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Once in a lifetime, a person comes along who make you want to do your best. Phil Duong is one of those people. He tries his best to get a smile and be a great friend; in which hes mastered both. However on November 2, his life almost came to an abrupt end. You never know how much a friend means to you until theyre almost not there anymore. Prior to that night, Phils life was going pretty good.
A good female friend had asked Phil to the Homecoming Dance. That same girl was crowned Homecoming Queen. So, with that, his friends proclaimed him the Homecoming King. Also it had been a year since he met his friends whom were the closest to him.
Phil then uttered he words the will still never speak to this day, Life is Perfect. On the evening of November 1, a few of the closest friends had a get together. Phil was of course invited, but he had to work a little late at The Movie Shop. It was around 10 and people grew weary of his arrival. So J. D. , a close friend of Phils, volunteered to go get him.
This response could have had something to do with the alcohol induced into his body. Upon arrival, Phil requested to drive his car, but J. D. insisted that he drive Phils car. Phil, being the trusting friend, agreed. On the way to the party, J.
D. did a little joy riding on the highway mainly aiming for objects on the road. He noticed an object on the road that, from a distance, appeared to be a piece of paper. However, upon contact, the object was larger than expected. Then without any time to react, J. D.
collided with the bucket. From there, the two pulled the sputtering car to a nearby gas station. J. D.
gave a call to the party to report what had happened. A group of his friends responded by picking him up and offering to see if we could fix it. You see the bucket had jammed a gear in the cars transmission causing it to only go straight and not backwards. Phil just wanted to go home.
He wasnt mad, just upset, but always forgiving. We dropped him off and headed to our friend Kulow's house. It was about 7 A. M.
Kulow, staggering from a hangover, answered the ringing phone. It was about 5 seconds later when he dropped the phone and shed into tears. Phil had been in a car accident. Davis, his younger brother, told Kulow that Phil had been in an accident in which Phil had to be transported to the ER. The events that happened were then explained to Kulow.
After we dropped Phil off at his house, his parents were awake and worried sick. He told them what happened and that he would take care of the problem in the morning. However, his parents insisted that they get the car now. He agreed and they left. The car couldnt reach a speed over 55 from what his brother said. So they decided to have Phils parents car follow Phils car back on the 290 shoulder back to Brenham.
It was way too late and Phil was not up to driving, so his older brother, Yi, drove. Phil had decided to take a nap by laying his seat back and closing his eyes. Then a drunk driver collided with backside of Phils car. ; who had been intoxicated and reached a speed of 90 the officer later explained. The driver was killed on impact. The gentleman was a loving father, but he made one mistake that cost him his life. However, the two kids with him survived and had just some bumps and bruises.
As for Yi, he suffered a broken neck. Moreover, it was not enough to cause any permanent damage. Then there was Phil. Phils injuries, as countless as they were, were sustained mainly to a broken back, broken ribs and a severe concussion. Phil and Yi were both life transported to Hermann Hospital in Houston. After hearing the story, more and more tears joined that of Kulow's.
We reluctantly were elected to spread the news to close friends. We started with the second family of Phil, the Bockhorn's. Mrs. Bockhorn was a local RN and could give us more information about how Phil and Yi were doing. At this point, the Bockhorn van was loaded with friends, ready to head to Houston to see our hurt friend. Upon arrival, we found Phils parents, Davis, and Yi.
Yi had been treated and was wearing a neck brace. Phils mother, pouring with tears, told us that Phil was doing O. K. , but there was no official word yet. About an hour later, the head professional told Phils mother and the rest of the group the latest news. He announced that Phil had suffered spinal cord injuries making him a unable to use his legs. In the medical field, Phil would be a paraplegic.
Paraplegia is defined as paralysis of the lower half of the body with involvement of both legs (Webster 841). Phil awoke to find himself looking at the ceiling wondering where he was at, why hes there? His mother and father hurried to see him. The group decided that this was family time for Phil.
However, Phils mother begged us to see him. She said that he always talked about his friends at home and how much they meant to him. So J. D. and I decided to go first. There could only be two visitors at a time.
Phils condition was still in the beginning stages of healing, so his physical appearance wasnt what we had pictured. He didnt look like the Phil we saw the day before. With little to no time, each pair of friends would see him. This trend went through the day and the following two months.
Each time, Phil seemed to look and feel better overtime. Full recovery depends on the ability to shift from a passive to an active role, to make decisions about care and management, and take a hard look at how to live with the disability (Palmer 31). Phil is now living the role he wants to be in. A carefree guy who loves his friends and family more and more everyday. Phil only has a 1 percent chance of ever walking again. However, if any one has a chance to talk to him, youd think he is 100 percent happy to be here.
Paraplegia. Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. 10 th ed. 1993. Palmer, Sara, Kay Harris Kriegsman, and Jeffrey B. Palmer. Spinal Cord Injury: A Guide for Living. , Hopkins University: Baltimore, 2000 Bibliography: Works Cited Paraplegia. Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. 10 th ed. 1993.
Palmer, Sara, Kay Harris Kriegsman, and Jeffrey B. Palmer. Spinal Cord Injury: A Guide for Living. , Hopkins University: Baltimore, 2000
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