Ok.  First.

Yes, I am in a wheelchair... (Broken neck at C4,5,6) and yes I bring it up a lot.  (mostly jokes and such.. if you can't laugh.. you're dead)

..and scene

1996 - I am about to turn 16 this year and finally passed my drivers test after taking classes and writing 70 pages of notes (crazy huh, but at least it was still free.. now kids pay like $150+)

July 13th - I just turned 16, and I was almost set to do whatever the hell I wanted, whenever the hell I wanted.  (I was so responsible that I washed my permit along with my blue jeans.. that put a halt on the plans as I was suppose to go get a new one)

July 26th - My friends want me to go hang out with them (most likely loitering at the local mall), but instead I decline and decide to hang out with my cousin (Chris - who susbsequently is now a douche bag, and stole shit from me when I was in the hospital because he thought I was dead).

Anyway, I decided to spend the day with my cousin because the plan was to go to Grand Haven (beach) and try to see if I could pick up a lady (joking.. but it would have been cool).

So he drives over to my house, my mom causes a ruckus about me leaving (something about me being grounded etc) but I left anyway (great idea.. I know =/ )  I hop in his broken down rusted out shit box and we are on our way.. (I had to ride in the backseat because his girlfriend was in the front.. balls).  I basically just chilled in the back seat waiting to get to the beach, but he told me that we had to stop and pickup a friend of his girlfriends (I'm assuming they were trying to set me up).

We get to the girl's house.. her parents are having a garage sale so we go in the garage and knock on the door.  The girl answers the door and tells us to come in, which was not the plan, the plan was to pick up and leave.  Apparently she had not asked her parents if she could go yet, and we sat there for what seemed to be like a hour and a half.  She finally comes back into the house (where I am sweating balls off and really fucking annoyed) and tells us that she can't go and that she has to eat soon.  Fuck.  -plan thwarted- But, we had an idea.. I noticed a pool an a trampoline in her backyard and said since it's so late why don't we just go hang out back there.  So that was at least not a complete waste.  

We go out back and I am on the tramp doing backflips (yeah that's right I had skillz), and my cousin says lets go hop in the pool...and so we do.  We start messing around.. pretty much just sitting in the above ground 6ft deep pool because.. what the hell else do you do in a above ground pool?  OH THAT'S RIGHT... you decide it's a good idea to dive into it.  =/

So we started off doing some shallow dives.. no problem, did a few cannon balls here and there, and then my cousin threw a inner tube into the pool and dove through it. 

NOW here is where things get fun.  I decide hey he can do it so I sure the fuck ain't going to be showed up.  I dove through the tube and thought I was going to be fine UNTIL I tried to stand up and get out of the water.  My brain was telling me to get out of the water, but my body was not respondingg, and all I could do was float to the top and say literally "SHIT I can't get out".. all I heard was laughing.. and again I said help and all sorts of other fun words.  

My cousin finally realized that I was not going to be standing up so he started yelling for the girl's parents to come help and he yelled at her to go get them.  We sat in the water for a bit, and lets say about 30 seconds after she went to get her parents they open the back door and say "WE ARE BUSY EATING YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO GET OUT OF OUR YARD" (last time I ever heard/saw any of them).  

So my cousin gets me on the deck (no cell phone, and parents won't call/help us)... my arms were flapping around and I was fully alert and all I could think was that I sprained my neck and eveything would be good (we sat there about 2-3 minutes and clearly that wasn't the case).  So my cousin drags me down the steps to get on the deck of the pool, through the backyard, and finally the driveway.  He wrestles with my body to get it into the back seat of his car andthe last thing I remember is falling asleep.  

They refused to help and would not call an ambulance. 

I remember waking up when he got me to the hospital.. I was in and out.. I remember seeing my pants get cut off in the mirror above me.. yep.. naked as shit.  I don't remember the 5 months I spent in the hospital to much other than the fact that I had a machine doing all my breathing. (and morphine was good).  I do remember seeing my Mom, Dad, and Step Dad caring for me and will never forget it. 

I remember when they screwed on the halo while I was still awake.  I remember them cutting the hole in my neck incorrectly (and then nott healing for like 5 more months after).  I remember being left on the body board and getting a sore 2" deep in my tailbone.  

I remember spending 5 more months in a Rehab Center and getting use to .. this thing I call a life.  

Things could always be worse.