I got off on the feeling. The adrenaline rush I got from the joint in between my lips. The way my head tingled when I took a good sniff of such delicate powder. How happy I felt when I was taking shots, sipping on drinks. I liked to party- all the pain went away. I had no worries, no responsibilities, everything was better. I did everything in my power to be out in the bars every night. Though I had two kids and a fiance to tend to, and a job that I’ve been blowing off, I was convinced that being with my friends in the bar was more important,entertaining, and the best way to spend my years.

This is my third night being out, and I wasn’t feeling too well tonight. Before I came out, I’d almost been fired, my fiance was leaving me, so much chaos. I sat in my regular chair: last one on the left side of the bar. I stared at everything around me. Flashing lights, thick smoke lingering in the air, my friends dancing. Everything started spinning so I decided to call it a night and head home. I sniffed up the last of what I had, took one last shot and walked out. I got on my bike. The engine roared and soon i’d sped off. I pulled out my last joint and lit it. I took another hit. As it hit my lips, I closed my eyes..

Collision-an instance of one moving object or person striking violently against another

I opened my eyes, It’s pouring. I see every raindrop fall, one by one, splashing into smaller speckles of water on the concrete, soon creating a small puddle beside me. Clear as day I could see the wind travel past my face, I could see the grass dancing as the wind traveled through each sliver,everything in slow motion.As I looked into the sky my mind soon ran to wonder what my finace and kids were doing, If they were disappointed in me, what they thought of me. Soon the thoughts had stopped traveling across my mind. I realize that i’m laying on the concrete, pools of blood surrounding me, My head is throbbing so hard that the beat of my heart felt like it was going to make my eardrums burst. I’m cold, i’m aching, I’m helpless lying in the street bleeding in the rain.The more I tried to speak and move, the more my body throbbed. I just decided to give up.There was no help for me. I fell asleep wishing the last thing I could do was take one more hit to make the pain go away.

The bike had hit the roundabout at a fair 80 mph, bucking Dale off  the bike at least 120 feet from where the bike laid disjointed on the street, spitting him onto the street. The impact of Dale's crash left him having a stroke, Diffuse anoxic injury, five brain hemorrhages, laceration of the liver, a splenectomy, four broken ribs on the left side, and 234 staples keeping him together. When help reached for him, he stayed in a coma for 60 days.
I woke up on a hospital bed,my eyes fluttered open to see my fiance and kids sitting down staring at me. I can’t even explain the pain on their faces. I can tell I will never be able to relive the pain I’ve caused. I’ve never seen so much disgust on an individual's face before this moment. I wondered why they were still by my side after everything I’ve done and all the pain i’ve caused, what they would say to me when I could actually understand, why they are taking care of me. The first thing I wanted to do was apologize, but no words were able to escape my throat. I simply stared into their eyes, hoping that with each tear that fell down my cheek they’d see regret I had- A silent telepathic apology.

After 85 days in the hospital, Dale was discharged from the ICU at frater hospital. He now lives on disability for the rest of his life, lost his family, respect from others, and only gets to see his kids every other weekend, if that, all because of his addiction.

It was nice to be out of a hospital bed, eat food with actual flavor, get to leave and go places. My family helped take care of me during recovery, and that I am only grateful for. but they left me. My fiance found a new love, my kids only wanted to see me every other weekend, and I didn't have anything. I live on disability for the rest of my life, I’m basically a 40 year old cripple who doesnt have much to look forward to. My love for the high life destroyed me.