Rebuilding A Life

I grew up in a large family. I am the oldest of six children. (3 boys and 3 girls) I always loved being a part of a big family, and after my accident, was one of the fondest memories I have of the care that I received from my family. So, once my father got me discharged from the hospital...this put an extra stress on the family...all of the sudden they all had to carry the load of their once active oldest sister, who had become a figure head in the family...virtually raising my younger brothers and sisters, while my mother and father worked hard, and created THE AMERICAN CHIROPRACTOR MAGAZINE, that I now work for, (celebrating our 40th year this next year!)and walk in the shadows of my Father and late mother.  Suddenly though, everyone took time out.  I slept in my sister's room, close to the kitchen and all of the activity, and she helped me get to the bathroom, and take care of the usually normal activities, but after I returned from the hospital, from the time that I woke up from the coma, I couldn't move the right side of my body.  Also, I lost my memory for about a year and a half...had to re-learn things...Instantly, my father went into military-like action bringing me back to life, so that I could get back to normal and back to school ASAP...they couldn't send me back like I was!! So one of the first things that my father did, was to throw me in the pool...I had always been a competitive swimmer as a child...he knew that muscle memory would eventually take effect. Of course, the first time, at least, he had to jump in after me, my mom later told me, but eventually, and in record time, I was able to swim the course of the pool...back and forth, as I had become accustomed to. So, just a couple weeks after my release from the hospital, my parents arranged for me to return to school...I think it was just a week after school began, but the dormitory room that I had reserved had already been given away...the only place left for me to live was on the top floor of an all girls dormitory, Forest. The only floor that needed a key to get up to in the elevator, thus earning it the title of the "Virgin Vault."  Every girl had her own reason for being up there, and I would say, it was quite a cast of characters, but I no-doubt, wasn't much different, because when I first returned to school, the right side of my body was still quite a bit weaker, making simple tasks such as writing, talking and even walking arduous tasks, as I got tired throughout the day. Anyway, 2nd semester of my 2nd year of college, I had become much stronger, and was able to get a room and room-mate in my dorm of choice: Reed...this is when I met Melissa, my room-mate, who I roomed with for the rest of the 2nd year, and then moved off campus and lived in an apartment with her in the Brownstone Apartments with a girlfriend of mine from high school...During the summer that year, my parent's were so happy to have me alive, that they had a portfolio taken of me that I never did anything with, as modeling was never my passion, but it can be seen a little worn, as it was recently uncovered with a bunch of old photo albums...