Luck
I've pretty much always known that I drowned when I was two. Don't remember it happening, but my parents have never made a secret out of it, so I know what happened, how it happened, how much the ER sucked when my dad came in with a 2-year-old who had needed CPR twice by then and was far colder than she should be ("I'm sorry, sir, we're busy right now." Not once, but THREE TIMES. After which he was going to put me into an incubator, which I didn't REMOTELY fit into). I know I spent three days in a coma.
Not too long ago, we were discussing the whole Schiavo thing at home, and I found out things I didn't know. At some point while I was in a coma, my bloodgasses dropped dangerously low. The doctors were going to put me on a breathing tube. My parents considered it. My father told them to wait an hour, see if things got better. The way he thought about it, if my body wasn't capable of performing certain functions, it might be for the better. He didn't want to end up with me on the machine indefinitely, or so severely brain damaged I couldn't function anymore. My mother didn't know WHAT to do, but trusted my father's judgement, and agreed with the reasoning.
An hour later, my bloodgasses were back up by a bit. I made it out without the machine. I function - and well. I'm capable of living independently, I study at a university and do well. I've got some minor issues with being under water (I'm fine with being under water... as long as I am completely in control.) and such, but I came out pretty much unscathed.
As some of you know, my mother used to work in an academic hospital. Several years after all this happened, her work brought her into contact with a girl my age. She'd drowned at about the same age that I had, gone into coma, and had been put on a breathing machine. The reason my mother came in contact with her was that she had severe brain damage. It hit her very hard that *this could have been her daughter*
I've known this for about 2 weeks now. It's something that won't really get out of my head, which is why I'm writing it down now. I've got some things going on at the moment that are... far from how I'd want them to be. However, I'm alive and able to do just about anything I might want to. I'm incredibly lucky.
Not too long ago, we were discussing the whole Schiavo thing at home, and I found out things I didn't know. At some point while I was in a coma, my bloodgasses dropped dangerously low. The doctors were going to put me on a breathing tube. My parents considered it. My father told them to wait an hour, see if things got better. The way he thought about it, if my body wasn't capable of performing certain functions, it might be for the better. He didn't want to end up with me on the machine indefinitely, or so severely brain damaged I couldn't function anymore. My mother didn't know WHAT to do, but trusted my father's judgement, and agreed with the reasoning.
An hour later, my bloodgasses were back up by a bit. I made it out without the machine. I function - and well. I'm capable of living independently, I study at a university and do well. I've got some minor issues with being under water (I'm fine with being under water... as long as I am completely in control.) and such, but I came out pretty much unscathed.
As some of you know, my mother used to work in an academic hospital. Several years after all this happened, her work brought her into contact with a girl my age. She'd drowned at about the same age that I had, gone into coma, and had been put on a breathing machine. The reason my mother came in contact with her was that she had severe brain damage. It hit her very hard that *this could have been her daughter*
I've known this for about 2 weeks now. It's something that won't really get out of my head, which is why I'm writing it down now. I've got some things going on at the moment that are... far from how I'd want them to be. However, I'm alive and able to do just about anything I might want to. I'm incredibly lucky.