Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2010 22:59:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: John Meyers <johnmeyerz36@yahoo.com>
Subject: Overcoming Obstacles

Overcoming Obstacles

By Alex Michaels

May 25, 10


I can hear all of these voices. They call to me. They whisper to me. They
yell at me. I hear the voice of my mom. She cries. She hasn't stopped
crying. Then I hear Grandma comforting me. She says that everything is
going to be alright. Which is impossible, because Grandma's dead. Simple
truth of the matter is that while my body is lying in the ER, while some
voice that sounds like mine screams. While some teenage boy in bloody
clothes that looks like me flails around, punching doctors randomly. While
I am torn between living and dieing, I hear a single, deep, voice say, "Not
yet." Then unconciousness rushes upon me, and I am alone in the
darkness. The way my body slumped over suddenly, doctors probably thought I
died. Ha. If only I were that lucky.

	I don't know how long I laid there. I don't know how long I allowed
myself to be swallowed up by the abyss that was unconciousness. What I do
know... it hurts like hell to move. It sucks waking up. It's not like in
the stories. It's not like you wake up in increments, slowly coming back
from the edge of death. One second your nowhere.... The next your
disoriented, lying in a hospitable bed, with my mom, dad, and little sister
all asleep in the chairs there. It must be like 3:00 A.M. I looked to the
left and to the right groggily and saw a pile of envelopes on the side
table. Nice to know I'm being thought of. I could tell they were those,
'Get well soon' cards, probably from kids at school.

	I don't feel very energized. It doesn't feel like I got very much
out of my unconciousness. I heard a flushing noise from the bathroom, then
the door opens and my six year-old brother, Johnny, is standing there,
looking at me.

	"Alex!" He bolts over to the side of the bed and awkwardly tries to
hug me. "Mom says we've got to be careful around you. She says your hurt
reeeealllly bad." Then his voice dropped to a whisper and he got a really
fearful look in his eyes. "Are you gonna die?"

	"No." I patted his head. Ugh. Now I feel woozy. "I'm not going to
die... Not now anyway." I looked for a clock. "What time is it?"

	"I'll check." He walked around to mom's chair and started digging
in her purse. "Here it is." He pulled out the phone. "It's-s....... 3:35
A.M." See, I was pretty close.

	"Why aren't you asleep?"

	"Cuz' I had to pee." He looked like he was thinking real hard about
something. "Alex, what's a.. para-poo-leaves-jack?"

	"A parapooleavesjack? No idea. Why?"

	"Cuz I heard the doctor tell mommy and daddy something about
one. Then mommy started crying real hard, like when grandma died, and daddy
sort-of walked off. When he came back, he looked real sad."

	"Well, if I ever figure it out, I'll be sure to tell you." I went
to sit up, when I felt a whooshing sensation through my gut and my neck
twinged. I fell backwards. I heard Johnny as though from far away and
blackness was creeping along the corners of my vision. I saw my mom startle
awake, before I went unconcious again.



Janet



	"ALEX!" I startled awake from a nightmare. For one fleeting second
I thought that it was all just a dream. Then I realized where we were. The
sounds of big rig honks and crunching metal came back to me. It would never
be a dream. This was all too real. "Alex. Alex, wake up."

	Then it dawned on me. That was Johnny talking. I pulled my head out
of the crook of my elbow and saw him leaning over Alex, shaking
him. "Johnny! What in God's name are you doing?! Get away from Alex!" I got
up and walked over and got him by his arm. "What do you think you're doing?
Do you realize how sick your brother is? He doesn't need you shaking him."

	"But he was fine! He woke up when I was in the bathroom."

	"What? He woke up?"

	"Yes! We were talking and and he asked what time it was and I told
him, then he tried to get up and then he passed out!"

	"Oh my! NURSE! NURSE!" I ran out of the room to find a nurse.



6:00 A.M.

Alex



	I've been sitting here for five minutes. I woke up at about that
long ago. There have been a few doctors coming in and out of my room. My
mom and dad are happy (to say the least) about me waking up, though they
seemed nervous about something. Apparently, it had been about four days
since my trip to the ER. I still have no idea why I came here to begin
with. Hell, I don't even remember coming here. The only thing I can
remember is flashes. I remember screaming. I remember pain. I remember a
lot of crying and being pushed down the hospital hall on a stretcher or
something.

	"Alright what's wrong with me? Jeez, I feel like I'm getting ready
for a funeral or something, it can't be that bad."

	"You mean you don't remember?" My mom looked really upset.

	"Not a thing. So please, go ahead. I guarantee I can take it." I
really did want to know. I figured it would be no big deal. I figured I
wouldn't be greatly affected by it. I guess.... my figuring wasn't right.

	A doctor walked into the room. His nametag said 'Dr. Morrison'. He
was actually pretty good looking. Black hair, blue eyes, strong
jaw. Anyway, he asked my parents to leave the room. So my mom and dad got
up and walked out.

	"Do you know how you got here?"

	"No sir."

	"Well, it seems that you were in an accident. Your were parked at a
gas station after coming back from a family visit, and... it seems tha-"
His voice quieted. My mind was racing. I was no longer in the hospital. I
was in our car almost five days ago. I was looking at the letters
M-A-C-K. I was remembering.



A few days earlier...

Nov



	I was sitting in the back seat of our prius. I absolutely hated
riding in the back. There was no leg room whatsoever. I looked out the
window while my dad was pumping gas. My mom was in the station paying for
it. It smells like fuel and tobacco. I put in my headphones and rifle
through the songs on my iPod. I find the song, 'Alive' By P.O.D. I mouth
along with the words while they play.

	"I-I I feel so alive." The car begins pulling forward. My eyebrows
knit together. I didn't here the door shut. I didn't here anyone get in. I
pull the headphones out of my ears. I bend forward and.... there's noone in
the front seat. The fuel pumps on the gas station that we are at were built
on a small hill. There was just a small decline in angle on the ground. But
it was enough. I looked around, out the back windshield. There were several
people standing there looking at me. Or the car, I couldn't tell
which. Some old lady pointed at me(and I could tell she was pointing
directly at me) and screamed something. Then my dad ran out of the store
with my mom right behind him. He takes one look at me and takes off booking
it as fast as he can towards the car. I turn back around and try to open my
door. It's locked. I unlock it, scrambling in my attempt, and look up. It
all seems to happen in slow motion. I hear a horrible trucker honk, I hear
the door unlocking, I read the word MACK across the trucks grill. Then
blackness.



Present time



	"Alex, we've done all possible tests and procedures. You suffered
an incomplete spinal cord injury..... and are paralyzed from the waist
down....." He looked genuinely sad about it. Which is surprising
considering doctors aren't supposed to let their personal feelings
interfere with their work. He looked into my eyes. "You'll never walk
again." NO! I slowly buried my face in my hands. IT'S NOT FAIR! I tried to
wiggle my toes anyway. I tried to move any part of my legs. NO! I felt the
tears start rolling down my face. Why me?...... Why me?..... WHY ME?! I
began pulling my own hair. I was never one of many words. I suffered in
silence... Until now.

	I let out an animal-like snarl of a noise and blindly took my lunch
and threw it against the wall. Taking pleasure in the explosion of my
drink. "NO!" I began shaking. "NO! NO! NO!" I jerked and twisted and
thrashed wildly into the machines and IV's. I tried smashing my beds'
control against the metal railing. I grabbed ahold of my left leg, and
hauled it over one side of the bed.

	"No." The doctor rushed over and grabbed my shoulders. "Listen to
me. LISTEN! You can't walk."

	"NO!" I punched him in the chest.

"You can't get out of bed."

	"Agh!" I writhed and attempted to break his grip. My eyes were
closed. I didn't want to see him. I didn't want to see anything. I pounded
against the doctor. My fists were so tight that I could feel my fingernails
cutting into my palms. I screamed. I cried. I yelled. I yelled at the
doctor. I yelled at the walls. I yelled at the sky. My right hand found the
IV stand and I threw it down. The needle was wrenched from my arm.... and I
fell into darkness once again.