I Never Had a Brain Injury – A Survivor’s Wish

A Child Survivor’s Story about Living with Brain Injury

I am a TBI survivor. I was struck by a car at the age of 6. I suffered a brainstem injury and I was in a coma for two months. When I woke up as a result of my accident, my eyes never fully opened. I couldn’t walk, talk or do anything for myself. I had to relearn everything. School was very difficult. After my accident I had a learning disability so learning was very hard for me. It was also difficult because I didn’t have any friends in school and I was always teased and picked on. Even though learning was hard I never gave up. I even managed to go to two years of college.

Everything in my life has been more difficult than most people. Learning has always been tough and I have always felt younger than my years. I’ve never felt as mature as most people my age. Life is still difficult because even though I may be smart, people see my eyes and just assume I’m blind. Most people that don’t know me treat me as though I have more of a disability than I actually do.

Even though I have this disability and it’s affected my life, I’ve learned ways to live with it. One bad moment can change your life forever.

Following is a short fiction story by Genie Zorbas based on her own life and her wishes of “…what might have been.”

Just One Wish – A Short Story

By Genie Zorbas

It was two weeks before Jessica, her mom Sarah, and her brother Chris went on vacation. Her mom had promised her it would be “her week”. Sarah had felt bad because she worked so many hours and Jessica hung out at their restaurant all day with nothing to do. She was just a child and could really use some time to play. Jessica’s dad would stay behind and manage the restaurant while the rest of the family was away. 

They were so looking forward to this vacation. They had rented a cottage for a week. They planned their meals, went shopping, bought new beach towels, and Sarah bought Jessica a new bikini. They were so excited because they had not gone on a vacation since they opened their restaurant.

The day they arrived at the beach, Jessica’s dad warned her to “never to cross that road alone”. He noticed that the road ran between their cottage and the beach, and he could just picture his daughter running out to the beach in excitement. He shook the thought out of his head and helped unload the car. Her dad kissed the family good-bye and he drove away.

It was cloudy that day so they stayed in and played board games. When it cleared up, they were happy to go out and play miniature golf. Every time they weren’t looking, Jessica would roll the golf ball into the hole with her hand. Sarah noticed and smiled to herself. She would never say anything and embarrass her daughter.

The next day, the family went out for breakfast. Later on, the kids begged their mom to go to the beach and walk around. Sarah debated whether or not to go because she really wasn’t feeling up to it. She decided that Chris was old enough to handle it. Just in case, she dressed Jessica in her shorts and shirt so she would not go into the water without her. Jessica protested because she wanted to wear her new bikini.

Sarah stated firmly, “Absolutely not. Not until I feel better and can come with you. My head is killing me. You can go collect shells until I get out there.”

Jessica pouted and Chris took her hand and led her to the door. As they were leaving, Sarah shouted, “Be careful!”

“Yeah, Mom,” Chris replied.

Sarah went to lie down. It could not have been more than two minutes that passed when Sarah jerked upright upon hearing her son’s painful cries. Sarah ran out of the cottage to find Jessica on the ground. She had been struck by a car.

 ******

The next thing Jessica knew, she was lying in a hospital room bed.

“What? Where?” Jessica sputtered.

“I’m here Jess. You were struck by a car. You have been asleep, in a coma, for two months.”

Jessica came to learn that she could not walk or talk very well. Her life was permanently changed.

 Twenty-Three Years Later

Jessica was sitting at home with her family. She thought back on her life and was depressed about the accident, which left her with a traumatic brain injury. Although she regained her ability to walk and talk, one of her eyes never opened. She had learning disabilities. Even though she was smart, she could never keep up in school.  It was difficult making friends and she was always teased by peers. She looked different, and other kids didn’t understand. Life felt very lonely without friends. Despite feeling this way, she loved school. School was great because it allowed her to be with people, even if they hurt her. People told her she had such a warm and friendly disposition. They did not know how she felt inside. 

When school was over, she was looking forward to graduating from high school and getting a job. This would make life easier. She would meet people. That, she realized, was just a fantasy. It didn’t work out. Finding a job was nearly impossible. Everyone thought she was blind and no one wanted to hire someone with a disability. No one wanted to give her a chance. She had painful migraines and could not tolerate bright light. Life had gotten so difficult; sometimes she felt she couldn’t bear it anymore.

Sarah noticed the look on Jessica’s face, and knew she must be thinking about the pain in her life. To make her feel better, her mom suggested that they go for a ride. They got in the car and drove away. A little ways down the road, they saw a yard sale.

“Let’s stop, Mom,” Jessica said.

Jessica looked around and saw a pretty, unusual vase and begged her mom to buy it for her. The sun made all of the colors sparkle on it. Her mom bought the vase for her and they decided to drive back home. 

Jessica brought the vase up to her bedroom, placed it on her bureau and just admired it. Staring at it, she thought she saw a speck of dust. She walked over to it and tried to remove the dust. With a brush of her hand, the vase started shaking. Jessica started to get nervous. She couldn’t figure out what was going on.  All of a sudden, a strange purple smoke started to rise out of the vase. When the smoke cleared, to her disbelief, she saw a rather short man standing before her. She rubbed her eyes. This was weird; she had never had hallucinations before. Was this a new symptom of her head injury?

“Thank you for letting me out. My name is Sam. I am a magical Genie. I will grant you one wish.”

Jessica was completely stunned and did not know what to say. She started stuttering trying to get the words out.

“You’re a g-g-g….genie? You g-g-grant me a wish?”

She thought, “Is this guy for real? He came out of nowhere. I must be crazy. Or, maybe he is real….” Then the thought hit her like a brick: This could be her only chance to change everything.

“The one wish I would like is to go back two weeks before my accident,” she blurted.

Sam stood silently and finally said, “Those aren’t the wishes I usually get,” and then, “Are you sure you don’t want anything else?”

Jessica looked down, thinking to herself.

“Yes, I’m sure. That’s all I want.”

Sam then folded his arms, bowed his head and said, “Your wish is my command.”

All of a sudden, the room started to tremble. The things on her bureau started to move around. Jessica became scared and a tear rolled down her cheek. Over on the wall, a giant portal began to form.

“Jessica,” Sam said, “Do not be afraid. That is for you to go through. That is how you get to your past.”

Jessica wiped her tear and built up enough courage to jump through.

1985

Jessica ended up in the bathroom of their restaurant. She got up and brushed herself off. She went to fix her hair in the mirror.

“Did I fall asleep in the bathroom?” she thought, “What’s wrong with me?”

She was reassured by her reflection, “That was just a dream, it must be. I am the same age. But why am I in the restaurant? It was sold years ago.”

She left the bathroom to go find her mom. When she saw Sarah at the counter, she became flooded with emotions. Her mom was so young. Sarah was about the same age as Jessica was now. How could this be? I did go back! Being back in the restaurant brought back happy feelings from her youth.

“Can I help you?” asked her mom.

Jessica was speechless.

“Can I help you?” her mother repeated, louder this time.

“I…I heard you have great food,” Jessica stumbled.

Sarah stared at Jessica for the longest time. 

“I’m sorry, you just look so familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?”

Jessica wanted to scream, “Yes, it’s me Mom. From the future. I came back!”

She didn’t want her mom to think she was just some crazy woman. 

“What’s your name,” Sarah asked.

“Jesse.”

“Wow. That’s funny. My daughter’s name is Jessica. You kinda look…”

“What’s your name?” Jessica cut her off.

Sarah noticed the line forming behind Jessica and snapped back into work.

“My name is Sarah. So what can I get you?”

******** 

The next day, Jessica returned for lunch. She and her mom just started talking like they were old friends. One of the things her mom asked her about was what she does for work.

“I am a psychic….and I work with the police and I’m….working on a case. 

Jessica had thought of this story the night before in her hotel room. It sounded strange to say it out loud.

“Oh, that’s so interesting. What kind of things do you help the police with?” Sarah inquired.

“For a while now I have been working on a missing child story. It’s been months and we can’t find the kid. She was kidnapped by her father and every time we get close, they run. So anyway, Sarah, tell me a little about your family.”

“Well, I’m married and I have two children. There’s my son, Chris, he’s twelve, and my little girl, Jessica, just turned six. What about your family?”

“Um…I’m not married. I live with my mom. My mom and I are very close. She’s my best friend. I have a dad, my brother Chris, my sister-in-law, and my nephew. I also have a dog named Snowball.”

“You’re kidding me—you’re brother’s name is Chris! Like my son! This is so weird!”

The more they talked, the closer they felt. Jessica was waiting for the right moment to tell her mom about her premonition—the one that would change everything. She didn’t want to scare her mom or make her think she was just some crazy psychic woman.

When the moment felt right, Jessica began.

“You know how I told you I am a psychic. Well, I don’t know how to tell you this, so I am just going to say it. I am here for a reason. I came to tell you that I had a vision about your family.”

Sarah froze.

“I had a vision that your little girl is going to get hit by a car on June 23^rd of this year. Does this day mean anything to you?”

Sarah thought for a moment.

“You’re really scaring me. That’s the second day that we’ll be on vacation.

Jessica saw the shocked look on Sarah’s face and said, “I know this is hard to take in. I’m sorry.” 

“Are you sure? How accurate are your visions? I’m finding this really hard to believe.”

“Please, Sarah. You have to believe me. You have to listen. My premonitions are never wrong.”

“I’ll have to go home and speak to my husband. I don’t know what to do.” 

“I’m pleading with you. Please, don’t go on this vacation. Your daughter’s life depends on it,” cried Jessica.

****** 

Sarah went home that night after a confusing and stressful day at the restaurant. She immediately told her husband that she met a psychic and that the psychic works with the police, and so she must be legit, and she said that she had a vision Jessica was going to get hit by a car. 

“What? Who is this nut job?!” said her husband in anger and disbelief.

“Honey, calm down. Just hear me out! Why would she know about our vacation date? Besides, I have been having bad dreams. I don’t want to go away next week. I have a bad feeling about it all. There is something strangely familiar about that woman—it’s like it’s a sign. You know how I am about these things.

Her husband huffed and walked out of the room. They went to bed in silence. Sarah couldn’t sleep. All she could think about is what Jesse had told her. She couldn’t settle, and tossed and turned. Her mind raced with questions:

Why would she say something like that?

Is this lady crazy?

Should we postpone our vacation? Jessica will be so disappointed.

What do I tell the kids?

We’ve been planning this for a year.

Maybe I’m crazy to believe her.

I wonder why Jesse’s one eye is closed. Was she born that way? Was she hurt?

If it means even the slightest chance Jessica could get hurt, it just isn’t worth it. 

The next morning, she firmly told her husband her decision

“If there’s any chance something could happen…I will be so worried, I won’t be able to relax anyway. Please.”

He agreed, “If there is any chance of my little girl…it’s just not worth my baby getting hurt. I want you to be happy on this trip.”

They spent all morning rearranging the trip. Now, the only thing left to do was to tell the kids. Sarah called them into the living room and told them, “The car is broken. It will take two weeks to fix. We are not going on the trip.”

Chris exploded, “Mom! That’s not fair! I told all my friends we’re going!”

“I know you guys we’re looking forward to this vacation, but it doesn’t mean we won’t go. It just means we won’t go next week.”

Chris stomped out of the room. Jessica said, “Its okay, Mom. I understand. I can wait.”

Sarah hugged her daughter. She was so happy it was over

******

Later that day, Jesse came into the restaurant. Sarah told Jesse the decision she had made. Jessica was so happy she almost threw her arms around her mother’s neck. She stopped herself before she looked crazy. 

“The case I have been working on with the police has been solved. The little girl was found. It’s time for me to move on.”

“Oh, that’s so good,” Sarah said, “But, I am sad you are leaving. If you were right about my daughter…well, I just can’t thank you enough.” 

They hugged. It was very emotional. Jessica almost started to cry. Just then, as she left the restaurant and turned the corner, the Genie appeared.

“Jessica, you’re wish has been granted. It’s time to go back. But, beware that the life the way you knew it will never be the same.” 

Suddenly, the portal appeared and Jessica was filled with excitement and anxiety as she slipped into her new life. 

A Few Seconds Later

The portal opened and Jessica landed back in 2008 in her bedroom. She immediately got up to go look in the mirror. She gasped at what she saw: Her eyes were both completely open! The past had changed. 

Jessica walked into the kitchen where her whole family was gathered around the table. 

“Jessica!” her mom cried out, “Where have you been? We have been waiting for you to open this letter. It’s from the med school!”

Jessica was amazed. She grabbed the letter with excitement and tore it open. She let out a scream, “I’ve been accepted to medical school!!”

“Congratulations, Jessica!” The family cheered.

“Now we can get started on your wedding plans. Don’t forget you’re getting married next summer!” Her mom exclaimed. 

This had truly changed everything.