It was one year ago today when I told Brian I thought it was peculiar that we had not heard from Nick after his game as it was almost 3. "He's fine," Brian said, "but I'll call him." Well, the conversation I heard after the call was made went something like this...brian: Hi, Nick. How was the game?
brian: Are you okay? You're in the hospital waiting for x-rays. Who dropped you off?
brian: Ok. Call us when the x-rays have been read.
That was the start of a more than 6 month recovery. What followed was a Monday call from Nick saying he needed surgery, a Tuesday trip made by Brian to Jonesboro to be with him, a Wednesday surgery which resulted in a bone getting put back together with some screws and 2 bones joined together with a zip tie as the ligaments between them were all torn, a Thursday consisting of many trips to get food and meds and some reorganizing of an apartment so Nick could maneuver around on crutches and a Friday of running around campus getting information on how to get Nick daily help and eventually to town to get a Handicap Parking Pass. Brian left a very injured kid one week after the accident who needed about a week at home to begin to heal before he could trudge to classes so he could finish school. During that time, some days were sad, some were spent drinking and taking pain killers, some were spent getting to class or the cafe for a meal or to therapy and many were spent thinking about the fact that another game of rugby was more than likely not going to happen. It was over. Eventually, graduation day came, Nick walked across the stage with a bit of a limp and then moved back home to start the next stage of his life. Life does go on but man, this guy has given us a truly rocky ride. Oh well, we all reminisced this morning on Nick's one year anniversary of his injury, not a happy anniversary like ours, but an anniversary none the less!
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