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Triumph over darkness: Kansas City man shares journey of faith, family, healing

Published

1 month ago

December 11, 2024

Triumph over darkness: Kansas City man shares journey of faith, family, healing

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas Citian Geoffrey Arbuckle is sharing his message of hope this holiday season, crediting his family, faith and community for helping him find fulfillment after a lifelong battle with mental health.

“It is an absolute miracle in the way this community and this city have come around me, and I just want to show them it was worth it,” Geoffrey said.

At the age of 20, Geoffrey found himself fighting for his life after a drunk driver put his college baseball career on hold.

The crash left him with a broken neck, his left side paralyzed and in a constant state of excruciating pain.

Geoffrey Arbuckle

Geoffrey says a drunk driver caused the crash that ended his collegiate baseball career.

“I spent months in the hospital and months in rehabilitation, learning how to walk again. Having recovered from that, I think that I carried the weight of that accident for decades and I really didn’t pay attention to my mental health,” he said. “I think the miracle of surviving a broken neck, paralysis and recovery was a weight that I was too immature and maybe too young of a Christian in my faith to bear.”

Eventually, Geoffrey’s mental health struggles led him to lose hope, slowly chipping away at his desire to live.

On May 5, 2023, he attempted to end his life, but destiny had different plans.

“I credit my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who was with me in the garage when I made that fateful decision,” he said. “I didn’t realize I would live, I didn’t realize that I would be saved, but I did know that He would never leave me and that faith permeates every aspect of my life.”

Once again, Geoffrey found himself fighting for his life. But this time, he was surrounded by the unwavering support of his guardian angel China, his wife.

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“It’s no different than if our spouse got a medical diagnosis that was debilitating or they lost their job,” China Arbuckle said. “We don’t just leave them, we’re there unconditionally through thick and thin, through the good and the bad times, and I just knew that our relationship was strong enough that we could make it through anything and I love him.”

The attempt on his life left Geoffrey with permanent vision loss, but the Arbuckle family was determined to illuminate a new path.

Geoffrey’s son, Chandler, came across Missouri’s Vocational Rehabilitation Services, which offers a program called the Business Enterprise Program.

At its core, the program is known for creating job opportunities for visually impaired Missourians by developing business sites in state, federal and other locations.

Geoffrey applied and was admitted into the program in February.

“I went through an interview process, I went through some testing and then was immediately put into their training program,” he said. “And after graduating, I was then given the opportunity to own and operate my own business.”

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By October, Geoffrey was given the green light to own and operate a convenience store inside a downtown Kansas City federal building.

Due to federal regulations, KSHB can’t disclose the location of his store, but Geoffrey believes faith and hope have returned every time he shows up for work.

“This is the best time of my life. I am doing exactly what I want to do every day,” he said.

From balancing business margins to ensuring the store is stocked and in top shape, Geoffrey is able to give his customers a unique experience.

Each customer’s selection fuels his family’s miracle and dispenses hope to a man who now walks by faith rather than sight.

“This miracle, I bear differently. I share it, actually, with the community; I don’t hide it,” Geoffrey said. “I will no longer hide my disabilities. I may work with less, but I’m not less. I’m more blessed to be here, I’m more blessed to be in this community, and I wouldn’t trade my spiritual sight and my spiritual health for my physical sight or physical health.”

Walking by faith not by sight, Geoffrey Arbuckle shares his story of perseverance

As Kansas City continues to embrace the holiday season, a time when loneliness and darkness are often most felt, the Arbuckle family hopes their community remembers there are angels all around to guide you through life’s darkest steps.

“There’s a lot of depression, especially this time of year,” China Arbuckle said. “It’s a joyous season for me, but I understand that there are a lot of people that don’t see it that way, and they just need to get help. Call someone, call a friend, call us, call a help hotline; help is there.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or suicidal thoughts and actions, text or call the suicide and crisis lifeline at 988.

—

KSHB 41 Traffic anchor/reporter Daniela Leon covers all sorts of transportation topics across Kansas City. Have a story idea to share or a question about something in your neighborhood? Send Daniela a news tip.

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Kansas State Dominated On The Boards In 30-Point Loss To Houston

Published

3 hours ago

January 12, 2025

Press Room

Kansas State Dominated On The Boards In 30-Point Loss To Houston

The Kansas State Wildcats dropped their third consecutive game in a blowout loss to the Houston Cougars Saturday night.

Here are a few takeaways from their fourth Big 12 matchup:

1. Kansas State was dominated on the offensive boards.

Kansas State’s rebounding issues were temporarily improving despite their losses. That issue returned Saturday, as the Wildcats were outdone 44 to 20 on the boards. Cougars forwards Joseph Tuglar and Ja’Vier Francis combined for 11 offensive rebounds, leading to Houston’s 20 second-chance points and halting Kansas State from getting in transition.

2. The slow starts are killing Kansas State.

To state the obvious, getting in early holes is not the key to victory. The one-half performances illustrate the Wildcats’ slow start to the season, which continued against Houston. Kansas State went into the half down 22, with Brendan Hausen being the only Wildcat who produced early. The only difference is this game felt like an avalanche all night; the Wildcats didn’t even have a comeback to reciprocate their sloppy first half.

3. Brendan Hausen woke up the 3-point shooting.

If Kansas State can walk away with one positive on the night, it’s the improvement in the 3-point shooting. The Wildcats went cold from the arc for nearly the last month, with the exception of the Cincinnati victory. Hausen scored 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting from 3-point range, as the team shot 40 percent on the night. Had they defended the paint better, they could’ve reduced the deficit and kept the game close.

Jayden Armant is a graduate of the Howard University School of Communications and a contributor to Kansas State Wildcats on SI. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.

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Former Kansas State Wildcat Ben Sinnott Looking For First Playoff Action With Washington Commanders

Published

11 hours ago

January 11, 2025

Press Room

Former Kansas State Wildcat Ben Sinnott Looking For First Playoff Action With Washington Commanders

The Washington Commanders face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth matchup of the opening round. A star season for Pro Football Focus (PFF) Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels put the Commanders back in the postseason for the first time since 2021.

Former Kansas State tight end Ben Sinnott is among those traveling to Tampa Bay, hoping for an opportunity to shine bright on the NFL’s brightest stage.

Sinnott played three seasons in Manhattan, KS, compiling 82 receptions for 1,138 yards and 10 touchdowns. Washington selected him in the second round with the 53rd overall pick.

Sinnott didn’t see much action this season, recording just five receptions for 28 yards and one touchdown.

But the uncertainty of the NFL could lead to an unpredictable result. Four years ago, quarterback Taylor Heinicke took the Buccaneers down to the wire in just his second game in Washington. It was a remarkable performance that gave the eventual Super Bowl champions the most trouble that postseason.

Tampa Bay hosts the Commanders Sunday night, opening up as 3-point favorites. Commanders coach Dan Quinn spoke about the week of preparation leading up to Wild Card weekend.

“It was a good week of prep for us. Tampa provides a hell of a challenge in all three phases, a lot of winning time moments for us to prepare for,” Quinn said Friday. “We’ll play our best complimentary football this weekend, this opponent and this game calls for that. So our guys are ready for that, a lot of matchups. We’re ready to get rocking.”

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Jerome Tang Says Kansas State Looking To Win ‘Kill Shots’ Battle

Published

20 hours ago

January 11, 2025

Press Room

Jerome Tang Says Kansas State Looking To Win ‘Kill Shots’ Battle

Kansas State coach Jerome Tang has noticed a trend this season.

It’s pretty simple: when the Wildcats are able to string long scoring runs, they win. When they are on the opposite end, they usually lose.

The Wildcats hope the ratio improves, beginning with Saturday’s game against Houston in Manhattan.

“We’ve talked about this,” Tang said. “We’ve had five, what they call kill shots, where you go on a 10-0 run. We’ve had five of those and we’ve won all five of those games. We’ve had five against us and we’ve lost four of five of those. There’s one game we’ve had a kill shot and they had kill shot.”

The Wildcats fell victim to a “kill” shot in a loss to Oklahoma State earlier this week. The Cowboys went on 20-2 run just before halftime that turned a one-point game into a 43-24 lead.

“For this team, it’s not just a kill shot,” Tang said. “It’s probably like 8-0 runs. We’ve charted those. We’ve been on the wrong end of 8-0 runs. We’ve had less 8-0 runs than our opponents than our opponents have, especially in the losses. You look at the personnel that was in [the game], you look at what you were running. For us, if it’s a 4 or 5-0 run, we need a time out. I might need to call a timeout earlier than I would on the normal just because of the makeup of this team where we’re at right now.”

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Kansas State Wildcats On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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