Accident
On October 28,1998 at around 4:30 in the morning we received a phone call. It was the Maricopa State Hospital. The person on the telephone told my mother that my brother had been involved in a car accident. His friend had ran the red light and the other car had hit the front passenger side where my brother was sitting. He was not wearing his seat belt. My brother had flown through the window and hit a light pole. Everyone else was pretty much okay. His friend that was driving had also received some minor injuries. My brother had the worst injuries. He had a cracked skull and a shattered shin bone on his left leg.
As soon as we heard the news we rushed to the hospital. On the way to the hospital we all were very upset and crying. When we got to the hospital, they told us that he was in the intensive care unit. When we got there they would not let us see him. The nurse told us that he was bleeding too much from his head. They had to take him to the emergency room. The doctors were examining his head injuries. We ended up spending the night there. After tow days we were aloud to go into my brother’s room. He was still unconscious and sleeping. His head was wrapped around a lot of gauges.
My brother ended up staying in the hospital for about four months. We visited him almost every day. I used to send him a lot of get-well cards and teddy bears. Later when he got out of the hospital, he told me how much the cards meant to him and it helped him keep a positive attitude.
After my brother got out of the hospital he was on home therapy. He had to walk with a walker because he could not walk on his own. After he stopped using the walker, he used a cane to walk. That’s when he started going back to school. He told us that some kids were making fun of him because he walked with a limp.
Now two years later, he still walks with a limp. But he says people a lot more understand now. A lot of people share their stories with him and wish him well. A limp was not the only thing my brother had been left with. He’s also left with scars on his head. Sometimes me my sister still feel sorry for what happed to my brother and still cry about it. But there is nothing any one can do to reverse what did happen.
Some of the positive things we gained are he was checked by nurses every day and they made sure he was doing well. The nurses and doctors were also very friendly. They made sure all our questions were answered. They did not leave us confused about the situation.
Some of the negatives were that he needed more therapy after he left the hospital and they did not provide him enough. He also lost his sense of smell after the surgery. He still walks with a limp because they did not give him enough therapy sessions. Another negative is that some people made fun of him. That’s cruel. All the scars on his head is definitely negative outcome.