Monday, January 3, 2011

The Year of the Tiger

2010 was by far the most trans-formative year of my life. It was filled with crazy circumstances and incredible highs and lows, and purpose and sorrow like I've never felt before. But my injury was a minor physical change in my life. My classmate at Cooper Union, Emilie Gossiaux, the only other Emily in my year (there are only about sixty of us, it's a really small school), was hit by a truck this October and has suffered something far more devastating than what I experienced, which was also incredibly profound. She almost died but against all odds, she's talking and hearing, and we must hope with all our hearts that she can see again. Her friends made her this website, http://www.emiliegossiaux.com/, to help her with her heavy medical costs. She doesn't get to sue Israel for what was done to her - it was random and un-asked for, and she really needs all our help.

DEAR LORD, GIVE EMILIE MY LOST EYE.

7 comments:

  1. bless you guys. i hope for the best this year for both you emily's

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  2. Radiolab (http://www.radiolab.org/) guys talked about Emilie on their podcast today.

    Very touching story, like yours.

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  3. Oh my goodness--my thoughts and prayers are with you and your friends. I truly hope that all works out for the best in this tragedy.

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  4. I am on a very fixed income, but donated what I could. I don't say this to brag, just in hope that someone might see that "the economy" shouldn't stop you from doing what you can to help anyone in need.

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  5. How saddening, I hope that everything is better for her now.

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  6. you are such a humblingly generous person there should b more of you

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  7. Man oh man, my mind is blowing right now.

    I was lying on my bed in Nablus, Palestine, with a headache. I couldn't focus, I couldn't write, so I listened to a Radiolab episode. I learned about Emily Gossiaux for the first time and was stunned on all kinds of levels. I'm a bicyclist, an artist, and have been shockingly lucky in my personal hospital experiences. I looked her up, and through a series of random clicks... I'm here. Learning about you for the first time. I was just getting shot at 2 weeks ago, dodging those canisters and being a token white guy so that the locals wouldn't be ignored quite as cavalierly or maybe not abused so horribly in the view of international presence. I took the lobbed missiles seriously, but I felt I was in some video game approximating real violence. Now I think of you and your eye, your mother's words echoing my own, telling me not to go to Kalandia....I'm freakin' out, man!

    I've only just e-acquainted myself with you, Emily, but keep up the good work. Though I'm an absurdly niche section of your audience it's safe to say your experiences and expressions of them are -quite- relevant.

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