A Day in the Life: The Decision that Changed Everything

I was so upset by what had happened, but the only thing I could think about was if my mom and sister was okay. As we arrived to the emergency room, I didn’t really feel any pain and thought I wasn’t hurt. Since the initial x-ray at the emergency room showed that there was nothing wrong with me, I assumed that I would still be able to participate in my normal school activities. However, within the first week of school, I had a debilitating pain in my back that would leave me feeling as if I was frozen. The agonizing pain prevented me from being able to take deep breaths, turn my neck, or move my arms, let alone carry a full backpack or participate in the marching

Occasionally, my boyfriend, six close friends (including, one designated sober driver) and I go downtown to go to bars, and clubs to drink, party, and dance to badly mixed music. We went downtown for my boyfriend’s birthday on November 24th, all set to drink, to have fun, tell stories, and to party the night away. It had been some time, since our last get together and wanted to make memories and drink the night away. We arrived at Humpin’ Hannah’s in Boise, got a table, started drinking and playing pool.

A couple days later I woke up again and I was tangled in more IV’s than I was before and I had tubes coming from the side of my ribs and a nasal cannula coming from my nose and I felt more out of it than I was before. I couldn’t move or feel my legs, I could barely move my feet, and I wasn't able to sit up. I was so confused on what was happening, then I heard someone talking to me and asking me if I knew what day it was and if I remembered what happened. I didn't know what exact day it was but I remembered all the pain I was going through. My nurse informed me of what happened and why I was in the State I was in. Turns out my spinal cord had a stroke because it wasn’t comfortable with having those rods inside of me, so the rods were removed.

An MRI was conducted, and showed that I had dead brain cells, which was a direct correlation to Traumatic Brain Injury. At this point, I realized that my life would be changed forever; never thinking I would have ever been in a situation of this magnitude, but understand that everything in life happens for a reason. I was unable to walk without some type of assistance for nearly one and a half years, and had to go through extensive brain therapy because of the severity of my brain injury. From the time I was injured until present, I have had eighteen Epidural Steroid Injections in my spine, as well as other therapy. I have always said that out of every bad situation, something positive will come out of it. Since the injury, my wife and I have become much closer, as well as my

It's been three months of recovery but I finally can grip something with my hands. I am still having trouble getting around though. Everytime I stand up searing pain spreads from my ankles to my chest. Zander helps me get around sometimes, but he doesn't come around as often anymore. Aunt jannet comes everyday checking up on me. My mom only can once but it was only to see how much my revery was going to cost her, then she left without saying a word to me or seeing how I was doing. I get a weird feeling feeling as I recite these things in my head.

after a few hours they came to put the cast on i was scared but happy.my foot would be protected when they were putting it on i wanted to hold my mom's hand because it was gonna hurt.some of the doctors started talking to me so that I couldn't notice the pain it kinda worked.after that they gave me crutches.but just to make sure they gave me a wheelchair.when we went back to the house i just stayed on the couch i mean that was the only thing i could do.couldn't play outside couldn't play any games with my friends nothing.until kindergarten but i still couldn't do anything accept stay in m y wheelchair.i feel like those were the most boring months of my life.when i wanted to go to sleep i needed to have my family carry me upstairs because i couldn't walk.then finally my leg was healed enough so that i could wear a boot i was so happy i could finally walk but with a

The next few weeks were hard. Trying to carry myself around on crutches while having the arm strength of a toothpick was a hard, and I struggled a lot. The doctors still didn’t know what was going on with my leg. I went to my family doctor, she didn’t know. They signed me up for physio; my physio therapist couldn’t figure it out. No one could figure out what was wrong with it. I had been on the waiting list for MRI testing and I got a call one night saying they had a spot for me. I went and got the MRI and a few weeks later they called with the results; I had torn both my ACL and my

Throughout your life, you have days where nothing goes according to plan and everything goes wrong. I had one of those days and things could have turned for the worst for my way of life. A couple months ago, my friend invited me to a party he was planning to go all the way in Worcester. Since I normally don’t have anything to do Friday nights and I thought

I looked at my hand when they were done and I had gotten dark blue. It had a little bit of blood on it but it was fine. The nurse wrapped my hand in this cast like thing. I couldn't go swimming, take a bath well I could only take a shower, use my hand, or go to the park and use my hand. My middle finger felt like a melted rubber tire for about four hours. During those four hours I was at my grandma’s house

The nurse warned me I would be extremely sore the next couple of days. It was a bummer due to the fact I had to sit out a couple of tennis games during my final season. Once I got home I decided to take a bath, and think about what happened. I remember sitting in the tub thinking about life. I don’t want to sound dramatic, but I thought about some life decisions. I thought about the people who were in my life. I also thought about the close relationships I had with people. Did I really want to keep my lifestyle the way it was? Or did I want to continue to be the same person? After the accident I realized I could have always change whatever I wanted. Nothing and no one was ever holding me back. I like to believe the accident was a wakeup call. Probably the biggest one I have had in my

At 6:00 am, on April 18th 2016, I skipped into the hospital with my mom and dad not bothered at the fact that I was about to have thirty-two screws and two rods shoved into my back. I sat in the waiting room dressed in my favorite NFL team, the New Orleans Saints, apparel, trying to make my worried parents laugh. When I finally heard my name get called, I followed the nurse into a room where she would prep me for surgery. She put compression tights, socks, and a heated hospital gown on me and got me situated in the bed. Then, the part I dreaded the most, the IV.. I was more worried about getting an IV than the actual surgery! After the anesthesiologist and a few other doctors met with me it was time to go. My preacher, parents, and grandparents gathered around me to say a quick prayer and then I was off. At that time my vision began to get fuzzy like a picture that was not focused. My last memory before the surgery was the nurses rolling my bed into

The injury had taken away some of the activities I had enjoyed doing the most, which gradually effected my confidence, especially at school. You see, in elementary school I constantly got bullied and during my childhood I never stood up for myself and became a very timid, unconfident girl. I would come home crying occasionally and my mom would always find out the reason behind those tears. I wouldn't articulate my emotions and what I was going through with my teachers because I had fear towards the bullies and as a result, my mom would be the one who spoke up for me. Eventually, I found an escape in music, I specifically grew a passion for singing at an early age. My mother noticed my love and signed me up for vocal lessons which eventually led me to acting,

Six months had passed since the accident. I only remembered because Jane was helping me sign my name in our daughter Sally's birthday card. She guided my hand, slowly helping me write something at least vaguely legibly rather than the childlike scribbles I was able to manage with such little practice. Ironically, it seemed that when one found themselves down a limb, it often happened to be the dominant one. For me it was my right arm.

There are many pivotal points in a person's life which mark important milestones. The marking of one of these milestones for me all started when I was four years of age. My dream was to become tall enough to reach the twizzlers that were kept from me atop the fridge. This is an important memory I have from when I was young because it taught me how important it is to have dreams.

The pain was excruciating. I remember feeling like my lungs were burning with every breath. After I heard the sirens, I blacked out. After the accident, I was in therapy for months. My parents tried to get me to feel something, anything, but I couldn’t, I’d never walk again. I gave up for a while, but eventually I agreed to go to therapy. There, I learned to heal by embracing the beauty in the world, and I learned I wasn’t alone. There were tons of other kids at the hospital with me who had experienced some sort of injury that made them different, but we all managed to get through it together. I went out in the woods for 30 minutes every day, and it helped me restore me to my former self, at least