#myaccident

How I got here – a recap

Confucius says…

There is a saying by the Chinese master- teacher Confucius which goes:

            We all have two lives, and the second one begins when we realise we only have one

Luckily for all of us, the whole of Existence seem to conspire to help us come to that realization – all we have to do, is listen.

Hearing my own voice

Seven years ago, on a cold Friday night in July 2011, I was hit by…

It was like any other softball practice. The midafternoon sun was shining, but it was the end of March, only a few days before my birthday in fact, so there was still a bit of a chill in the slight breeze. We were batting, and while one girl was hitting, the rest of us stood in the outfield and caught the hits. I was still relatively new to softball. I had never played before this season, but the softball coach also coached the other two sports I played, tennis and basketball. So naturally, he convinced me to join softball as well.

              I was uncomfortable going after fly balls and since this was batting, not catching practice, I would let the balls hit the ground before fielding them. Luckily, this was common thought throughout the team, so it was less awkward when I wasn’t the only one.

              After a few girls went, my coach turned around and yelled at us, “You think I’m not paying attention, but I want you girls to go after every ball like it was a game, or else everyone is running the hill!”

              Shoot. I actually had to try. I felt my gut produce a knot the size of a softball. I was standing in left field, naturally where most of the balls end up for right handed batters. Becca was the next one up. She was a senior and had played softball for most of her life, meaning her hits would come right to me. I took a few steps back, hoping maybe someone else would pick up for my nervous laziness.

              CRACK

              The first one flew straight into center field. I took a breath of relief, but she had another nine balls to go.

              CRACK

              The next one was a perfect line drive directly towards where the shortstop would have been. I relaxed a bit more, just in case I had to make a fake attempt at catching a ball.

              CRACK

              I saw the ball go up. Right in my direction. I was definitely going to be the closest person. I really didn’t want to make everyone run the dreaded hill on my behalf, so I lifted my glove above my head and put a little jog into my step. Suddenly, it disappeared into the sun. I squinted my eyes and my feet stuttered, and I moved my glove a little to the left in attempt to relocate the missing softball.

              All it took was that tiny displacement. Time seemed to slow, if only for a millisecond. I never saw the ball. I only felt a light tap on the end of my glove before a mind shattering THUD.

              Consumed by blackness, I lost track of everything. Pain searing through my head, I couldn’t get a grip on what was happening. I opened my eyes to find myself bent over with my hand up to my nose, feeling a warm sensation oozing through my fingers. Shakily, I saw my hand move away from my face to reveal a dark red liquid dripping to the ground.

I heard soft padding rushing towards me. “Something happened to Sage!”

The next thing I remember is arms around me, guiding me to the dugout while I was still slightly bent over with my hand up to my face. The hands gently helped me sit down on the cool bench. I glanced up to see what was happening. The entire team was standing around me, all with shocked faces. My coach was on the phone, and I easily guessed it was probably Darren, the high school athletic trainer.