So, a friend of mine messaged me on Facebook a few days ago. I didn't respond to it right away because first of all I rarely check my Facebook account. Second of all, we didn't really talk that much before, so when I caught a glimpse of the notification and it was only a "wave" and a random bunch of emojis, I thought I would get to it later. Plus, things were kind of hectic at work this week, so...
WOW, such a long series of lame excuses.
He is my friend since junior high, we were even classmates in seventh grade. We also went to the same high school and university. But we always had different sets of friends and activities so we didn't really hang out together. He was kind of a "hi friend" you know? Like, we would say hi when passing each other in the class corridors or at the canteen but never actually....befriend one another, I would say (???).
Anyway, the thing is, last year in January he had a bad accident. He was riding his motorbike at full speed. Need I mention that one of our friends once said that this guy was a reckless biker. But it was very late at night and the road was empty. Too bad, he hit a large pothole in the road, fell off his motorbike, and injured his head, shoulders, back, and whatnot. He went into a coma. At first, the doctors couldn't do the needed surgery since his level of consciousness was too low and unstable. However, he finally got through several surgeries, one of those was craniotomy like the one Malala had after she was shot by the Taliban. After about three months, his recovery was significant. He was so eager and motivated to get better especially with the encouragement from his family and closest friends that came to visit. He regained his consciousness, eyesight, limited ability to move, and he started breathing without ventilator and tracheostomy. His brain damage was so severe though, that some people said he might not be fully "normal" again. But, let's just pray for the best.
It was on August 2017 recital for graduation when I finally saw him again. He was not graduating back then since he has not finished his thesis yet, but he came in a wheel-chair with his parents and they said he wanted to be there for his friends. It was really sweet of him and almost got me teared up if not already. I didn't know whether or not he remembered me, but I said hi like the old times and he smiled. So I went on to my recital and on to my own life while checking up on him through our friends only every once in a while. We met again at a high school reunion earlier this year. This time he could already walk slowly and communicate with other people including me. It was a little bit awkward though, since I, myself, can feel uneasy sometimes when it comes to talking to people whom I know but not know enough...you know? Now try adding "having to figure out what the counterpart means to say" to the equation... Well, all in all, I think he can comprehend what people are saying to him and we can understand him although it's not as smooth as typical conversations.
In our chat today, he asked me how I'm doing, where I work, and he also told me that he met his thesis advisor to discuss the possibility of continuing his thesis. I wish him luck for his thesis and he wish I "do well and successful in work". Now I don't know why he sort of reaches for me (or maybe not, maybe I just overthink it) and I also don't know how much he can recall from his memories. But I know he needs his friends to support him and make him feel more familiar with his surroundings. However since we were not that close before the accident (and even after that as well), I'm afraid I can't be the friend that he needs, because I was not even in his surrounding.
Or maybe we can just like.... start over? Like a new old friend?
Either way I wish him a full speed recovery.
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