When I was in the 8th grade in Ohio, a girl named Helen in my class had a terrible accident. As she was   36   to the bus in order not to miss it, she slipped on the ice and fell under the back wheels of the bus. She   37   the accident but was paralyzed from the waist down. I went to see her, in my 13-year-old   38  thinking that she wouldn’t live   39   from then on.
Over the years, I   40   and didn’t think much about Helen after that. Three years ago, in Florida, my oldest son was hit by a car while riding his bike,   41   a terrible brain injury. While I was looking after my son, a lady who said she was the hospital’s social worker called. It was a (an)   42   trying (难受的) day. I burst into tears for no reason and rang   43  .