....."What is your name?," said a paramedic. Everything was a blur as I lay, stunned in the back of an ambulance. I couldn't move my legs; although, I did have some feeling in them. "My name is Ricky Kendall," I muttered. All I could think is how did I let it go this far? "This might hurt a little," said another paramedic. She grabbed my arm and it felt like a bee had stung me. I grimaced as the IV was inserted into my arm. "What day is it?," asked the paramedic. It took a minute for me to come up with the answer because that was the least of my worries at this point. "Wednesday," I said, "I think it's Wednesday." As I laid there and looked around, all I saw were smiling faces. All I heard were words of encouragement. "Don't worry, you are gonna be fine," explained the paramedic. I had never been to the hospital or anything more than a routine physical so I was anxious, nervous, and scared all at the same time. I was wearing my favorite Carolina Panther's t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans because I left with only the clothes on my back. "Do you feel any pain?," I heard. "No, no pain," I spoke. I started to feel cold. It was around that point that I was covered with a blanket. Different questions were running through my mind. What is wrong with me? Will I ever be able to walk again? Is it gonna require major surgery? It was only just the beginning of my journey. When we arrived at the hospital, I felt the cold air rush in as the back doors opened. "Hold on sir, you might feel a little bump," I was told. Bump! Bump! There was a tingling sort of pain because my body lifted off of the stretcher with every single bump. I had a sore on my backside from being immobile for a couple of weeks. I was rolled into the emergency room or ER hallway and lifted onto a slightly more comfortable hospital stretcher.....
