ZERO SOUNDS GOOD TO ME
I don’t know why horrible things happen to certain people at certain times in their lives. I wish I did. Then I could warn them. It’s as if life itself isn’t tough enough to get through without some sort of large game show wheel hovering overhead. “Destiny’s Wheel.” Its arrow spinning wildly past the numbers and categories.
10. Death.
9. Suicide.
8. Cancer.
7. Crippling disease. (Never heard of it. Can’t pronounce it. Can’t spell it. Yet, somebody gave it a name.)
6. Rape.
I’ll stop there for now. That’s enough pain. And I hadn’t even gotten to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Is that worth a five on the wheel? When your loved one can’t remember what they had for breakfast. Can’t walk. Can’t talk. Can’t drive. Can’t socialize.
Can’t…can’t…can’t.
I feel no young person needs to be in a hospital bed at age twenty-one. They need to be out in the sun, laughing and chasing after their dreams. But, that’s a little of what this story is about. Trying to fight through a nightmare and make a dream come true. As of this writing these personal events have just reached three years in the happening and are ongoing. There is no ending yet. The family is scared to death of an ending. Because with TBI, “ending” means that’s it. As good as it gets. As good as it’s going to be – from now to forever.
Dear friends, with TBI, two words you don’t ever want to hear are “peaked” or “plateaued.” So, we the family hang on. Day by day. Week by week. Month by month. Wishing for an end and hoping one never comes. If you’ve ever been involved in a prolonged family medical trauma, you know the feeling. If you haven’t, bless you and stay safe, because what it does is grind down on you until you cry out loud wondering why you were fated for the so many heartaches to come your way.
This world is such an easy place to live in…if you don’t love someone.
But, if you do, nothing can prepare you for…