After my injury, I was at Mission Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina for 6 days. My parents drove down to see me on the third day, once I had recovered my senses. My time in the hospital was not an emotional one. I was not scared, although it wasn't clear whether I was going to make a full recovery or not. I also had no pity for myself, although I was sad that I was going to miss out on the great adventure that I had spent so long planning. The times in the hospital were difficult, and I felt a great deal of nausea from the morphine. I was also expected to move a great deal, in spite of how much pain I was in. My leg was absolutely destroyed, and the slightest jarring touch sent waves of pain through my body. This pain would continue for a few weeks before slowly subsiding.
My parents visited me each day, which was very nice of them. It was hard to come up with things to talk about, since I was mostly just upset about what had happened. I had a lot of trouble getting myself comfortable, and I needed frequent attention due to my immobility and open wounds. After five days, we decided to attempt to take me home. I took only crutches with me, although the hospital staff recommended a wheelchair.
The trip home was long and difficult because the car's motion caused a lot of pain. Once we arrived, I retired to my bedroom, where I would spend a great deal of the next two months. Zoey could tell that something was wrong, and was very timid around me. She normally would have been ecstatic to see me. My sister was very supportive of me in my current condition, and helped me out whenever I needed a small favor. In addition to my leg, my torn shoulder made most simple things very difficult, especially since I had to use crutches to get around.
I spent nearly all of the day in my bed. I could not get up or lay down without help, and couldn't even go to the bathroom myself for the first three weeks. This physical activity, coupled with my high dosage of oxycodone, made it very hard to engage myself in reading or other persuits. Gradually, as my body healed, and adjusted to the drugs, I began reading some novels that Zach sent me. These included Nova and the Einstein Intersection by Samuel R. Delany, The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester and Ubik by Philip K. Dick. I also read a number of modernist novels, including To the Lighthouse and Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf and The Doubliners by James Joyce. I also progressed some in my reading of Buddhist material, although I wasn't meditating at the time.
The Oxycodone had strange effects on me. By the time I left town, I thoroughly enjoyed its effects, although I had greatly weened myself off it. I found that it enhanced my concentration and my lucidity, both awake and in dreams. This was in addition to its painkilling effects, which were vital to my recovery. I rarely took more than prescribed, but when I did, I experienced life-like, lucid daydreams and a euphoric body high. I never took more than twice my prescription.
I also spent a lot of down time talking online with Rafaela, Jon Stover's friend from UPENN. We had exchanged info while I was in Philly and she was interested in my progress back home. Being a great conversationalist, she kept me in good spirits, and also was up late every night, which matched my sleep schedule at the time. We resolved that she should visit me in California early in the coming year.
Early on while I was home, we had some freezing rain, which coated everything with ice. I took these pics from our front door
When I was well enough to crutch around without too much pain, I started taking Zoe for walks.
Here's the Brighton Highschool fields covered in snow:
Before leaving for California in January, I purchased a keyboard and began to make some music using Cakewalk Sonar 6. It was a lot of fun, although my output wasn't spectacular. I learned a great deal about the software by playing around with it. Because I was eligible for employment in early February, I reasoned that I should move to California in Mid January to find a place to live. When I left, I brought one large dufflebag with me, and had Jared awaiting me at the LAX airport to help. I was still in very bad condition, but I figured there was no better time to sit in front of a computer and work than in my current state.
Forward to California Early 2007
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