Injuries can be the outcome of split second decisions. This was the case last winter when my friend, we'll call him Mike, got injured while skiing at Mammoth Mountain. Mike is a very good skier who was spending most of the season learning the terrain park. Skiing the jumps in the park is all about having confidence. Mike did not have enough confidence for a particular jump, but a friend at the very last second convinced him to brave it. He did not take it with nearly enough speed and proceeded to land on the flat part of the jump. Two broken heels and a torn wrist ligament later, Mike found himself in Mammoth hospital about to have surgery. Mike is a tough kid, but he became uncharacteristically emotional as he was realizing how long it would be before he could walk again. That was when it hit me how such a quick decision on the mountain, could produce such an effect on someone's life. I truly got a glimpse at how delicate life is.
The next couple weeks in the hospital with Mike helped me realize another important thing about injuries; that they truly bring out who your closest friends are. A few of us spent a lot of time with Mike in the hospital and the weeks of rehab afterwards. We packed up all his gear and brought it and his car back to USC. At school, one friend who had a similar class schedule as him pushed his wheelchair between classes for about a month. And all of us helped him move all of his stuff into a new, wheelchair accessible room and take him to multiple, follow up hospital visits. He never had to ask for any of this, we just did it. Before the accident, we all were good acquaintances. Now we are all best of friends and many of us live together. Without that split second decision on the mountain, we probably would not be as good of friends as we are now.
Mike is completely healed now, besides having weak calves as a result of not using them for 3 months. We are all a lot more learned about surgery as well. If there is a learning experience to take away from an injury, it is that true friends will arise and help you through the struggle. And in a split second decision, so much of your life can be changed.
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3 comments:
Ah! I always think about how one miniscule decision that seems like it shouldn't be a big deal can have HUGE consequences. Or how tragedy can be avoided with one small sidestep. Weird.
Wow, I really liked the positive outcome of this experience. I can't imagine what it's like to not walk for three months, but thank goodness for kindhearted peers. Just curious, is he ever going to attempt the jump again?
This has to be Michael Esposito! Poor kid. I felt so bad for him last year.
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