The day Terrence Sansbury flew off of his motorcycle and hit the road is a day he will never forget.

He rattles off the day and time - April 20, 1999, at 4:30 p.m. - like it's a permanent part of his memory, and it is.

When he regained consciousness after the accident, Mr. Sansbury's back was broken and his life was changed, he said.

Seven years later, he says he looks back at that day for what it has taught him. He certainly regrets losing the ability to walk and move like he did before the accident - something he has made great strides in restoring - but had it not happened, he never would have found what he calls his purpose in life: helping children.

"The accident drove me back to my true love," he said. "God creates everybody with at least one special skill, and mine is working with children."

Mr. Sansbury, 33, went back to school at Augusta Technical College in 2003 and received his associate degree in early childhood care and education. Today he works at the Tubman branch of the Family Y, where he assists in sports and day-care programs. He also works at the front desk.

As a younger man, Mr. Sansbury spent two years at the University of South Carolina where he took classes in the School of Medicine and planned to become a doctor.

After his accident, he said, he realized that this was not so much his dream as it was his mother's desire for him to be financially sound.

He moved to Augusta to live with her and decided to apply for a job at the Family Y's before- and after-school Prime Time Discovery program, despite his fear of the reaction the children would have to his wheelchair.

Mr. Sansbury said he found his efforts soon flourished, and so did the children he worked with in the program.

"That right there was my story and I was like, 'I can go back to school,'" he said. "'But not only can I go back, I know what I want to do.'"

His work was an eye-opening experience for him and for the children.

"They may not realize it, but it lets them know that you are going to see people in all different kinds of ways in the world," he said. "It doesn't matter how you are, you are still a human, and kids see that even though the adults sometimes don't."

Today, Mr. Sansbury continues to swim at the Family Y and has regained a greater degree of mobility in his arms. He said that after the accident, doctors expected that he would only be able to shrug his shoulders. To him, that was unacceptable.

"There is a paper that said I'm paralyzed, but I say I'm not paralyzed," he said.

Reach Adam Folk at (706) 823-3339 or adam.folk@augustachronicle.com.