Category : Stories

Sub Category : Historical Fiction

When I was 17 years old, my mother drove me to a hospital, which was located in Hamilton, Ontario.  I don't remember the name of the hospital but I will find out and let everyone  know.  Anyways, at this hospital, there were 2 cottages near it. One was called, "The East Cottage"where people with a brain injury that are adults or young adults can get help with their anger issues. The other one is called, the west cottage, where after the East Cottage, you would go there for a bit before getting released to go home.  Well, my mother dropped me off and left me at the East Cottage, because I still had some anger issues and I needed help before it gets worse. I was confused. I was angry. To top it all off, I have a brain injury. When my mother dropped me off there, I was so upset. I was crying and I was screaming. I didn't want to stay there. I wanted to go back home. Well, they told my mother to just leave and that he, meaning me will be ok.  So she left. She drove away, leaving me there standing and crying. I know now that my mother was doing the best thing for me by getting me help and I know now that it was probably tough for her to leave me there.  I still needed to go to school, because I wasn't finished yet, so while I was staying there getting help, at first they had me take a corresponce course, where the school work would get sent to me and I would do the work. I tried that for a bit but it didn't work out so well, because I needed to be in an actual classroom with actual people there. But that's what I had to do until they got me registered into a school. During my stay at the East Cottage. Someone would work with me one on one to help me with my anger issues and what triggers them. I was fine there with my anger issues. I got along with everyone.  I had my own bedroom there. I remember this one guy there that was blind and the way he got his blindness and brain injury was from boxing.  At least thats what I've been told, I think.  On one particular day, my worker wanted me to go outside, pick up a garbage can that was there and throw it like I did to my brother that one time that I mentioned in chapter 4.  I picked up the garbage can, but I couldn't do it. My worker told me to pretend my brother was there and I was angry. But, you know what? I still couldn't do it because he wasn't there. Now that I think about it, even if he was there, I still wouldn't. I remember one time, the person that was working with me helped me to make Borsh, the kind my grandmother made. I got the recipe from my grandmother. I actually made my first Borsh soup, but it did not taste the same as my grandmothers. Anyways, I was there for a few months until I was moved to the west cottage. I don't think they could help me very much as I didn't show any anger there except for when my mother dropped me off and left me there. Now that I think about it, I only showed some anger when I was at home, not all the time but a lot. I don't know why. I guess, maybe because I'm the youngest sibling in the house, there were rules in the house like chores. I never had a say in things, at least not a lot and to top it off, I have a brain injury, which made things confusing and stressful for me. Anyways, I went to the west cottage, and this time I had to share a bedroom there which wasn't too bad. I actually made a few friends there. At the west cottage, I wasn't there all day, everyday, because by this time I started going to a highschool there in Hamilton. Although, I still after school go back there everyday after school for dinner, homework, socializing, which also one on one sometimes and then sleep. There were and still are stairs in Hamilton that go from the top of the Hamilton mountain to the bottom. The cottage and the school was on the top of the mountain. I remember a few times when my mother would come to visit me with her dog Freddy, he was a Jack Russell Terrier, we would park the car by the stairs and go down the stairs a bit. Well, more of me because we tried with the dog Freddy but he wouldn't do it. I think it was because there are little holes in the stairs and he was afraid that his paws would get stuck. I made some friends at the school that I was attending. I also remember there was a Tim Hortons near the school and I and a few friends that I hung out with and we would go there at lunch sometimes and eat there and have a coffee. After a few months of being there at the west cottage, I was moved to the John Reesor center, which was at the bottom of the mountain.  At the John Reesor Center,  John Reesor Centre. ... The residences provide intensive support services for individuals with complex behavioural needs.They get help and then learn to live on their own then move out eventually on their own. There are different rooms there that the clients sleep in. Each with an individual room but everyone has to share the bathrooms. There are also some counsellors there to assist the people. As well as psychologists outside of the residence. I remember, there was a Tim Hortons not too far away, maybe a 5 to 10 minute walk.  I had an appointment in Toronto one time with a psychologist and I remember something happened after the appointment. Not to me but to someone else. My mother and I were going to cross the road with other people there as well. The light turned red for the other side and we got the walk signal. So we all started to walk and this one car was driving still and went through the red light. The car hit a lady who was not too far ahead from my mother. The car did not stop. Someone had to stop her. She wasn't going too fast so people were able to stop her. I say she because driving the car was a little old lady. Her excuse was that she couldn't hear or see anything. So the ambulance came and the police. The lady was laying unconscious on the road. After this all happened and seeing this made me think about what happened to me with almost the same situation. It was scary and sad.  Back at the John Reesor center even though I was still getting help at times, I wasn't ready to learn to live on my own because I was still going to high school. I would take the city bus to school. In the summer, my mother went to Mexico, Puerto Valarta".  We went for a few weeks for a little vacation.  It was nice thereWe stayed at a resort. We also took the city buses there to downtown. We walked in the stores there. I remember one time when we were in a store there, it was hard to walk around because it was some tight squeezes to get through some part and of course me, I accidentally knocked over a vase or something and it fell and broke. I said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry", so many times. The person working there said, "it's okay.  The people there were very nice and friendly. However, I saw some people, adults and also children with an iguana on their shoulders, asking people if they would like a picture taken of them with the iguana. If the people said yes and took a picture then that adult or child would ask for money for that. I guess in some parts there, it's a poor area. My mother and I found a Hard Rock Cafe there in Puerto Vallarta and we ate there. At the resort, where we stayed at' there was a bunch of people, both Male and female, making volley ball teams. I joined in. However, I forgot to put on sunscreen, so by the end of the day, I was burnt all over.  My whole back, neck, arms, chest and stomach were burnt. Luckily, there was a doctor at the resort and he gave me a cream to put on. I had fun in Mexico. Although something did happen. I started smoking. It was supposed to be until the end of the trip. I don't smoke any more, but I'll get to that later. My mother and I almost weren't able to to leave the resort and go back home, and it was my fault. This is because at the resort, when I would order food from the restaurant there and also at our room there, I would order food and drinks not all the time, but a lot, I would say, "charge it to the room".  Bad mistake on my part, because we owed a lot of money and had to pay it some how. Luckily though, we got or should I say, my mother got everything sorted, and we got to leave and catch our flight back to Ontario, Canada. When we got back, we first got settled in at my mothers house before my mother would drive me back to Hamilton to that John Reesor center. I really didn't want to stay there and go to school in Hamilton. I actually wanted to go back home to Cambridge and finish high school there. For some reason, I could picture some people from Jacob Hespeler Secondary school in Cambridge, in my mind. I couldn't remember all their names but faces. The John Reesor center was a great place but I was just not ready to be there, because I had to finish highschool first. My mother put some of my insurance money into my bank account, so I can pay the rent for the place that I was staying at. However. There were a few times that I would take off from there and take a bus to Toronto a few times and spend the money from the bank, well most of it. I was hoping to get kicked out of that place and go back home to Cambridge. Well, one day it finally happened. We, meaning me, my mother, the people working there like the counselors and some staff all had a meeting. They asked me how I felt about staying there and I said," it's nice there, but I want to go back home."  I told them also that I wasn't ready to live on my own. I think they knew that. So, we all agreed that it was time for me to go out of that place and back home to Cambridge. In a way, I felt bad that it came down to this decision but it was too late. So, I went back to where I was, packed up my bags, said my goodbyes and then left to go back to Cambridge.