2) My Near Death Experience

I am not sure when it exactly happened.

​As you can see from the photo above, it was taken some time between 1994-1995. I was in the 2nd grade attending W. C. Andrews Elementary School at Portland, Texas. I was the shortest kid in my class, and for every class I attended throughout the end of college.

​Right now, I am standing at 5'5. Imagine how tall I was there. Oh well, size does not really matter. By the way, my dad thought I was going to be a fat kid as I grew older, since I had a disproportionate body with a huge head attached to a small body. For example, I had similar body features, like the cartoon character, Bobby, who appeared in the 1990s animated TV show, "Bobby's World."

Before this photo was taken, my mom and I were in an argument about what to wear. I won the argument, and preferably wore my comfortable clothes. I had no style whatsoever, except my high top shoes, Converse Chuck Taylor's All Star, Tasmanian Devil special edition. Heck, it looked like I was wearing a skirt.

​Of course, my mom always wanted me to dress up on special events or occasions. Also, I was forced to wear my best attire at Mass, for the reason that, my mom was raised from a very strict Catholic family. She would try her best to keep the family tradition going on. Now, I see some people at Mass only wearing casual clothes, like Golden State Warriors' gear.

Time has changed. It is a new generation. Honestly, I am not a fully devoted Catholic, even though I was baptized and I went to a Catholic school from 4th grade to 12th grade. I still do believe in God. As long as I know my morals. My mom knows, and she respects my belief.

I believe this photo was taken a few months before my near death experience. On to my story...

Thus, I was either 7 or 8 years old. It happened during recess, some time between 10 and 10:30. We were playing a game of tag, where whoever is the "it" person must touch somebody and say, "Tag, you're it!" The objective of the game is to avoid the "it" person. Even though I was the shortest kid, I was the fastest runner out of everybody, so I was rarely "it."

(In this technology age, I wonder if kids these days know the game of tag. If they did, would they ever play it? I doubt it. They would be playing Pokémon Go instead. Yuh, I am being judgmental.)

On a sunny day, my classmates and I continued to play a game of tag. As the "it" person was chasing me, I ran and jumped over a hand railing, like parkour style, even though I did not know anything stunt-related at that time. Somehow, I fell awkwardly, and my head landed into the cement. As I was laying on the cement, my body was feeling fine, except my vision. I can only see darkness. I was scared and crying loudly in tears.

I was surrounded by a group of my classmates, who were still trying to comfort me. The loud bell had rang. Recess was over. Everybody stayed near me. I tried widening my eyes, yet I can only still see darkness. Like I said, all my senses were functioning, except my vision. A few minutes later, I heard a siren nearby. My teacher told me, "Your mom is here."

While I was crying in tears, I told my mom, "I am trying my best to open my eyes, but I still can't see anything. I don't want to be blind!"

She answered, "It's okay. I'm here with you all the way through."

The paramedics carried me into a wheeled stretcher, and took me to their ambulance truck. Then, I heard a loud applause from everybody.

3 days have passed. As I was laying on the hospital bed, I woke up with my eyes wide open for the very first time, since the accident, and I saw my mom asleep on the chair right next to me. I woke up my mom, and told her, "Mom, I am fine now." We hugged each other tightly, while the doctor came in.

He told me, "Due to your head fall, you suffered a traumatic brain injury, a concussion. Your brain was not able to function normally, in that case, your vision was disturbed."

Let's come back to the cartoon character, Bobby. Possibly, having a big head at that time, was a great thing. However, it might have given myself more cushioning. I should have jokingly told my doctor about it. Too little, too late. Attached photo below is Bobby himself. Ironically, we have the same shoes as well.