In my last blog post, I talked about how a car accident in South Georgia threatened to take music away from me forever. My right hand was useless, and my doctors only said, "It doesn't look good" when I asked if I'd ever play again.

But then, as if God Himself intervened, something amazing happened. I received a special therapy glove that helped me use my right hand. My students called it a 'Freddy Krueger Glove,' but to me, it was a lifeline.

But the road to recovery wasn't easy. When I started playing again, I realized that I was starting from scratch. I had to learn to use my injured hand again from zero and be happy with making daily progress. I set small, deliberate weekly goals and worked slowly and intentionally toward mastery.

One thing that kept me going was the thought, "What if there's no deadline, finish line, or schedule for growing as a musician?"

I made playing a priority and strived for small daily progressions toward my goals. I even helped other sax players grow and learn in private lessons, so I "gave myself lessons" and created some accountability for myself.

My hand slowly healed, and despite my inner fears, I saw daily improvement.

Yes, I knew I was improving, but improvement is pretty easy to see when you start from the beginning. I was making progress, but the real question was, "Was I going to wear this ghoulish glove every time I played saxophone for the rest of my life?”

The answer to that question is in my next blog post, so stay tuned to find out what happens next!