BEING IN HOSPITAL
“Waking up in a hospital was confusing, not only for me but for my family, too. I didn’t necessarily wake up crying due to my injuries because I didn’t fathom their extent at the time. I was suffering from memory loss after being in a coma for a month. The weird thing is, after learning that I had been admitted following a car accident, I automatically assumed that I had fallen down the stairs at school. In my mind, I was back in high school.
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I remember asking my family to tell the principal that I was injured, and so wouldn’t be at school for some time. I don’t know why I did that because it never happened, and yet that memory was vivid. My family members had to reintroduce themselves, and even tell me what ‘mama’ meant. Luckily, I still remembered my name. To be honest, I don’t recall how I felt during those first few weeks, and I hadn’t grasped just how bad my accident was. I didn’t have access to the outside world or my phones, so everything I saw or heard came from my family and friends.
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During those four months, three of my friends were cleared to visit. They also had to reintroduce themselves, show pictures of us in happier times and share memories with me. I started regaining my memory while still in hospital, but it was mostly random things or if someone shared something in full detail.
