How can adversity help you?
That’s the question WCIA sports reporter Brett Behrens posed to students at Mahomet-Seymour Junior High students Wednesday as he shared his story of unexpected adversity after graduating from Mahomet-Seymour High School.
Behrens began by telling students how his now wife, Jenna, turned down his invitation to become his girlfriend in sixth grade. After being friends for many years, Jenna decided to become his girlfriend after high school, right before his accident.
In 2005, while working towards becoming a broadcaster at Parkland, Behrens worked for a cell phone company. A self-proclaimed “adrenaline junkie,” Behrens said he enjoyed working on cell phone towers. But on June 13, 2006, he was catapulted 80-feet in the air.
Behrens said he was lucky enough to land on his feet, but he broke both ankles, both legs and suffered an injury to his aorta. When Behrens woke from his 13-day coma, he was without his left leg, which had to be amputated.
To a silent gymnasium, Behrens told students he woke up to a lot of adversity. He explained to the students that in those moments, when life does not go as you expect it to, there are choices to make. He told them that their response to those experiences will affect the rest of their lives.
Behrens decided to do two things. He decided to live in the present moment and he decided that no matter what, he would have a good attitude.
Although Behrens had to learn to walk again, he went back to Parkland College after a two-month hospital stay. He continued onto Southern Illinois University where he studied television. After he graduated, he became a sports broadcaster for an ABC affiliate in Southern Illinois before returning home to Champaign-Urbana where he works for WCIA.
Behrens told students that the most successful people he knows have a positive outlook and attitude. He told them that in their lives, they would face adversity, and that each student would have a choice to make in that moment.
Last week, Behrens’ co-worker, 21-year old Brett Lerner died on his way to cover a Friday night football game in Fisher. Behrens made a point to tell students that life can be over in a blink of an eye. He encouraged them to make positive choices while they still could.
While losing a leg may seem like the worst thing that could happen, Behrens told students that losing his leg was the best adversity that could have happened in his life. He now looks forward to giving 100-percent each day to be the best husband, father and broadcaster he can be.
