All Chapters of I Gave My Legs, They Gave Me Up: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Mom froze, then gently brushed the wet hair from my forehead."Well, if you missed the surgery, you missed it," she said. "It only had a 40 percent success rate anyway. What if something went wrong?"Dad added, "Exactly. Why do you always have to make such a fuss? How are we supposed to take care of someone recovering from major surgery on top of everything else? Try to be understanding for once."Their words weighed heavily on me. A 40 percent success rate was a risk they weren't willing to take. But to me, it was my only shot at walking again.And just like that, because Lisa was nervous about her piano competition and needed new jewelry, they snuffed out my last hope. Now they were using these seemingly reasonable excuses to justify their favoritism.After getting soaked in that downpour, I developed a high fever that afternoon and was taken to the ER. The room was crowded and noisy, with people constantly coming and going.I was so cold that the nurse struggled to find a vein

I emptied the bottle, and the white pills spilled onto the sheets. I counted them. There were more than 30.I slipped the pills into my pocket one by one. I finally understood that they weren't busy or careless. They simply didn't love me anymore.My life was trapped in this broken body, and I had nothing left to hope for.Noise drifted in from outside the door. I could hear glasses clinking, soft piano music playing, and people offering their congratulations."Lisa has such a bright future ahead of her, Mr. Keller. You must be so proud.""Absolutely. Lisa is beautiful and talented, and she's your only daughter. You two are going to have an easy life from here on out."Only daughter.I sat in the dark room, listening to the laughter and cheering on the other side of the wall.It was the party celebrating Lisa's successful national tour. Mom and Dad had invited all the relatives and their business partners over.Out there, they were mingling with their guests, basking in all th

Dad had made it for me by hand when we still lived in Calburn.He stared at the little rattle, his voice hoarse. "We should take Naomi back to our old house and bury her there. She loved the yard when she was a kid."Mom nodded, tears dripping onto the edge of the cardboard box she was holding.My spirit followed behind them as they carried my ashes back to our hometown.The old house had been abandoned for years. When Dad pushed open the wooden door, he found the yard completely overgrown with weeds.He began digging in the corner beneath the old locust tree, my favorite spot to sit and read as a child. He drove the shovel into the ground with slow, heavy movements, as if every scoop of dirt weighed a ton.Mom sat on the steps, staring blankly ahead. Lisa stood nearby, clutching the hem of her shirt, looking uneasy.Soon after, the shovel struck something with a loud clang.Dad paused, then brushed away the dirt and pulled out a rusted metal box. He frowned and wiped the dirt

Dad paused to sniff, then continued. "My disability has become a burden on the family. Lisa keeps moving further ahead, while I'm stuck in a wheelchair."Mom and Dad are busier than ever. They go with Lisa to her piano exams and competitions and spend less and less time at home with me. But I can't blame them. Lisa needs them. I can't be selfish."Dad closed the diary, his hands gripping the edges tightly."What did we do?" he muttered to himself, his gaze completely vacant. "She gave up her legs for Lisa, and we treated her like a burden."Mom looked at Dad, her eyes badly swollen from crying. "James, Naomi went to college afterward. She used to say college was a fresh start for her."Dad stood up and said, "Let's go to her college."It was as if they were trying to piece me back together, searching for every part of my life I had left behind.Early the next morning, they arrived at my college. Dad found the camphor tree where I'd once taken a photo. My third diary was hidden t

On the next page, my handwriting had become hurried and uneven."But Mom broke her promise. Lisa was nervous about playing a new piece. Dad wanted to pick out some jewelry for her competition, so they told me to go to the hospital on my own."It was pouring outside. When I tried to get down the three steps at the entrance, I fell into the muddy water. The doctor had to leave to catch his flight, and I lost my last chance to walk again."Dad stood behind Mom, staring at the words in the diary. His breathing grew heavy, as if something were squeezing his throat."Three steps..." he repeated, turning to look toward the doorway.Those three steps were nothing to them, just something they could easily step down. To me, they were a barrier I couldn't get past."It was my fault." Dad's voice was so raspy that it was barely recognizable. "I didn't go get her because I was busy helping Lisa pick out that necklace."Dad lowered his head and stared at the diary in silence.Mom's shoulders