The Will To Live

Kimberly A Freeman

Sujets

• Biography
• Autobiography

Informations

• Publié par: AuthorHouse
• Date de parution: 03 juillet 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781456767525
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Will To Live
A YOUNG WOMAN'S VALIANT EFFORT TO REGAIN HER LIFE AFTER A HIT-AND-RUN DRIVER ALMOST TOOK IT FROM HER.
 
 
 
 
Kimberly A Freeman
 
 
 

 
 
AuthorHouse™
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.authorhouse.com
Phone: [phone]
 
 
 
 
© 2009 Kimberly A Freeman. All rights reserved.
 
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
 
Published by AuthorHouse 03/31/2023
 
ISBN: 978-1-4389-6181-1 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4567-6752-5 (e)
 
 
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
 
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
Contents
Chapter One I just wanted to jog
Chapter Two So much done in such little time
Chapter Three Wow, I can’t do anything
Chapter Four Starting over
Chapter Five Almost everyone in a hospital is great….almost
Chapter Six One would have guessed that I was a little kid
Chapter Seven You never miss something until it’s gone
Chapter Eight You win some, you lose some
Chapter Nine What in the world is going on?
Chapter Ten Still trying to keep my head above water
Chapter Eleven “I walked over to my mom as she hugged me, and I continued to cry on her shoulder.”
Chapter Twelve The best present I could ever get
Chapter Thirteen Things are finally looking up
Chapter Fourteen If just one student soaked it in, it was worth it
Chapter Fifteen My evaluation
Chapter Sixteen Going back home
Chapter Seventeen Keeping my mind on track
Chapter Eighteen It took a while, but I finally enjoyed going
Chapter Nineteen Excited was an understatement
Chapter Twenty I wasn’t there yet, but at least she got her life back
Chapter Twenty-One How could I not??
Chapter Twenty-Two Getting my life back…. Slowly but surely
Chapter Twenty-Three It was time
Chapter Twenty-Four All the little things that we never think twice about
Chapter Twenty-Five And life goes on
 
 
This book is dedicated to the following:
~Each and every friend, customer, co-workers of my mom, co-workers of my dad and people whom I have never even met but still thought about me and prayed for me.
~Everyone from the Wellington, FL ward, Derwood, MD ward and the Seneca, MD stake. Thank you for your prayers and fasts.
~All my “back-in-the-day” co-workers, both at TGI Friday’s and Longhorn Steakhouse. I appreciate the phone calls, hospital visits, and just always wondering how I was doing.
~My parents; my three sisters, Tiffany, Elizabeth and Deborah; my niece and nephews who always kept me smiling, Brianna, Tyler and Anthony; and my extended family.
~Every doctor, nurse and therapist who helped bring me back to life: Dr. Rodriguez, Dr. Sachs, Dr. Weisz, Dr. Farronay, Dr. Farber, Dr. Dardano, Cynthia, Wendy, Chad, Rosanna, Candy, John, Sandy, Angela, Elvis, Debbie, Karina, Sue, Jimena and everyone else who I forgot to list. Trust me, I am indebted to all of you. I know I would not be walking and talking if it weren’t for you all.
~My Heavenly Father. Despite how I went through hell to get where I am, for some reason, He kept me here.
~My mother. I love you more than I can ever say. There are no words in the English language to thank you for stopping everything you were doing to become my personal nurse, my guardian, my interpreter, and my best friend. You were, and will always be, my angel.
Chapter One
I just wanted to jog
A bunch of friends came over on a Saturday night to hang out with me, for the last time. Myke and I spent time together the whole weekend. The tall, outgoing, handsome man had been one of my best friends for about four years. We always loved each other’s company. We hung out at least twice a week, if not more, and despite the many fights we had, we always came back to each other.
The moving truck was coming on Monday. I decided to move to Florida because I was tired of the cold weather, the traffic, and just the fact that I have been in Maryland almost my whole life. I was ready for a change, a permanent change. My sister and best friend, Elizabeth, and my (then) nine-year-old nephew, Anthony, drove with me from Maryland to Florida. It took about sixteen hours to drive down there. We started driving on Tuesday at ten o’clock in the morning. Tuesday night, we ended up somewhere in North Carolina and went to a hotel. It was small and run by a family. We could have stopped at any of the many well-known hotels around the area, but we chose the cheapest. We went in the room and right away we could tell it was cheap, but we were tired and did not want to spend a lot of money. Anthony went right to sleep, while Elizabeth and I laid down planning to go to sleep, but we couldn’t help but laugh. First, anytime the air turned on, there was a loud sound that made you feel like there’s a train going by. I got up to go to the bathroom, and right in front of me on the toilet was a cockroach. I told Elizabeth, and we both started laughing until we could barely breathe. She said we didn’t know there would be a fourth person in our room. Next came the fact that there was almost no toilet paper in the bathroom. It was about 11:00 p.m., but we knew that all three of us would need to use the bathroom in the morning, so we walked outside to the “front desk.” There was no one there. We rang the bell that barely even made a noise, and an adult wearing pajamas entered the room, along with two children also wearing pajamas. I told him that we needed toilet paper. He asked us to hold on, then walked away. A minute later, he handed us half of a toilet paper roll. I would normally tell him that we would like an entire roll, but it was late and I knew we had many more miles to drive tomorrow. So we just accepted it and went back into our room. Of course, we just laughed even more about being given what seemed like their old toilet paper. We finally calmed down our laughing and fell asleep.
Wednesday, we reached our destination. Florida. Perfect weather, nice summer breeze, a lot of palm trees, and the chance for a new, exciting life. Being beyond glad that we did not have to drive anymore, we parked in the driveway of George and Tiffany’s house. Tiffany is my oldest sister, who married George six years ago, and had dated while living in Maryland. They both had decided to move down to Florida for the same reason that I did.
Another reason I wanted to move to Florida is because I missed my niece and my other nephew, Brianna (then 11) and Tyler (then 13). I have always been very close with my niece and nephews, more so than your average aunt. I have always been especially close with Tyler. So ever since Tiffany decided to move to Florida, I always thought about him and couldn’t wait to see him.
Elizabeth and Anthony stayed for a few days. She helped me unpack, and Anthony was on cloud nine playing video games and spending time with Tyler. As much as I could not wait to leave Maryland behind, I knew that would include leaving my best friend. Elizabeth and I have been peas and carrots for as long as I remember. The day it was time for her to go back to the place I was glad to leave, I cried harder and longer than I had in a long time. I felt like no matter where I chose to live, I would lose. But there were just too many negatives in staying in Maryland. So I wiped my tears as much as I could and said goodbye. The next couple months were very hard for both of us. We could not have our “date” night every Saturday anymore, we missed getting our nails done together, and even though we talked on the phone, it wasn’t the same.
I have been a server for the past six years, ever since I graduated from high school. So when I moved to West Palm Beach, I looked for a well-known, busy restaurant where I would be able to make good money.
I worked at Longhorn Steakhouse, and went in head first. I worked five or six days a week, and I absolutely loved working there. I got along with my managers, I loved my co-workers, and I made a good amount of money. In September I decided to go back to school to finish my college degree. I only needed twelve more credits, so I added school three times a week to my already busy schedule. Tiffany had her third child, George II. I have a tattoo of three small stars on my right leg for my “kids”: one star for Tyler, one for Brianna, and the third for Anthony. But now, despite how much it hurt, I knew I had to get another star added to my tattoo. Even though I was always busy and almost never home, I was very satisfied with how things were going. I loved my job, I knew I was going to graduate from college soon, and I found and got along with two females who were looking for a third roommate. I lived just twenty minutes away from my niece and nephews, so I spent time with them whenever I was free.
In December, I was finally done with school, for good. I received a degree in Business. I went out to clubs and bars with many of my co-workers: cooks, servers, and hostesses, about every other weekend, sometimes staying out until three or four in the morning. Now Christmas was just around the corner. Elizabeth and Anthony flew down from Maryland to be with us, as well as to enjoy the lack of snow, even if only for a week.