How (or Why) I First Became a Traffic Exchange Owner About 15 Years Ago -- And Why I Am One Today

This story brings back some emotionally painful memories as well as being a marker in my growth as a Christian. About 15 years ago one of my sons who was about 10 years old at the time began showing some real neurological problems. Our Pediatrician referred to us Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas. The ran all kinds of batteries of test and told us they suspected Muscular Dystrophy and that he might be wheel chair bound by the time he was 12.

If you are a parent of a child you can imagine the emotions that my wife and I felt. As adults we can stand all kinds of issues and problems with ourselves, but not with our kids. You feel helpless and afraid. As a Dad, I fix things but how do I fix this?

When we returned home my wife took our sons to a playground to let them work off some energy and as a release. I stayed home. Then I got angry. I yelled at God that it was not fair. I wrestled with him, I pleaded, I tired to make deals "do something to me, leave my son alone". I prayed until I couldn't think of what else to say then I fell flat on the ground curled in a ball and cried.

Anyone who knows me knows I don't cry. If you were a human and you messed with one of my kids I wouldn't cry, I would just make sure you didn't mess with another kid again. This is different, you don't know how to fight what you can't see.

I had given my son one of my old computers and he self taught himself to code and build websites and design graphics back in the day before there templates or WYSWYG programs. So, I thought I can fix this, I will find something he can do later in life to earn a living when I am no longer around. I was already doing things on the Web (what I called it back then) and began to research everything I could find about making money online. Of course, when you do that you eventually run across these things called traffic exchanges. I liked the concept and bought a couple, built a few more once I learned how they worked and generally played around with them. In those days people really were interested in exchanging traffic.

Over the next 2+ years my son went through batteries of test, muscle biopsies, you name. One day the nurses would come out and tell us he was singing as they took him back on the stretcher to the operating room for a biopsy and didn't seem nervous at all. If were put in a MRI he would lay perfectly still without being medicated, they never had to start and stop the machine. He considered an adventure and couldn't wait to get out and talk to the technicians about what made it work.

Lots and lots of people were praying for my son and our family. Prayer chains were going across the country.

Finally, the doctors came to us and said they give up. He did not have MD and they could not explain what his condition was. There was no name to describe it. Today, he is basically healthy, works out daily, and takes care of his diet. He is also an accomplished web and graphic designer and has won many awards and done work for large companies and organizations. Physically, the only thing you might notice is he walks with a limp and is a little slow in movement but lives a normal life otherwise.

Me, just another in a long line of times I have seen remarkable things happen through prayer.

Those first TEs? Sold them a few years ago to pay medical bills from a serious accident my wife had.

Why do I have some TEs now? Its because of what I learned about the people who I engaged with the first time I was a TE owner. For many people, TEs are important source of income and can help them build other sources of income. It's a place to start when they have no place or other means to get started. It's a community. It's connecting with people that you have the opportunity to help. It's a way for me to give back to others.