Christmas was just round the corner
...a few years ago, and I had been working day and night to repay my family. A couple of years prior to that I had suffered a bad accident and my family looked after me, sacrificing many things for me, including foregoing getting presents for each other at Christmas to pay for my treatment.

I was determined to pay them back any way I could, but it was a long time until I was able to work again. But I managed to get a job in a bar at the beginning of November. I worked as many hours as I could, sometimes 72 a week, for terrible pay, but I didn't mind, I'd be able to pay my parents back. Unfortunately I still had lots of debts to pay, but I had worked it out that I would get all debts paid and still have money for their presents.

Now I didn't want to chance it, and such was my desire to repay them I thought I would buy theirs presents early. But on my way to the shops, near a pub, I somehow must have dropped my two fifty pound notes. I didn't realise for a good while, but I went back as soon as I realised and searched for them. I was totally desperate, the area was awful for my wheelchair and I fell out twice while desperately scrabbling about trying to find my £100. I couldn't leave without finding it. Once, when I fell out, I crawled along the cars instead of getting back in, to see if it was underneath any of them. I was there for hours...

Mum and Dad eventually found me, shattered, lying beside my wheelchair, which was now a bit mangled, and I was covered in mud and blood from cuts. My Mum went into shock apparently, and went into hospital, never to come out.

It was the worst day of my life, even beating the day of my injury.

And sometimes I wonder: what happened to those two £50 notes...
(Lannes, Tue 19 Sep 2006, 2:41, Reply)