A Tribute to Keith

A Tribute to Keith

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A Tribute to Keith

It was the Christmas Eve of 1997, which changed my life. This day taught me about life and how short it can be. I started the day by going to work; I was employed at Bank One in Louisville, KY. Since it was Christmas Eve we were open from 9am-12pm. After work I headed home, where I lived with my parents. On my way home my mother called my cell phone to make sure I was coming home. She did not want me to go anywhere else or to make any stops. It seemed strange the way she sounded on the phone. After hanging up with her I then started to get worried.

I arrived home about 12:30 that afternoon; I walked into the house and saw my mother standing there. I could tell she was upset, she had been crying. She looked at me and said, "Keith has been in a car accident." Keith was a former boyfriend of mine and his father is best friends with my stepfather. After we broke up we remained friends and stayed in contact with each other. I questioned her, "Is he okay?" She said, "he is I the hospital and in serious condition." My first thought was that he was going to be okay and I needed to get to the hospital and see him. So I quickly went into my room and changed clothes. As I changed my clothes, I cried hysterically. My mother came into the room and told me she would drive me to the hospital, she knew I was in no condition to drive. So my mom, brother and I went to University of Louisville Hospital.

When we arrived at the hospital, his brother Shawn was the first person I saw. I immediately went up and hugged him. As we stood there in the hallway hugging, we

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both started crying. After a few moments, I asked how Keith was doing and what had happened.

He told me that he was in a coma and had major damage to his brain. At that moment I felt scared and very worried for him. He also told me that his girlfriend Carrie was also in the car. So I asked how she was doing. He told me she had a few bumps and bruises but was released. He then began to explain how the car accident occurred.

It was very cold outside and there were light snow flurries. They were on their way to lunch at Tumbleweed. As he was driving down the Outer Loop a car stopped in front of him. The roads were wet so when he hit the brakes they began to slide. He slid into an oncoming car and hit it head on. The impact caused the car to slide into a ditch. At the time of the accident, they were both not wearing their seat belts. So this caused him to be thrown around in the seat and his head hitting the windshield. As Shawn told me what had happened, we could see a television in the waiting room. The news was coming on and the top story was the car accident. The news channel was at the scene of the accident and they showed footage. The sowed the car in the ditch. The car looked demolished; you could hardly tell what type of car it was.

We continued to wait in the waiting room. For the first few hours the only visitors allowed were his immediate family. I decided I was not leaving the hospital until I was able to see him. I was finally allowed back to see him after several hours. I walked into the room and looked at him. I was so scared for him. His head was swollen and in a

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brace. I could barely recognize him. I stood here and talked to him, not knowing if he could hear me. After seeing him I was devastated and decided I needed to go home.

The next morning was Christmas. I called the hospital and spoke to his brother. He told me there had not been any improvement. So I got dressed and my mother and I went to the hospital. Later that day the nurse came out and asked for the family and friends to go into the meeting room. It was a large room with chairs in it. We all took a seat and the doctor came into the room. He explained Keith's condition and he believed that he would never come out of the coma. If he did that he would be in a vegetative state, because he was diagnosed brain dead. His parents began to ask many questions. I sat there in shock. The doctors were giving his parents several options, one of which would be to leave him on life support or unplug him. They also explained that they could save some of his organs and they could be donated. This would allow someone else to have a chance at life. His parents decided it would be best to let him go and donate his organs to someone in need.

Keith Koppel passed away on December 25, 1997. This life learning experience is a tribute to Keith. This tragedy changed my life forever. It opened my eyes to the important things