By Jazmin Price
You see them cringe with pain. You watch as they use machines to keep pain from sneaking up like a fox. They block out the world when trying to work, realizing it is too hard to concentrate. Doctors tell you they won’t be the same. This is you after your loved one has been in a car accident receiving numerous head injuries. We think it will never be us. “Nothing like that could ever happen to my family” you say, but so quickly that thinking could change. It is a scary time and knowing what to expect makes the journey an easier one.
My grandma is the most athletic person I know. Running, biking, and swimming every day, it became a routine. Sometimes I would join her but things changed after her accident. She began to exercise less, doing more inside than outside. She got tired so easily. Simple tasks like walking the mall became a challenge that she didn't want to face. Everything made her so tired; she needed naps and breaks often. After the accident my grandma had trouble doing things she normally would do.
Furthermore, if you walk into my grandparents’ house you are most likely to find both my grandma and grandpa sitting at their desks doing research, working, or more schooling, doors wide open. That is how it is has always been, although after the accident the doors were sealed tight blocking out the sounds of the house, the distractions. Focusing became too difficult and you could see it in their faces. Typing an email was hard work. They got stressed so easily. I used to see them furiously punching the same key, wanting to scream when they began hearing the 'beep' every time. Anger filled them as they walked away from the computer for yet another break.
More over, for any one that knows my grandparents you would know they travel quite a bit. Whether it is from town to town or country to country they are travelling more than the flight attendants themselves. After the accident that changed a whole lot. Even when they needed to go somewhere for surgery or physical therapy it was unlikely they could go because of the long planes and car ride which they could not sit through. A twenty minute car ride is torture for a person with brain, neck, and back injuries. As I sit in church I can assume that grandma and grandpa will need to get up to stretch at least three times.
Although, things have gotten much better since the accident everything will never be the same. My grandparents will always be in pain, simple activities will be a challenge, and travel is a mission. But knowing everything will turn okay is half the battle. Stay positive. In my opinion, had my grandparents gave up instead of dealt with the fact they won’t be the same they would not be where they are today. They would not be doing brain research and helping those in the same position they were in. To me that is truly a miracle.