The Bright Side of a Broken Phone

It all starts with a broken phone. I knew it was bound to happen. I just didn’t know how soon or later that was going to be. Like most, my phone is my baby. I’m completely lost without it and freak out when its been abandoned at home. I should have been a good mother to it, but I guess it’s too late for that. :: insert tears :: Okay that’s enough melodrama for right now!

If you’ve read my blog before, you’d know that I have epilepsy.  I underwent a temporal lobe resection to get rid of my seizures. Before surgery, life was complicated, in the sense that I felt restrained, and I didn’t know what to do. I learned to cope with it, but I didn’t know how others would. Pushing everyone away felt like the right thing to do. There is no need for that anymore.

You might be wondering what this has to do with a broken phone so here it goes.

Breaking your phone always sucks! It is one of the most annoying things that could possibly happen. Getting a new phone is a nuisance. Considering how expensive they are, your pockets are usually left empty.

Yesterday, I broke my phone so I went in for a repair. Since it was late and stores were closing, I went to the nearest one. It’s just my luck that they don’t do repairs at that store. I can go a few hours without my phone, but a whole day? This is simply impossible. My phone has been damaged before. Honestly, I simply needed a new one. A repair might not have worked to begin with. I had no choice, but to leave the text and Wi-Fi world behind or buy a new one. Purchasing a new one it was!

Since surgery, I’ve found that I have a short attention span and have difficulty remembering things. My passwords included. Picking out my phone was easy. Since I had already backed up my phone, the salesman was happy his job would be a little easier. Boy was he wrong! It turns out that you need your password to reset your phone. To reset your phone, you will receive an email that allows you to complete the request. Yes, you guessed correctly! I forgot that one too.

The salesman was very patient and we eventually got it all figured out. Throughout the entire transaction, I kept apologizing, but insisted I had a legitimate excuse for forgetting, and then I said it. I told him I had brain surgery. The guy didn’t know whether he should laugh or not. Our conversation follows.

Seriously! I had brain surgery 11 weeks ago.

Oh, you did? Did you have a tumor or something?

I have epilepsy and I had surgery to stop my seizures.

He looks at me with a ‘should I ask more or look away’ expression.

It might not have been the most interesting conversation, but it was a conversation nonetheless.  Although I know things are not yet in place, I feel more like myself everyday. Eleven weeks ago, this conversation would never have taken place. I would be embarrassed and try really hard to get out of the store as fast as I could.

A broken phone sucks, but what you learn from it is kind of cool. My phone was broken just like I had been. The cost of a new one and cost of surgery were both expensive, but every penny was worth it. The bright side of a broken phone is that there is always hope a repair will fix things and starting new doesn’t have to be frightening. Things will sort themselves out. I thank my phone for yesterday. It reminded me of something I had known all along, but had forgotten.