This is the first installment of “Tell Your Story Tuesday” where I am going to share stories about or from permanently/temporarily disabled people. Today’s story will be from your truly. It is from the first time I was temporarily disabled during my second semester of sophomore year in high school. There is a second time directly after but that’s a story for another day.

None the less for a little background, When I got injured I was on the soccer team, I was a defender if it matters. I played in almost every game for both the JV and the varsity team, however I wasn’t the best, I was just the best of the worst- if that makes sense.

It just happened one day when we where practicing on the field behind Clarkston High School nicked named the “Dust Bowl”. In just two seconds I was passing the ball during a drill the next my knee felt like it popped out of place and went back. The field was notorious for its little divots and potholes but I never cared for them until that day. I remember thinking how I hoped it was just a temporary pain that would go away but it never did I just sat on the sideline watching everyone else play.

I didn’t go to the hospital after though I downplayed it to my family. I was so scared of how much it would cost my family so I just iced for next couple of days until the pain got so bad that I needed to go. The hospital didn’t give me a brace or anything just crutches, pain medication, and I got told to stay off the leg. When the guy was teaching me how to use it I remember thinking that that moment was so ironic because when I was younger I wanted to have crutches so bad because I thought they where cool and now I had them. During this time I wasn’t to bother I was just me with crutches. I got no special perks other than getting to leave the class earlier at the end of the day to get my stuff out of the locker before they called for the buses and getting to leave early to get on the lunch line.

I remember this one day in particular it was the end of the school day probably like a week or two max into me having my crutches. Everything was going as usual, I had about no more than 5 to 10 minutes to leave my class get my stuff and get downstairs to the buses. The only thing that was different was I had a helper. She was a friend of mine from the same class and she also rode the same bus as me. I didn’t need her help but she didn’t want to be in the class any longer so she pleaded with teacher to help me. I honestly didn’t reject it because a little help wouldn’t hurt.

As we stood by my locker getting my stuff I heard these two female teachers talking. I could hear one of them saying that I was faking it, she literally said “these students do anything to get out of class these day”. I physically paused. At first I thought she couldn’t be talking about me, because up until this point I had perfect attendance and I was never late through the whole school year; but what if she was? I couldn’t understand where she got any indication that I was a student that disliked school so much that I would pull something like that.

I was immediately filled with so much anger thinking of how for the days leading up to my hospital visit I was walking around with a Ziplock bag filled with melting ice tided to my leg with a scarf just so I could be able to feel somewhat ok enough at school. I thought of how at home I would use a golf club as a walking stick or how everyday I had to wake up and hour earlier than before because I needed to limp all the way down to the end of the street because my bus driver refused to pick me up from the house even though she drove right past it everyday. Not to mention how depressed I was because I constantly thought of how easy I could be replaced on the team thinking maybe if I went to all the practices and games and held the bag of balls maybe they would feel sorry enough to not replace me.

I honestly think if I didn’t have self control I would have snapped because at the end of it all who was she to assume that I was that type of student. In my head she didn’t even respect me enough to at least wait until I was out of ear shot.

None the less this is getting long so that’s it on the chronicles of the temporarily disable me. Hopefully the next story will be of someone else so I can tell other’s stories but if not you all will get to read about what happened the second time I was temporarily disabled.

Goodbye for now!