Rehabilitation is a special place and time, often you're forced to face your own new, sometimes temporally, sometimes permanent limitations. Being able to share things like that helps you along, and that's where you fellow patients play an important role.
Two weeks ago I had had a bad week, the silly prothesis didn't want to cooperate, on my way home I saw an other patients face, he had just tried out his new prothesis for his leg, he'd been able to stand up for the first time in months, seeing his face just made my day.
For two months, two months that I will never forget in my life, I had the privilege of sharing the room with Gwenn, during those months you get to know him, his family, his brother and his girlfriend.
And although I had left hospital, it still struck me hard, when I was told that he was dead.
He died the 17th of march 2011. I think everyone could think of an explanation for why he did it, but still it is a story of a motor biker, who suffered a terrible accident, and where I was hoping for a happy ending some how.
I do think I was privileged to have known him, and he certainly opened my eyes to what paralyzed actually means. And still he had a lovely sense of humor, always ready with advice how to deal with doctors and the vast hospital machine in general.
I'm truly sorry it ended like that for him.