Names may have been changed to protect those who are presumed to be innocent.
To tell you this story, I first need to give you some background.
One of my best friends in the world is a very sick guy....
sick both in the "ill" sense of the word,
and in the mentally warped sense.
Perry is 40 years old, a diabetic, and on dialysis due to complete renal (kidney) failure.
He has had three surgeries on his arms to improve his veins to the point where he can have dialysis done via two IVs in his arm, rather than with two tubes currently hanging out of his chest. (one to his heart, and another to his lungs)
Most people don't notice the tubes in his chest if he wears a shirt with sleeves,
but it's hard not to notice the multitude of scars on his forearms,
and even harder to miss the large bulge of a hose recently inserted beneath the skin of his left arm to facilitate the tri-weekly procedure.
But Perry is a joyful soul that revels in messing with people's minds.
(can't imagine why he and I get along so well
)
so he can't simply tell people what is wrong with him.
This week a young, pretty, and very naive blonde girl at Quizno's asked him about his scars, and especially the very odd sub-dermal bulge.
He began by telling the girl that he was "deformed".
This of course piqued her curiosity, (much as it was meant to) so she probed further.
He said
"Well, I'd tell you about it, but nobody ever believes me when I tell them, so, yanno..." and he shrugs it off, as though he had no intention of telling her anything more.
Now she's completely on the hook and hanging on his every word.
[quote name='Perry']"Well, a few years back I was riding through Iowa (on motorcycle) in the middle of nowhere. Corn as far as the eye could see. I was getting tired since it was about 4 AM, and there was absolutely no place in sight to stop and rest.
But it was a cool night, with a clear sky, and a full moon shining down, so i decided after miles of nothing but corn on both sides of the road that I'd pull over, back my bike into the cornfield, and have some sleep before morning.
so that's just what I did. i was about ten feet off the road, behind the corn rows, hidden from view of the road. I pulled out my bedroll, layed it in the soft dirt, and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was asleep.
Later I awoke to an incredibly bright light in the sky, getting steadily brighter.
I don't really remember what happened next, but the next thing that I can remember, I was in a very brightly lit room, surrounded by a dozen tiny guys whose faces I couldn't make out. I didn't hurt at all, but somehow in my mind I knew that things would turn out to be alright.
I lost consciousness again, and awoke laying in a cornfield the night After I had initially parked in the corn,
but almost an entire state away from where I had stopped my bike![/quote]
This poor girl is visibly suspicious of his story, but polite enough to listen and nod as though she believes him.
[quote name='Perry']And when I woke up, This thing in my arm was itching like hell, and burning a lot. It's still kinda hot.[/quote]
(with that much bloodflow through a huge tube of course it's comparatively hot.)
At this point he invites her to cup her hand over the tube and feel it.
When you touch this tube you can very clearly feel the flow of his blood, and the thrum of his heart, as though it were a storm drain gushing with gallons per minute.
It's a very biological feeling.
The thing feels as though it has a life of it's own.
Timidly she puts out her hand, and places it over his forearm for a few seconds......before jerking her hand back, screaming in terror, and fleeing into the back of the store to recompose herself.
Perry and his dad left the store without telling the poor girl that he was messing with her....so now when he goes in, she doesn't want to talk to him anymore.
The last time he saw her, he raised two fingers in a V and said to her
"I come in peace"
There are a thousand reasons why I love this guy like a brother.
This is just one of the most recent.
On to Volume II
To tell you this story, I first need to give you some background.
One of my best friends in the world is a very sick guy....
sick both in the "ill" sense of the word,
and in the mentally warped sense.
Perry is 40 years old, a diabetic, and on dialysis due to complete renal (kidney) failure.
He has had three surgeries on his arms to improve his veins to the point where he can have dialysis done via two IVs in his arm, rather than with two tubes currently hanging out of his chest. (one to his heart, and another to his lungs)
Most people don't notice the tubes in his chest if he wears a shirt with sleeves,
but it's hard not to notice the multitude of scars on his forearms,
and even harder to miss the large bulge of a hose recently inserted beneath the skin of his left arm to facilitate the tri-weekly procedure.
But Perry is a joyful soul that revels in messing with people's minds.
(can't imagine why he and I get along so well
) so he can't simply tell people what is wrong with him.
This week a young, pretty, and very naive blonde girl at Quizno's asked him about his scars, and especially the very odd sub-dermal bulge.
He began by telling the girl that he was "deformed".
This of course piqued her curiosity, (much as it was meant to) so she probed further.
He said
"Well, I'd tell you about it, but nobody ever believes me when I tell them, so, yanno..." and he shrugs it off, as though he had no intention of telling her anything more.
Now she's completely on the hook and hanging on his every word.
[quote name='Perry']"Well, a few years back I was riding through Iowa (on motorcycle) in the middle of nowhere. Corn as far as the eye could see. I was getting tired since it was about 4 AM, and there was absolutely no place in sight to stop and rest.
But it was a cool night, with a clear sky, and a full moon shining down, so i decided after miles of nothing but corn on both sides of the road that I'd pull over, back my bike into the cornfield, and have some sleep before morning.
so that's just what I did. i was about ten feet off the road, behind the corn rows, hidden from view of the road. I pulled out my bedroll, layed it in the soft dirt, and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was asleep.
Later I awoke to an incredibly bright light in the sky, getting steadily brighter.
I don't really remember what happened next, but the next thing that I can remember, I was in a very brightly lit room, surrounded by a dozen tiny guys whose faces I couldn't make out. I didn't hurt at all, but somehow in my mind I knew that things would turn out to be alright.
I lost consciousness again, and awoke laying in a cornfield the night After I had initially parked in the corn,
but almost an entire state away from where I had stopped my bike![/quote]
This poor girl is visibly suspicious of his story, but polite enough to listen and nod as though she believes him.
[quote name='Perry']And when I woke up, This thing in my arm was itching like hell, and burning a lot. It's still kinda hot.[/quote]
(with that much bloodflow through a huge tube of course it's comparatively hot.)
At this point he invites her to cup her hand over the tube and feel it.
When you touch this tube you can very clearly feel the flow of his blood, and the thrum of his heart, as though it were a storm drain gushing with gallons per minute.
It's a very biological feeling.
The thing feels as though it has a life of it's own.
Timidly she puts out her hand, and places it over his forearm for a few seconds......before jerking her hand back, screaming in terror, and fleeing into the back of the store to recompose herself.
Perry and his dad left the store without telling the poor girl that he was messing with her....so now when he goes in, she doesn't want to talk to him anymore.
The last time he saw her, he raised two fingers in a V and said to her
"I come in peace"
There are a thousand reasons why I love this guy like a brother.
This is just one of the most recent.
On to Volume II
[flush] [walks in without washing my hands] Hi guys 