With a thankful heart, many happy returns

And now to do something I probably should have done about three months ago.

To be fair, I’ve been here once before, but given the events of my life, that feels like a full lifetime ago. So I owe it to you, the readers to pull a Jay-Z. “Allow me to reintroduce myself.”

Many of you may have seen me walking around the sidelines of various games in the area and wondered, “Who is that weirdo/oversized student walking around with the camera and why?”

Well, to finally introduce myself, my name is Quinten Boyd. This area is home: I was born at Titus Regional Medical Center, I grew up in Naples, graduated from Paul Pewitt, my mom taught at and my brother graduated from Mount Pleasant. I graduated college from Stephen F. Austin State University (axe ‘em, Jacks!) and I have a lot of family in this area. East Texas is home.

Those of you who didn’t already know me may recognize my name from my first stint here at the Tribune, when I was pulling double duty as sports editor here and at the Sulphur Springs News-Telegram. Then my name stopped appearing for a little while.

WIth Thanksgiving occurring this week, I figured I’d explain why as part of going over a few things I’m thankful for.

You see, on August 12, 2019, I suffered two simultaneous strokes on both sides of my brain. I was unconscious for five days following that. When I awoke, I was partially paralyzed on my entire left side. My speech was affected. My life had changed -- and it scared me.

I’d spent most of my life with the mentality of Boxer, the horse from Animal Farm. “I will work harder!” It’s not a good thing to go through life as a workaholic, but I believed the more I did, the more I’d benefit in the end. The trouble was that I neglected taking care of myself. I forgot that I can’t work hard if I am not at my best.

I truly believe that God wasn’t done with me. He put me in a hospital I knew well -- TRMC -- with people willing to help me get as close to 100 percent as they could. I always said when I got a public forum, I would thank the good men and women of the fifth floor rehabilitation and TitusFit Physical Rehabilitation and Therapy. They helped me get my movement and my voice back. They are angels and I’m thankful everyday for them.

It took nine months of therapy to get around without a cane or walker. It took a little longer than that for speech therapy. But those nurses didn’t give up on me, my family and friends didn’t give up on me, and I didn’t give up on me. My therapists told me all the time that a good attitude towards rehabilitation would help me heal. I firmly believe that it did. I attacked my rehab with enthusiasm and tried to make the most of my situation.

It’s here I need to recognize my immediate family. My parents, Kerry and Lisa, and my brother, Casey were by my side through it all. They’ve supported everything I’ve done. When I feared I was becoming a burden due to needing care as I healed, my mom would tell me not to worry. “This is what family does.” So I was able to focus on healing.

As I healed, I started to miss covering sports. I’d only been on the job for three months before the stroke and, in order to keep myself in practice, I’d do running game recaps on Facebook as soon as I was able. Followed Pewitt’s run all the way to the state championship game and realized that I wanted to get back to work. It wasn’t time and I needed to heal more. It was tough to be without something I loved doing, but I went back to a mindset I’d had before: “I will work harder!” but I would do so smarter, listening to my body more.

Fast forward to this past August. My mind was telling me I was ready. My body was still healing. I had a lot of fears, but I knew I had to try to get back to work. So I reached out to the former editor to see if the Tribune needed any help. She put me in touch with publisher Kenny Mitchell, who was familiar with my work and was basically ready to hire me as soon as I was ready.

I did the first month without a car. My coworkers were all extremely understanding. When my car was fixed, I jumped in with both feet.

Now, I roam sidelines looking for great pictures. I try to tell great stories. I try to serve the community as best as I can. And I’m thankful for the opportunity to do so.

I hope that in my first three months back on the job, I’ve been able to create some memories for the area’s coaches, athletes, schools, communities and readers.

To the schools I serve: Mount Pleasant, Chapel HIll, Harts Bluff, Rivercrest, Paul Pewitt and Pittsburg (I pull double duty as the sports editor of the Pittsburg Gazette), thank you for allowing me to regain my footing doing a job I love in an area I love. Thank you for letting me into your athletic programs and proving to myself that I can still do this.

To my coworkers past and present: thank you for accepting the sports guy with the goofy sense of humor and the well-meaning heart.

To you, the readers, thank you for choosing me to deliver your area sports coverage. I will keep striving to improve what I do.

“I will work harder!” but I will do so smarter and effectively, telling the stories without sacrificing my health or well being. I hope you and yours have a happy holiday season.