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Today has been one of the saddest days of my life.
One of my roommates, not to mention my good friend, Jen, is in the hospital with some very serious injuries. She went out last night downtown to celebrate the 21st birthday of a mutual friend. We were outside the bar in the back smoking, passing a pitcher around, taking pictures, goofing around, all the the usual stuff. It was just like any other summer night in this college town. Jen asked, “who wants to climb on the roof?” No one wanted to. We kind of laughed it off and didn’t take her too seriously, seeing as how the roof is very difficult to get onto (especially when we’d been drinking all night). She crossed the alley, and started climbing up a fire escape on a nearby building.
The next part all happened so fast…
When she was about fifteen or twenty feet up the fire escape, she leaned over and fell suddenly. She hit her head on an air conditioning unit and then landed on the asphalt. While she didn’t fall a great distance (I swear I could probably jump to the ground from the height she fell from), she landed awkwardly and hit her head very hard. At very first it was almost funny, but we soon saw her lying there completely still. Upon getting closer, we saw blood gushing out of her mouth onto the sidewalk. We called 911 immediately and they instructed us to turn her on her side, so that the blood could drain from her mouth and so that she wouldn’t choke.
When the paramedics arrived, they put her into the ambulance and from the way they were acting and the things they were saying it seemed as if she was going to be okay. Maybe a bad concussion or something like that.
We went to the hospital last night and then went our separate ways home, to sleep. As I went to sleep I figured that everything would be ok, maybe some bruises, a concussion, bump on the head, a night in the hospital. However, this morning at about 6am I received a phone call from a friend. On the phone I learned that her injuries were much more severe than I’d ever imagined. She had broken all of the ribs on her left side, broken her spine in several places, ruptured a major artery in her neck and sustained serious head trauma. Her brain is bleeding and swelling.
We rushed back to the hospital this morning and had a chance to see her. I fear it will be the last time I see her alive. The doctors and her mother explained to us that they only expect her to live another day or two. It was so heartbreaking to see her family there with her, especially her mother, who just sat by the bedside and cried and talked into her ear. Even if she does survive through the next few days, she will never be the same again. She will have severe brain damage and possibly be paralyzed from her spinal injuries.
I just got back home from the hospital, and now I sit looking at all of her things scattered around the house, wondering if they’ll ever be used by her again. A pair of shoes, a purse, even last night’s dishes. It all just seems so unreal, and so unfair.
It’s amazing how life can change in a fraction of a second. One minute you’re drunk with your friends outside the bar, the next you’re laying on the pavement as blood pours from your mouth.
I can only hope now that she’s in a place where she’s not suffering. I hope that she isn’t freaked out, and that she’s just asleep and having a really great dream or something. It’s unclear whether she’ll be able to survive these injuries, and I just hope that whatever happens, she is not scared or in pain.
Sorry to bring every down with this horrible story, but I felt the need to write this down and share it with someone. Hopefully it might remind someone how precious life is and that a simple slip can change everything.
 
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I am very very sorry for your loss. I hope that you, your friends, and her family can find some peace and come to terms with something so terrible. I hope that she will get better, and i will be keeping you, and her in my thoughts. Take care please.
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Sorry to hear man, that's very sad.
And whoever gave this a 1....wtf man?
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On June 29 2010 02:59 zOula... wrote:
Sorry to bring every down with this horrible story, but I felt the need to write this down and share it with someone. Hopefully it might remind someone how precious life is and that a simple slip can change everything.
I find it amazing how the world can disappear before you in that super slim margin between life and death. It's somehow unreal, thinking life can go out as quickly as the whiff of a candle.
RIP.
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This made me really sad. I'm sorry, man.
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Felt horrible reading this, hope she will be fine. Should have stopped her from climbing up though, someone who are drunk aren't in the condition of climbing a building.
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What pisses me off in these things is, we spend such a great amount of time learning about life and everything... At 21 you've been preparing for life for so long, and it can just get wasted within a second.
She probably had plans for the future and she'll never know they won't happen.
Fatality sucks......
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:-( Alcohol and courage don't mix. Don't blame yourself though.
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Just wanted to say that i fell very sad for you and her family. I wish the best to her and that she will survive and get better.
I am very sorry.
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Life is fragile, this you must be aware of. Hope you guys learned a lesson. I hope she get's well.
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intrigue
Washington, D.C9934 Posts
whenever i think about people dying i just feel this deep, massive resentment at how unfair it is. you seem like a really good friend, and i am glad she had people like you around her during her life. i'm not sure if it's a faux pas to wish for good luck in such a miserable situation, but the thing i hope for the most right now in the world is for her to be okay. take care.
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life is just a ride we have to enjoy to the fullest. That also means that we have to take care of it as much as we can but still take all good we can from it. aporvecha tu vida antes de que te sea arrebatada por una fugaz movida del destino.
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best wishes to your friend Jen, her family, and you
Be strong
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Prayer sent.
Best wishes... this world sucks.
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This is a cruel, senseless jape of life. I feel for you and I really hope that by some miracle she will be better, even given the chances. There's not much I can say, but know that even while we're prone to great anonymity on the Internet, this is a community that will lend you support and understanding.
Best wishes to both her and her family, and to you as well. For what tiny difference it makes, I will keep this in my thoughts.
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Same thing happened to a guy friend during a hang gliding accident, he only fell maybe 20-30feet but landed hard on his head.
Intracranial pressure = brains shifts = gg.
I remember feeling scared and sad at the same time, shocked at how even modern medicine is practically helpless against serious head injuries.
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Recently a friend of mine was cliff jumping into some water. He made the mistake of diving head first and hit his head on a rock. At first it wasn't looking good but he healed fairly quickly and only lost hearing in one ear, which is suppose to come back. Hopefully your friend can be just as lucky when she needs it the most.
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:'( i hope she gets better
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Oh god. 
It reminds me I lost a friend because of some drunk games during his anniversary. Brain is like a goddamn machine too complexe to understand, she may have a chance to be miraculously okay. I hope for you she'll be one of those people.
Anyway, she need you more than ever, best wishes for her, her family and you.
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Austin10831 Posts
I don't even know what to say really, in the face of such a sobering story. To be that close and intimate with the full weight of our mortality is an experience that will alter your outlook forever. I'm sorry for her family, as it's this type of horrible accident that makes the world seem so unjust. I'm sorry for you and your friends, that you had to experience this and that you will have to let go of this friend far too soon. Most of all, I'm hoping that one of those medical miracles we hear about, where someone recovers against impossible odds and defies medical wisdom, happens to your friend Jen.
If you find yourself getting really down about this, don't be afraid to reach out to a grief counsellor. If you're still in school, you can probably contact one there, or there will be one in your area.
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EPT
