My iPhone was what kept my attention most of my time in the hospital. Whether I was responding to emails, txting, reading facebook, listening to music, or watching movies on netflix, I had this little device beside me the whole time. As I communicated with people, however, I eventually told them where I was and what had happened, and so news spread fast. Already Marcos, Min, and my parents knew, so I could be sure all my Reddwerks friends knew, the entire ML department would soon find out, then my advisor, the people I worked on research with, and of course my entire family. Later on I told Julian, implying my casual Pittsburgh social circle to find out. I told Marcelo Garza, implying that my closest friends from high school would find out, and then Marcelo Mota, implying my computer science social circle from UVG.
Sure enough, during the following few days, I started receiving messages from friends and family I had not heard from in months, even years, asking me what had happened, how was I, and wishing me a fast and thorough recovery. It was nice to know I mattered to them, though it did become boring to type and say the same story over and over and over again to different people – bike trip, accident, hospitals, surgeries, doctors’ prognosis, plan to be a disabled person for at least 3 months, and up to a year. I mostly told the story objective and resigned, but a few times emotion got the better of me, and I shed a few unsaid tears, deeply disappointed by my turn of events, and afraid of never having a fully able body again. I am still afraid of that. I’m encouraged, however, because even though I may not achieve my full body potential, I’m sure I’ll achieve enough of it to end my life in case it turns out to be too unsatisfactory for me.
One of my closest friends, Julian, was especially affected by the news, and organized a trip to visit me along with Ashik and Jose. I was very glad that they would travel all the way from Pittsburgh to see me. It would be another roadtrip, one of several we had already enjoyed that year. But this time, I switched from being the driver to being the destination. Funny, how things turn out.
That wednesday, my mom visited me in the hospital. That same night I had my right ankle operated on. When I woke up, I felt very hazy and weak, but I did manage to ask a few questions to a doctor sitting right next to me, writing something on a desk. He told me the operation was a success, and several sleepy and uncertain episodes later, I was back in my hospital room, my mom and Marcos around me, with a strong throbbing pain where the operation had just taken place.
The next few days I waited for Julian, Ashik, and Jose to come. When they did, I was happy, and we talked and laughed for a few hours. They brought me chocolate and stuff, I think a card, and some clothes from my room in Pittsburgh. Oh yes, and my USB extension cord! That has been extremely useful since then.
Our conversation was happy but a little short. They had to leave fairly soon, but not without taking a few group pictures with Jose’s Epic camera first. They left for Chicago and planned to look for party places on saturday night, and then stay with a friend of Ashik’s.
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