When the doctor said, ‘You’ll never use your legs again …’ On a scale of one to ten, that was a twelve. It was like a vacuum sucked all the air out of me.&uot;

Eddie Ray’s deep dark eyebrows tensed at that statement; his low voice sunk even lower. He breathed deeply and continued.

&uot;(My wife) Sherrie and I cried … it’s a feeling you get when everything is lost. I had hit rock bottom, and I said to myself, ‘I can’t even walk my way out of this pit.’ We said, ‘We’re going to prove you wrong.’ And the doctor said, ‘I hope you can.’ Well, we’ve been proving them wrong ever since … because of God … because of God.&uot;

Ray’s eyes intensified and his voice strengthened.

&uot;Watch this.&uot;

He called his two sons, Charles and Claude, to stand before him.

Ray reached out to them and with effort slowly pulled himself to his feet and stood for three minutes. A painful gleam came over his face.

&uot;You ask for things and God will give them to you,&uot; he said emphatically.

Ray’s life changed a beautiful warm day Jan. 18.

That afternoon, Ray and his brother-in-law, Michael Anderson, traveled to a friend’s hunting camp in Jefferson County.

Ray decided to use a &uot;climbing tree stand,&uot; and he moved the stand about 20 feet above the ground. His brother-in-law was within radio contact but a distance from Ray.

&uot;I sat there about 45 minutes or and hour,&uot; Ray recalled. &uot;The wind picked up, so I decided to come down. I was getting ready to lower myself and the upper part of the stand didn’t bite to the tree, and that’s when I fell out. I landed on my back; it hurt so bad I rolled over on my stomach. I started yelling, ‘Michael! Michael!’ He called me on the radio, but I couldn’t reach the radio. He kept hollering, ‘Eddie, I’m coming to you.’

&uot;I got to my phone and I called my wife. I was screaming. I said, ‘I’ve fallen, and I can’t feel my legs. I’m hurting. I’m hurting.&uot;

Ray, scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 170, dug into his knowledge of survival.

&uot;I knew I was in trouble. I felt that I was going to crawl up that hill if I needed to. I tried to keep my mind clear. I had to stay focused and alert.&uot;

Anderson did reach Ray and called for an ambulance, but rescue was still almost an hour away. When paramedics arrived, they had to get Ray out of the woods on a four-wheeler, making rescue excruciating.

A practical man, Ray kept thinking about things he had planned to do around the house, Scout meetings and programs, his work with Redd Pest Control and other details. He became concerned not about himself but about not fulfilling his obligations.

At the hospital, staff cut off his clothes, X-rayed him and gave him pain killers.

&uot;They told me, ‘there is no one in Natchez who can help you.’&uot;

He was transported to the University Medical Center in Jackson.

That’s when he was told he’d never walk again.

In the four months since his return from the hospital, Ray’s life has changed more than just a little.

He cannot drive, dress himself, get out of bed without help, go to work, take his Scouts on a camp out, play football with his boys and do many other things he took for granted.

&uot;You think the world cannot do without you,&uot; Ray said. &uot;In fact, the world goes on. I found out there are really great people in Natchez and Woodville … that’s where the customers I service live. I know their dogs’ and cats’ names, and their aunts and uncles and brothers and sisters, that’s how close we became over the years. Those people sent me cards and called.&uot;

His sons, true to the Scout law of being helpful, and his daughter, Maryann, also took on a larger role in Ray’s life … they became Ray’s legs.

&uot;They help me get in and out of the bed; they load the wheelchair in and out of the van. They ask me, ‘Daddy, do you need me to push you?’ And I say, ‘No … I want to be as independent as I can. I don’t want to be a burden.’&uot;

Even in his incapacitated condition, Ray has continued to teach his children important lessons.

&uot;I was in shock at first … I cried,&uot; Charles Ray said. &uot;I’m glad to know he’s still alive. If he wasn’t, I wouldn’t know what to do. He taught us so many things to help us through life. Without him, it would be a hard road to travel.&uot;

Ray also continued working with Charles and Claude at the Boy Scout troop, helping his oldest of three children to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout.

On a recent Monday evening, with Ray in full Scout leader uniform, Charles received the Eagle Badge during the solemn Eagle Court of Honor at the Community Chapel Church of God, which sponsors Troop 170. On that same night, Claude earned his First Class rank.

&uot;I felt like crying,&uot; Charles said. &uot;I had to bend over to hug him, and seeing him not standing gave me a sad feeling in my heart.&uot;

Although Ray cannot work, he still contributes his time to Scouts, the Natchez Kiwanis Club, his church, the Covington Road Church of God, the America Red Cross, and a variety of other causes.

As he said, &uot;Even though my legs can’t work, that doesn’t mean I can’t.&uot;

Besides being pragmatic, Ray also is devout.

He even said that his accident might have improved his life.

&uot;The only reason I can come up with is so I can witness to God … if I haven’t let this get me down and show that my faith is strong. A lot of people say, ‘I’ll get close to God when tragedy strikes.’ I’ve been close to God already. I can show people miracles do happen. God has blessed

me with a great wife … with wonderful kids.

&uot;Now, God has given me this challenge: to prove to people who have never seen God’s work that God’s hand is in everything in this world.&uot;

As his son, Claude said, &uot;Every day is like seeing God’s mystery.&uot;