On July 21st 2023, the life of KD (Ka’Darian) Hill changed forever.
Hill was in the middle of his first professional football off-season. Since he was in grade 5, he dreamed of playing in the NFL, and was very close to seeing that dream become a reality following a successful career with the Ole Miss Rebels. At Ole Miss, Hill had played in 47 games between 2018 and 2022, making a total 58 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 1 sack and 2 pass deflections from his defensive tackle position. His success from High School, as a 3-star recruit from Eufaula, Alabama translated well into the SEC, and he was excited to translate his collegiate success to the NFL next. He had been drafted and signed by the XFL’s Orlando Guardians and was training for an NFL roster spot with mini camp invites from both the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets when his entire life had changed. He experienced, not only the biggest collision of his life, but also the biggest battle he had to fight.
KD had been in a serious car accident on July 21st 2023 that many wouldn’t have survived.
In an interview with JZ Media’s Jordan Zlomislic, Hill reflected on the accident, and how it changed the rest of his life.
“On July 21st, the accident happened at 4:40 AM, I remember it like it was yesterday,” he said, “the state trooper arrived on the scene and the first thing I said was ‘hold my hand and let’s pray’. Not once did I cry. I stayed calm and I laid my head on the steering wheel. Not once did I think of my future at that time but in that moment I knew that my career was over because as I felt my leg and looked down I knew what was going on.” Despite this moment, realizing what has happened, being so hard, Hill told Zlomislic, “not once did I question God or curse God because I knew if I was still here he wasn’t done with me yet, he still had purpose for my life.”
Hill was at the scene of the accident for over 5 hours as first responders worked to get parts of his truck off and away from him. At the scene he received two blood transfusions and stayed wide awake for the entirety of the 5 hours spent in and around his truck. He explained, “I’ve done the impossible… 5 hours trapped in the truck, leg smashed, 2 blood transfusions on the scene, most people go in the shock, most people die on the scene.” Hill recalled, “I watched the surgeon drive in, lean over me and say ‘are you ready to get out of this truck’ I said ‘lets do it’ thats all I said, the moment they said amputate my leg, I said ‘lets do it’.”
Once he had gotten the help he needed at the scene, he was air lifted to the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital for surgery, followed by 6 others over the span of just two weeks.
He lost his right leg in the result of the accident, and while the loss of a limb was life changing for Hill, he is adamant that the change was for the better, not the worse. Talking about the changes he’s faced since the accident, he said he’s handled it much differently than most would, “they wouldn’t be the same person they was.” he said, “You probably wouldn’t be able to notice them, and thats in a bad way because they don’t want to be seen or anything, they look completely different, well with my side of the story, I look better than ever, I feel good, I’m stronger mentally, physically, spiritually, everything.”
Hill’s positivity and strength through the accident and his recovery comes from his faith, and the relationship he has with God. “Because of my faith in the good lord and I knew his plans were better than my plans, I knew that if I was still here, something amazing was going to come out of this, and I’m talking about something big, like eyes haven’t seen, ears haven’t heard.”
That ‘something amazing’ for KD Hill ended up being his ability to tell his story, and give back to the community.
Hill has become a motivational speaker, inspiring those around the world through his story, and reminding people of all ages how powerful God can be if you truly believe and trust his plans for you.
This has been something he envisioned himself doing for a long time, but originally thought it would be following a football career in the NFL. Once he had gotten into his car accident though, he began to prepare himself for his next chapter. “I would sit in my bed and write speeches in bed each and every day, I spoke it into existence, manifested it and also worked towards it.”
As a motivational speaker, Hill has the ability to give back to the community, and inspire those around him, of all ages and backgrounds.
He has spoken in front of many audiences thus and will only continue to inspire and introduce himself to many more as he continues his journey as a motivational speaker. With events coming up across Mississippi and Alabama over the next two months, visiting New Brockton, Alabama, Eufaula, Alabama, New Albany, Mississippi, Olive Branch, Mississippi, Pontotoc, Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, Cornith, Mississippi, Decatur, Mississippi and Birmingham, Alabama, Hill wants to get a few points across to his audience. In his one on one interview with Zlomislic of JZ Media he quoted, “If you just stay focused on where your feet are at, and take one day at a time you will be where you want to be in life. Don’t worry about tomorrow will have its own worries, don’t worry about next week, worry about today and do what you can do today to better yourself and your community.”
With nothing but love, care, appreciation and respect for those around him, Hill not only inspires through his story, but through his actions. To be able to walk today with a prosthetic leg, he is proving many wrong, and displays a heart of a lion through the work he does to inspire and support the communities around him and around the world.
Continuing his journey as a motivational speaker, and impacting the world through his story, Hill will be launching The Heart Of A Lion: KD Hill Foundation very soon to make a splash and implement himself into communities around the world from a far and hands on.
JZ MEDIA 