i told her how i 'd spent nearly two weeks in the hospital while the rest of my classmates finished junior year without me ; how i 'd missed prom and the student government elections and the junior-senior luau ; how the first surgery had n't worked and my mom had cried when she found out i had to have another ; how my tennis coach had come by the hospital and i 'd heard him fighting with my dad out in the hallway , blaming me ; how my so-called friends had sent a cheesy card they 'd all signed , rather than visiting ; how the doctors made such a big production of telling me that i 'd never play sports again that i thought they were going to say i 'd be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life ; how the worst part was having to go back to school with kids i 'd known since kindergarten , and the only thing that had changed was me , because i did n't know who i was anymore , or who i wanted to be .