Around 3 in the morning yesterday I received a phone call from a friend of mine who lives in my res hall, I almost didn't answer but it was so unexpected that I decided it must be important. I was expecting a "life changing conversation" similar to others that the two of us had enjoyed quite frequently last year, especially if she had been drinking. What I received instead was a worried request that if I wasn't sleeping, I come to our mutual friends room. She then went on to explain that our friend had fallen and hurt an old injury, and was now crying and asking for myself, and her mother.
I made my way down to find my friend in a sorry state, her make-up was smeared, her leg was sloppily elevated and she was crying. It wasn't any sort of typical crying however. She frequently switched from painful sobs, to pitiful tears, to out right angry fits. It was not a pretty sight.
I quickly jumped in (over a pile of her crap) and began my attempts to comfort her so that she could tell me what had happened. The nights tale was finally revealed and as her confused tears continued to fall I helped her to better elevate and ice her leg. Once I was done and she had finally gained some sense of calm I left after telling her roommates how to best take care of her, and to call me if anything else happened or they needed help.
Between 9:47 am and 1:09 pm I received calls and texts from my injured friend and her roommates. I would read, respond and then fall back into a light sleep, until finally I was informed that my still highly emotional friend was preparing to go to the hospital. I knew I actually had to go physically check in. I rolled out of bed, put on my shoes and called the elevator to take me down the six flights to her room. I was just expecting to check in, give my two cents, and see her on her way with someone else's help, so I left my coat, my socks, my gloves, my money, essentially all of my important goods other than my access card behind.
I walked into her room and realized I had just walked into a "shit show." One thing led to another and next thing I know I am standing in the cold, in nothing but my unlaced shoes, school sweats, a T-shirt, a thin hoodie, and a beanie, waiting for a cab to take my friend and I to the hospital. We spent five hours on a bed in the hallway of an overcrowded hospital, and after some xrays, a knee brace, and a pair of crutches, she was at last discharged.
This left us standing outside; her all bundled in her coat, gloves and winter boots, and me still in my unlaced shoes and hoodie. It had begun to Snow.
My friend was now alternating between pitifully crying at her situation and laughing about how ridiculous it was that this was her life, while I attempted to hail a cab on a Friday night and keep my shivering to a minimum. Thirty or so minutes and a block of helping my friend slowly maneuver down the sidewalk on her new crutches and we were in a cab working our way back to school.
Once back on campus I made her buy me dinner seeing as I had been unable to eat all day because of her.
The point of this story is this. . .
Sometimes you just need to cry for your parents, and are really pissed when they aren't there.
Sometimes you have to be someone else's parent for a while.
Never go assess a situation without a coat, some gloves, a pair of socks and enough money for a cup of coffee.
Being someone's sole companion at a hospital can really make you feel like an adult.
It feels nice to be needed, to a certain extent.
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