Courage - my friend of 9 years
Today I will tell you the story of Courage, who has been my friend for the last 9 years. Wait, don't get me wrong, I am not talking about the attribute of courage in me (which is hardly anything worth talking about!). Actually, I am talking about courage personified, in the form of a friend whom I have known for about 9 years now.
Back when I met him, R was a friend of my then boyfriend, now husband, and I got to know him more and more as I started hanging out with their group. He is a complete fun loving guy, never takes life seriously and spreads his joie de vivre to all around him. He was the guy who probably danced the most at our wedding (we were so happy that he could make it despite being thousands of miles away).
It is hard to express what we felt, when six months after our wedding, we got a call from a mutual friend telling us that R had an accident. He fell while boarding a train and the train moved forward crushing his leg. I still remember the exact spot where my husband and I were standing when we got the call. We were in the middle of our street, walking towards our car and we just kept standing there. All I could picture was R dancing at our wedding. It was completely unbelievable. It was the kind of thing that one would hear about in the papers about people you don't know, but hearing it about a friend was too much to accept.
His leg was amputated soon after the accident. A part of us was restless to talk to him and find out how he was doing, but as I recall, we could only gather the courage to talk to him after about two weeks or so. And when we did talk to him, he was laughing as usual. He assured us he was fine, which was comforting but still very hard to believe - how could someone be fine and still smiling after such an incident?
It was two weeks ago when we finally met him (1.5 years after the accident) and what a meeting that was. It was characteristically R style! Hubby and I were visiting a friend from our undergrad school and in the middle of our lunch, the door opens and in walks R :) The surprise of seeing him, the relief at seeing him walk (with his artificial limb), and the sound of his laugh was nothing short of exhilarating. There he was, smiling as ever, cracking jokes, teasing us, and simply living an exemplary life, a life of faith and courage.
Back when I met him, R was a friend of my then boyfriend, now husband, and I got to know him more and more as I started hanging out with their group. He is a complete fun loving guy, never takes life seriously and spreads his joie de vivre to all around him. He was the guy who probably danced the most at our wedding (we were so happy that he could make it despite being thousands of miles away).
It is hard to express what we felt, when six months after our wedding, we got a call from a mutual friend telling us that R had an accident. He fell while boarding a train and the train moved forward crushing his leg. I still remember the exact spot where my husband and I were standing when we got the call. We were in the middle of our street, walking towards our car and we just kept standing there. All I could picture was R dancing at our wedding. It was completely unbelievable. It was the kind of thing that one would hear about in the papers about people you don't know, but hearing it about a friend was too much to accept.
His leg was amputated soon after the accident. A part of us was restless to talk to him and find out how he was doing, but as I recall, we could only gather the courage to talk to him after about two weeks or so. And when we did talk to him, he was laughing as usual. He assured us he was fine, which was comforting but still very hard to believe - how could someone be fine and still smiling after such an incident?
It was two weeks ago when we finally met him (1.5 years after the accident) and what a meeting that was. It was characteristically R style! Hubby and I were visiting a friend from our undergrad school and in the middle of our lunch, the door opens and in walks R :) The surprise of seeing him, the relief at seeing him walk (with his artificial limb), and the sound of his laugh was nothing short of exhilarating. There he was, smiling as ever, cracking jokes, teasing us, and simply living an exemplary life, a life of faith and courage.
posted by deepThoughts at
6:45 AM
5 Comments:
Wow, what an amazing story. I'm truly humbled by people that find strength at times when I can't imagine having any.
Thanks for sharing this today.
By
JustRun, at 8:37 AM
That's so powerful! You're lucky to have such an amazing friend in your life!!
By
Bre, at 10:10 AM
You're so right; your friend is courage personified. It takes a strong person who can maintain a sense of fun and hopefulness after being dealt such a terrible blow. Makes me feel guilty for feeling sorry for myself when I had a cold last week!
By
Lotus Reads, at 6:40 PM
made me cry
By
Anonymous, at 7:41 PM
Thanks for all of your comments.
Lotus - I know what you mean about feeling guilty. When I sprained my ankle a couple of weeks ago and was using crutches, I was constantly catching myself saying "Oh, this is so hard" until I realized that for me it was a 1-2 week thing, how about those who go through a struggle like this on a daily basis? It humbled me instantly.
Anon - Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I found myself choking when I was telling someone last week about R and that's when I knew I had to share this tale of courage with all of you.
By
deepThoughts, at 10:43 PM
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