10:04 P.M.
I stopped at Wal-Mart on my way home to pick up some new tunes and came upon a strange reunion in the process.
I walked through the automatic doors and immediately met eyes with a once familiar face. I couldn�t place his face at first but smiled anyway as I proceeded to the back of the store to find my cd.
I quickly grabbed what I was looking for and headed to the check out lane. Just as I had finished checking out I almost ran smack into the familiar stranger once again. He smiled and said, �Do I know you?�
All of a sudden it hit me. I remembered this man. He was my first pediatrician that I can recall.
He asked me my name and I told him, �Kelly�.
He smiled again and seemed to ponder my answer for a moment as he preceded, �KELLY! My little miracle!�
I couldn�t help but think, �HUH�?
He reiterated, �Kelly, my little miracle child. I have thought a lot about you lately with all of this Terry Scheivo publicity in the news. Things sure have changed since you were a kid. I remember watching your family grieve while you were in a coma for what seemed like an eternity. It was far less time than Terry, but most people would pull the plug much quicker these days. I�ve seen cases where patients go into a coma and doctors pull the plug in less than a week. Wow Kelly! How is your family now? Your grandmother, how is she doing?�
I suddenly recalled that the last time I ran into this man was at my grandfather�s funeral back in the late 90�s.
�They are doing well�, I replied. �Grandma went back to working one or two days a week to get out of the house.�
A lot has changed since the late 90�s, and I was lying when I told him that all was well, but who has time for chit-chat anymore.
He gave me a hug and told me it was so great to see me.
As I was driving home I was hit with a question in the back of my mind.
�What if my parent�s had pulled the plug on me 19 years ago after my bike accident?�
I probably wouldn�t be here today, and they wouldn�t have had to pay my major medical bills for over a decade.
Suddenly the house hunt problems seemed so minimal.
Things could be worse. Things could be a heck of a lot worse.
I�m so thankful to be alive today.
My fortunate meeting reminded me that miracles do happen every once in a blue moon and I found a spec of hope to carry on my search for home and happiness.
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((When I was 7, I had fallen off my ten-speed while ridding too fast in the neighborhood. I cracked my head open and went into a coma for a few weeks. My friends' mom who was on site of the accident was a nurse and assessed the situation and had me admitted to All Children�s hospital where I stayed for a long time. It took a lot of rehab, and I didn't have a "normal" childhood for a few years. Even after a few years went by, I couldn't play any full contact sports, or go out in the sun because of severe headaches caused by the head injury.
I'm just glad it's over and in the past.
I try not to think about it much.))
