A Cycling Obsession and a Life-Altering Crash

Scott La Point was cycling on a seldom-used highway in Shreveport, Louisiana, at age 30 when an 8-ton food delivery truck hit him from behind. He was wearing his helmet. The force of the collision sent his body flying through the air. It landed 72 feet down the road. He sustained a severe traumatic brain injury, spent four days in a coma, and had no memory for a month. After waking from the coma he faced the long work of relearning to walk unassisted. The hospital granted him a two-day therapeutic leave during rehab. A friend took him to a church service. "The pastor's message compelled me to walk the aisle and give my life to Jesus, something I had done before at age 9," La Point said. That recommitment came after years that had already shaped him. His parents became Christians after an encounter with God in their mid-30s. He attended college several hours from his Florida home. Later, while living in New York City and working as a print journalist, he joined a cycling team. The sport filled his days with training and his weekends with travel to races until the move to Louisiana and the crash that changed everything. Once he regained his footing he visited a support group for people with traumatic brain injuries. There he met survivors who could not walk or speak. From Loveland, Colorado, he submitted his testimony of what followed. He has been married for 22 years and has three sons. After years of schooling he became a licensed psychologist and neuropsychologist. The work places him directly with others who have lived through brain trauma. "This job is an answered prayer and a calling that allows me to minister to 'the least of these,' my fellow brain-injury survivors," La Point said.