Family

Harriet loves Lawrence for everything that he is and she’s so proud of the fact that even through the accident he still managed to achieve his dream of becoming an F-18 pilot.

“One day in January Lawrence said to Dad, “I wonder how high the bed goes.”

Dad said, “I don’t know, give the controller here and we’ll find out.”

Lawrence handed it to him. I was sat on the bed, the bed buzzed up and I started laughing, like it was a ride. Then it thumped and came to a sudden halt, it went up so high that I could touch the ceiling with my hand!

“That didn’t sound good,” Lawrence said. Dad pushed the down arrow and the bed wouldn’t move. At that point I was in hysterics. I couldn’t control my laughter then; I’d laugh at anything, inappropriate or appropriate.

“How am I going to get down?” I said.

“We’ll get you down, we have to get the bed down,” Dad said.

Finally it began to lower slowly; the new bed was still in tiptop shape. PHEW

My door opened and it was Mum. Lawrence and Dad were both snickering.

I blurted out, “Dad broke my bed!”

Dads tried to control his amusement and said, “We wanted to see how high it went.”

Mum looked at them with her evil eye and I laughed.”

“My Dad always made me laugh; they say laughter heals all wounds, it was true. I felt so much better about everything while I was laughing. My dad brushed my teeth for me. It was the first time in 4 months! I needed someone to do it for me. I couldn’t even stand, how would I get to the sink.

Daddy told me to open and he brushed my teeth for me; when you’re done brushing your teeth you take some water in your mouth and swish it around a bit and then spit, to get the excess residue of toothpaste off your teeth. So my dad soaked my toothbrush in water that ran out of the tap and gave it to me, he got  ready with a cup so I could spit out the residue. I took the toothbrush and sucked all of the water off of it; it felt so refreshing just sitting on my tongue. Then I thought to myself, hey, what’s the worst thing that could happen if I swallowed this?  I decided right then and there that I’d swallow and the feeling of liquid on my tonsils divine! I had forgotten how cool, refreshing and delicious water is.

dad then put the cup near my mouth and said, “Ok, spit.” A huge, proud smile spread across my face! “Harriet, spit it out!” he said.

“I swallowed it,” I replied.

“Harriet! That could be really dangerous!” he said.

“It’s all gone now, don’t worry!” I started laughing uncontrollably. I hadn’t had anything go down by my throat for 3.5 months. I was having my abnormal limbs put in casts tomorrow, I was really nervous about it so I appreciated the laugh.”

Dawn Potts, her mummy, words can’t say how much Harriet loves her. Harriet can’t thank her enough for her never ending love, support and devotion towards helping Harriet recover.

“I was given the perfume, Champs-Elysees for my sixteenth birthday from my mum. It’s a very strong scent of roses. It’s a fragrance that’s almost overpowering. It’s like overhearing a language you don’t understand but its so beautiful and enticing you listen anyways. I didn’t wear it for a while because I thought it was a smell that mature women wore and I was nowhere near mature yet. So I just kept it in my cupboard, I knew there would come a day when I knew I would wear it. That day was on my graduation from high school. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I woke up and drove to get my hair done at a little salon called Haven Hair on White Rock Beach. I wanted to look sophisticated; I’d designed my dress. It was chocolate brown, a deep brown that feels warm. It was a fishtail dress, very tight strapless bodice and fitted down to the knee and then it ever so gradually flared out.  I got my hair done in a French twist, so it was all up, off my shoulders and out of my face. So then I went home and did my make up, very simple and elegant. I had Audrey Hepburn in mind.  Then I remember taking Champs-Elysees out of my cupboard and smelling it and I instantly knew that today was the day! I came out of my bedroom to get my mum to zip up my dress. She said that I looked lovely and then a minute later she said with a smile “You’re wearing Champs-Elysees?” I said that I was. Then I went to my girlfriend’s house along the street where a bunch of my friends were going for pictures and for limo rides. I was going with one of my good guy friends. I remember being in the limo and the scent of Champs-Elysees catching my nose every once and a while. I remember getting to grad taking pictures and heels, judging who had the best dress? The best hair? The best make-up? I wore it for the whole summer of 2007, until my accident. When I smell it now I see care free girl who could strut her stuff in heals, could do perfect eye liner, could do double pirouettes, could drive… I miss those things. I don’t miss the girl I was but I do miss the physical activities.”