SANTA ROSA BEACH — It’s been a little more than two years since Chance McMinn’s life was changed forever.
On July 23, 2011, McMinn fell from the top floor of his four-story condominium on Walton County Road 30A in Santa Rosa Beach. He punctured his lungs and broke his pelvic bone, the L1 and L2 vertebrae and femur, and suffered a brain injury. Doctors told his wife, Stephanie, that he had 72 hours to live.
“I was at a birthday party with the kids,” Stephanie recalled. “It was the worst call of my life.”
Born with Rh disease, the 41-year-old McMinn already had beat the odds well before his fall.
“He had to have five blood transfusions. Doctors told his mom he didn’t have a chance, but she said ‘Oh yes he does,’ and that’s where his name came from,” Stephanie said.
Over the past two years McMinn again has beaten the odds to make incredible progress in his recovery.
“When I met Chance, he could not walk, he could not speak,” said his nurse, Maria Schabla. “Now he walks by himself, speaks a lot more clearly and even started working. I’m normally working with people that aren’t getting any better. His progress is mind-blowing.”
McMinn still has a ways to go to reach independence. He struggles with walking and speaking full sentences clearly, and his left arm still is atrophied. His medical benefits also are waning, but his attitude has changed for the better.
“God healed my soul first and my body second,” he said.
“Prior to this accident, Chance was living for Chance,” Stephanie said. “He’s always been a good-hearted, generous guy, but he was a little wild and consumed of the world. Now he sees the importance of putting God first.”
McMinn has given up drinking and smoking. “I don’t even crave it,” he said.
“I’m glad something good got knocked into you,” Stephanie said with a laugh.
The couple lived comfortably before the accident, but with McMinn unable to work and mounting medical bills, Stephanie has had to make every dollar stretch. She runs a cleaning business as well as her faith-based charity, Be Generous, which she founded in 2009.
Seeing his wife go above and beyond to keep the family going is “awesome,” McMinn said.
“She’s the strongest women I ever met. She’s my motivation.”
With the help of Stephanie, McMinn is working again through his Redeemed Properties LLC, the name signifying his recent redemption. He works with subcontractors to remodel houses, and although he’s antsy to get out of the house, he can at least find solace in work.
When it comes to caring for her husband and five children, ages 4 to 19, Stephanie is as surprised as anyone how she manages every month. However, she doesn’t look for handouts or sympathy.
“A lot of people see this as a tragedy, as a traumatic situation,” she said. “But we look at is as a blessing. We changed for the better.”
With a message from God, McMinn is giving back by reaching out to people who are struggling with addiction or other problems. He freely gives out his email, redeemedme@yahoo.com, to anyone looking for a friend to talk to.
After another conversation with God, McMinn was given the idea to take his message to the public. On Father’s Day he lugged an 8-foot wooden cross on wheels along U.S. Highway 98 in Destin. He took about five steps on his own without a cane. Friends and family were there to support him, waving signs that read: “Honk if you love Jesus.”
“It was Father’s Day and I wanted to represent the real Father in heaven,” McMinn said.
By next year, McMinn sees himself out of the wheelchair and out from behind his computer. Stephanie agrees. “Next year, you’ll be walking,” she said.
“I see myself totally healed,” McMinn said. “I’m believing for a complete miracle, voice and all.”