A surprising reaction!
By: Byron
A few weeks ago, I was sitting in a restaurant with my roommate. We were talking about all sorts of things before that question I tend to dislike came up. He asked if I had a car and if I could drive. Whenever someone brings this up, anxiety rushes through me. Not because of the actual question, but because I feel I have to explain my whole situation. In the past, I would shy away from it and not go into detail. It has only been in the past few months that I realized that to get to know people better I have to be honest not only with myself but with others as well with what I have. With my roommate, I also realized I should tell him given we live in the same room. As I started explaining that I couldn’t drive, I found myself telling him that I had a hemispherectomy. He then asked if I’ll ever get my eyesight on the right side of each eye back. I smiled and said well because they took out the entire left side of my brain it doesn’t exist anymore, and so the answer is no. We then did what I do all the time at doctors offices which is at what point can I no longer see something to the right side of me. My roommate was fascinated by what he learned in that short amount of time. His reaction taught me that what I am scared of regarding how people will react to what I had done is not true. Instead, many people are fascinated with my medical situation and how I live on a daily basis.
This is awesome.. Thank you Byron for being such an amazing advocate..