost control of the car and we flipped four times, throwing 6 of the 8 of us out of the car, JD and myself included. We each suffered injuries in some way shape or form, mine being a broke pelvis in four different places and a completely shattered left foot. JD suffered severe injuries to his entire body, both internally and externally. Even at his massive size and strength, he was no match for fate.
JD did not pass instantly. We were blessed to have 15 more days with him in a coma before the good Lord called him home on May, 6th 2005.

What most people don't realize is that that night, JD Ervin saved my life. As I said, we were in the very back of the car sitting horizontally with me sitting in between his legs as the car was traveling forward. When JD realized we were going to crash, he wrapped his giant body; arms, legs, head, and all, around me and sheltered me. The detectives said that when we were thrown from the car we were still connected until the impact of the ground separated us. One of JD's injuries was a severed collar bone completely in half. That was from my head hitting his collar bone so hard upon hitting the ground. The detectives said had he not been holding me, there is no way my head and neck could have susatined such force. I am alive because of him. I owe him everything and each day, even if I don't realize it all the time, I am reminded subtly of what a true blessing each breath is.

Why am I telling you this story? Because today, September 19th, JD would have been 24 years old. He would be graduated from college, living his dream somewhere and I would be a proud wifey by his side every step of the way. But, God had a greater plan and He is still using JD to work in me and others each and everyday. I tell his story as a way of honoring him and proving that true love does still exist. I know I am so blessed to have known such a love and will never be able to replace JD's place in my heart. It's been 6 years now since he's been gone. Somedays it's a lifetime ago and others it feels as though it happened but a few weeks ago. I cannot wait to see that giant grin again and feel those big arms around me. He's my angel and I know that he is always with me, just as he always was here on earth.

I love you baby, happy birthday! Don't get too wild up there in heaven. Well, at least until I get there anyway :) Miss you and love you always.
-Your babygirl
John 15:13