here is an excerpt:
"Artie was again running at full speed. I crouched to steady myself. Fifty feet from my house, my wheels stopped at a crack. I didn’t. Flying through the air, I looked at my right hand clutching the leash. That was my last memory before the right side of my forehead met the pavement.
A neighbor, Laurie, found me in the street, clawing at my head, screaming in pain. Artie stood next to me. There was no blood. No sign of injury. Laurie told me months later that I begged her not to call paramedics. I just had a headache — I wanted to go home and sleep. Then I vomited on myself, and she dialed 911."
and another excerpt:
"One day, I hope to speak to kids about wearing helmets. I think that if I can persuade one kid to put on a helmet before skating then something good will have come from my misfortune. Despite the desire, I can’t concentrate long enough to write out my presentation and I don’t have the energy to take on a new venture.
Occasionally, I think of the promise I made to Aimee that day in the hospital. I try to show her how much I appreciate her and how sorry I am for what I’ve put her through, but my irritability, caused by the brain injury, prevents me. I hate to think that I am returning to my former self: a self-centered, self-absorbed person who went skateboarding one day without a helmet because he considered helmets uncool and unnecessary, a person who fails to appreciate the second chance. I hate to think that I am just another ingrate caught up in the trivialities of life. I hate to think that even a major blow to the head and a near-death experience aren’t enough to bring about change."
Broken Skull, Broken Heart
By Dorian Hargrove | Published Wednesday, April 21, 2010
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2010/apr/21/cover/
