Sims: an inspiration to others

Thirteen years ago Leon Sims lost both legs in an accident at work. Now at 63, he is a pacesetter, demonstrating to others how to overcome setbacks.

For the last month he has been detailing cars at Mighty Fine Convenience Store on East Van Dorn Avenue in Holly Springs across from the old Fred’s building.

Sims’ accident took place at Guardian Fiber Glass May 27, 2008, when he got caught under a rail car while unloading product.

He was airlifted to The Med in Memphis, Tenn., where his journey back began.

“It was a bad sight,” Sims said. “It took two weeks to accept it. One day I was in physical therapy and they had this full-length mirror.”

After seeing himself in profile in the mirror, his first insight came to him.

“I said, I can either accept this or let it take control of me,” he said. “I hear people say all the time I am such an inspiration to them.”

As he recovered, he took care of all the chores in his house while his wife, Debra, went to work an eight-hour day at First State Bank. He didn’t leave anything for her to do when she came home from work. She could cook something if she wanted to, but he did everything, but the cooking.

Sims likes setting an example for others.

“You see a guy with no legs in a wheel chair and all these excuses for not working can be done away with,” he said. “When stuff happens to you, people can relate to you.”

The nurses and therapists invite him in often to talk to their patients to encourage them, he said.

Sims still has pain from the accident, especially in his right leg. It is phantom pain and the brain thinks it is still connected to his leg, especially the one he saw severed right after the accident – the first leg he lost.

“Sometimes it is unbearable,” he said. “It feels like wearing shoes that are too tight and my feet would be full of heat,” he said. “I asked a person there at the accident to take my boot off because it was feeling hot. But the leg was over there (not attached to his body).”

Sims and his wife have been married 34 years and have a son Chris, 32, who works as a fireman in Hernando, and a daughter Andrea, 27, serving in the U.S. Air Force. The Sims have three grandsons.

He attributes his recovery to “the grace of God and her (Debra).” “Your faith has a lot to do with it,” Sims added. “You are definitely going to be tested. I am just who I am. I have my moments. I think about it, but I don’t dwell on it. I can’t change it.

“Life is good. If you give up on life, life will give up on you. Now I am seeing the purpose (in the accident).”

Part of his purpose is to tell his story. He is invited to give his testimony in community churches.

“If I can be an inspiration... .” he continued. “I did ask God to show me my purpose. I can inspire others to get a job.”

He’s worked over a month at Mighty Fine. People see him working as they pass by, said owner Wayne LeSueur.

But keeping house for his wife — washing, ironing, mopping the floors — is also something he did gladly.

“I’m a domestic husband,” he said. “She’s my joy.”

At work he likes his motto, “Come by Mighty Fine and we’ll treat you mighty fine.” Elaine Watson, Sims’ sister, praises her brother for the example he sets for others.

“It is incredible,” she said. “An inspiration. When you see him from the accident to now, he’s just thrived — his overall positive attitude, love for life. It is absolutely amazing to me. There are no words.”

Watson said following COVID, Sims’ story is something to feel good about.

“We have such heroes in our community,” Watson said. “It’s like, Lord, we’re so thankful. It is so much more than that. It’s a ministry.

“It is the passion of what we do that draws people to us. It’s just about service. How well we serve determines how well we are paid. It’s like, wow.”

Debra Sims said her husband’s accident “did change our lives.” “You never think you are going to go through life without your legs,” she said. “We can still do a lot of things we wanted to do. It is a miracle he survived it.

“I believe we were supposed to go through it together.” She said their children, who were still at home, were affected more. Chris was 18 and Andrea Paige 14 or 15.

“I think their emotions played off mine,” she said. “If I was OK they were OK. Nothing has changed our family. He’s still Dad. We’re gonna do what we do.”

There are some positives, or silver linings in the clouds, she said.

“It showed me his strength,” Debra said. “It showed me our commitment to each other. It strengthened our love because we needed each other at a level we hadn’t before.”

Their bonds grew stronger.

“We still do things like family vacations. He drives down to my mom’s.”.

Her mother Mae Lee Hudson lives below Columbus but over toward the Alabama line in Shuqualak.

Debra came to Holly Springs to attend Rust College where she earned a bachelor’s of science on a scholarship, She studied business management with a concentration in economics. After graduation she took a job at First State Bank, where oddly she met her husband, by serendipity, in the lobby.

She was working upstairs but happened to be in the lobby when he walked in.

“He was literally in the bank cashing his payroll check from Wurlitzer,” she said.

The couple met in 1986 and married in 1987.

Leon has always been a homebody, even before his accident, she said.

“He likes home. He had just made 20 years with Guardian right before his accident,” she said.

Sims was born in Holly Springs in the Spring Creek area. The couple lives at Lake Center. He graduated from Potts Camp and is the son of Nonnie Sims, 86, and the late Timothy Sims. He has one brother, now deceased, and five sisters.