Floydie Harris, thankful to walk again
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on November 24, 2016 12:15 AM
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Floydie Harris, sporting his "new leg," which he began wearing in May 2015, more than two years after the accident where he was struck by a fully loaded semi truck that left the roadway while outside his Dudley home repairing a fence. After more than 20 surgeries, including a partial leg amputation, physical therapy and a journey that had him going from a walker to a wheelchair, he has returned to working in construction and credits his faith with sustaining him throughout.
It's been nearly four years since Floydie Harris was struck by a fully-loaded semi truck while repairing a fence at his Dudley home.
In the time since, he has undergone more than 20 surgeries, including the partial amputation of his right leg, and faced some sobering obstacles along the way.
Despite all that, there is one word that comes to mind as he and his wife, Rhonda Harris, reflect on the unexpected turn their lives took on that Jan. 31 day in 2013 -- Thankful.
"What an appropriate time to catch up as we celebrate Thanksgiving this week," Mrs. Harris said. "The Lord has surely given us much to be thankful for. We are reminded every day how blessed we are."
At the outset, the prospects looked pretty grim, the couple said.
They had just moved into the house on Pecan Road two months before, and Floydie was starting his own construction business.
The accident sidelined the business, and the family, which included their four children.
"At that time, acquiring a prosthetic leg was still a long way off with much work and many surgeries still ahead of me in preparation for that day," Harris says now. "The process was daunting, to say the least and at times it seemed it would never end. There were so many setbacks."
The recovery process included months of physical therapy and a transition from a walker to a wheelchair, to finally being fitted for his "new leg," which Harris wore for the first time on May 6, 2015.
"It took some getting used, that's for sure," he said. "I continued to rely on my wheelchair for the majority of the day at that time, and I used my walker whenever I walked.
"Once I got adapted to my leg I was able to trade my walker for a cane. And a few months later I started walking without any assistance at all. It took longer than I had hoped it would take to be able to walk again, but I thank God every day that I can get around now."
Prior to the accident, he was a general contractor. He built residential homes as well as additions and models, but also did commercial work, which included churches, hotels and apartments.
That all came into question when the accident happened.
"I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to go back to that kind of work again," he said. "It takes a lot of physical endurance to work in that field, and I was frail after being flat on my back for a month. I had lost over 40 pounds and had endured multiple surgeries."
He set out to resume driving, in a handicap van, although it did not have hand controls. He said he didn't want to rely on them anyway, preferring to become as self-sufficient as possible.
Then the calls started coming in from former clients who wanted him to consult on some jobs as soon as he was able.
"I wasn't sure how I was going to put everything back together again since my business had to be shut down after the accident," he said. "My son and all my guys finished up what I had going on that time, but after that they all had to find work. They still had to make a living.
"And though it took a year or so of recovery after the accident to be able to get things going again, I'm glad to say that all my guys are back working for me, and my sub-contractors continue to help me as well in other areas of my business."
His determination has paid off, which he also credits to his faith.
"There is absolutely no doubt that the Lord has been and continues to be my strength," he said. "I couldn't do anything apart from Him."
The couple admits there were a lot of "dark days" following the accident, even with the strong faith they share.
"No matter how much faith you have or how much you trust the Lord there is no way to go through all that we've been through and not be changed by it," Mrs. Harris said. "We couldn't make sense of the profound loss we were experiencing nor of all the consequences that were a result of such a traumatic accident."
Faith, she said, cannot be manufactured. That, too, has been a gift from God.
"When we felt we were running on empty some days, we could ask God to increase our faith in Him, and He was faithful to do so," she said.
Wearing a prosthetic is "hard work," Harris said. It takes effort and places strain on his other leg at the same time.
"Every step I take must be thought about," he said. "I have to carefully navigate the different terrains I encounter on the job or even in just the day-to-day routine of life.
He still tires easily, so he has learned to pace himself.
"It's easy for people who know him to forget all he's been through and all he continues to go through just to keep going because he pushed through no matter what," Mrs. Harris said. "Floydie has never backed down from a challenge. He lives with pain every single day of his life, and he always will."
Despite the challenges, and the storms they have weathered, Mrs. Harris says she is very proud of her husband.
"I'm proud of his strength and determination to keep moving forward. He has not let this accident define him as a person. He very easily could have given up when things looked bleak, but he didn't," she said.
The last few years have not been easy for their children, she said, but they have been resilient and are doing well.
Their oldest son, Floydie, and his wife, Jessica, had a little boy, "our first grandbaby," Rhonda Harris said. Their other son, Landon, got married a little more than a year ago to Maryanne.
"They work and live in Raleigh," she said.
"Troy graduated from high school and has been enrolled at Wayne Community College, and Carson is in the eighth grade at Faith Christian Academy.
"Like all parents, we pray our children never have to go through trials and hardships ... our greatest prayer for all of them is that they would always live for the Lord and depend on Him for everything."
The Harrises are also grateful to the outpouring of support received from their church, Faith Free Will Baptist, their family members and "countless others" for the prayers, the notes and the fundraisers.
Over a year ago, they left the home where the accident happened, moving into a home not too far away, in Goldsboro.
"Our driveway is about a mile off the road, which provides peace of mind after all that we've been through," Mrs. Harris said. "We still have some things to do to make it more handicap accessible as well as some repairs, but being where we are now has allowed for healing, and in some ways it has helped to put everything behind us since we aren't still having to see where it all happened every day."