Why I wear a helmet now (and why you should, too)

"Have you ever heard the adage 'You are as old as you feel?'" 'Timmy' asked me from behind the prescription sunglasses that he had recently popped one of the lenses out of by accident. He was wearing a tuxedo-printed t-shirt, and the fake rose screen-printed to the fake vest pocket had a blob of yolk on it from a miscalculated bite into a deviled egg. The blue-raz flavored slurpy he was drinking had enhanced his smile by clown-like proportions, and his purple-stained lips gaped open in a half smile as he waited for my nod. "Because I feel like I'm 101." This was the last thing I had expected to hear from a man who had been requesting to see "The Smurfs" since the first previews for it came out, and whose childish personality had changed very little from the time he hit his head while riding his bike forty years earlier.

 But very few situations have gone 'as expected' since taking a job at a brain trauma rehab facility a few weeks ago. I never would have expected to find myself in a bathroom having a debate with a very large, very naked man over whether or not he should put his socks on before taking a shower. I never would have expected to spend hours walking through the mall with someone who was begging so desperately for a free phone at every cell phone store, that he was eventually lectured on the fundamentals of capitalism by one confused employee.

I may be wiping people's butts and risking strangulation on a daily basis, but what I get out of this job is a lot more than the eleven dollars an hour they are paying me to be there. Besides the colorful conversations with people like Timmy, and the amusement of being in completely novel situations in public, I get to hear some truly incredible stories, about how these people got to where they are and how they survived against all odds, and how some of them are taking recovery into their own hands, and rebuilding a life for themselves despite the constant struggles they face. I have a new appreciation for the homeostasis my body systems can maintain on their own, and for the (relative) clarity with which my brain can function. These people have taught me how quickly everything in life can change. One minute, you may be riding your bike to work like you always do, and the next, you are in a several month coma and nothing will never be as it was. It has given me a little more gratitude for every moment. And now I wear a helmet when I ride my bike. You should, too.