Life is all about choices

          Life is all about choices. I read a story recently that made me really think about how our decisions affect those around us. It was a story of a basketball coach at Division II Southwest Minnesota State. His name is Brad Bigler and I just want to reflect on one part of his tragic, tragic story. One night in July 2012, Bigler and his family were heading home from a cousin's wedding. Bigler's two oldest children (a 3-year-old and a 2-year-old) had decided to stay behind at the reception, so Bigler and his wife Heather only had one of their children with them, their 5-month-old son Drake. Also in the vehicle was Bigler's wife's grandmother. Bigler was in the passenger seat because he was texting frantically trying to get one of his friends a job, Heather was driving the car. Suddenly Heather screamed the words "He's in our lane! He's in our lane!"
          That's the last thing Bigler remembers. The vehicle that was in their lane ended up slamming into the Bigler's vehicle despite his wife's best attempt to swerve. The Bigler's vehicle ended up in a ditch with the entire passenger side ripped off. Brad Bigler was unconscious. His 5-month-old son Drake wasn't moving. Heather called 911, she thought her husband was dead, Drake was struggling to breathe, she saw a man walking around aimlessly. The man who was wandering about was the driver of the other vehicle, who ended up blowing a .351 blood alcohol level when the police arrived, more than four times the legal limit in Minnesota.
          At the hospital Bigler and his baby boy Drake were in adjacent beds, separated by only a curtain. Both clinging to life. Drake wasn't responding to any test, and doctors told Heather that her 5-month-old baby boy was brain dead and the only thing keeping him alive was the life support. They wheeled Brad Bigler in next to his son, still unconscious, and desperately tried to wake him up. Heather said the doctors were telling Brad "Sir, your son's not going to make it. Do you want to say goodbye?"
          But Brad wouldn't get that chance. He didn't wake up in time. His son died at 10:10 p.m., 50 minutes after the crash. Brad wouldn't wake up until 4 a.m. the next morning after being transferred to another hospital. He would survive, and so did Heather's grandmother. Drake, the 5-month-old boy, was the only one who lost his life.
          The man who killed him, the man who chose to drive at four times the legal limit of blood alcohol content, had been convicted twice before for the same thing. Both times previous he was more than 2.5 times the legal limit. Third time was the charm when he killed a 5-month-old child with his actions. Was justice served? The man pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal vehicular operation and was back on the streets after paying $4,000. The answer is no.
          But I'm not arguing the justice system here. I'm talking about choices. We all make choices every single day. We choose what to eat, what to wear, where to live, where to work. And some of us choose to drink and drive. These choices don't just affect you. They affect everyone around you. They affect people you've never met. They affect people like the Bigler family. And they affect 5-month-old Drake. Some of you may find it difficult to imagine a 5-month-old, but the Bigler family made it easy for you. They played a 5 minute video in court for everyone to see. Some of you may not want to watch this, because odds are you will cry, but you need to. Because this is what was taken from the Bigler family, this is what immature choices can cause, and this is the little boy that a drunk driver killed.

          Calling a cab is easy. Being the designated driver for your friends is easy. Drinking and staying at home is easy. Don't let a 5-month-old child's coffin rest on your conscience. Life is all about choices. Make the right ones. Keep it between the lines.


The full story of the Bigler family can be found here. All credit on research and reporting goes to Jeff Goodman of CBS