Visiting a Recruit in the Hospital

[SkulShurtugalTCG[501st]]

There's this guy. Let's call him Brian. Because... well, because that's his name.

 

Late last week, Brian was involved in a serious car wreck. Nobody died, but he was injured. He suffered 7 broken ribs, a broken arm, and a collapsed lung. He was in ICU for several days, before being sent to a recovery room.

 

Brian is hoping to join the 501st Legion as a ROTS Red Guard. After being moved out of ICU, he contacted our squad and asked, if anyone had the time, would they mind visiting him for a few hours. I heard about it, and checked my calendar. I had the time.

 

Fast-forward to the next morning. I showed up at the hospital, changed in the bathroom (all with security's permission, of course), and made my way to Brian's room. My wife was there as my handler; we were asked to wait outside of his room, as they were busy taking out his chest tube (which is a VERY good sign that his lung will make a full recovery). We were outside for just 5 minutes or so, but during that time, several doctors and nurses and other hospital staff, who were walking past, stopped for a few seconds to take pictures. Since this hospital visit was not an official 501st event, I took a lot of time "breaking character", saying what I "really" do for a living, chit-chatting about how awesome The Force Awakens was, and mentioning that Brian will be joining the Legion as soon as he's better and he re-invests in his armor. (His poor helmet was in the car. It did not survive. Funeral services for it are next Tuesday.)

 

When we were let inside, I was pleasantly surprised to see Brian sit up to shake my hand. Then, less than a minute later, he stood up to take a picture with me. His arm was in a sling, but he had a smile on his face, and if I didn't know any better, I'd say he was strong enough to pull the ears off a gundark.

 

Brian was so thrilled I was there. He's seen a few troops before, as a bystander, and he's attended an armor party or two as well, so it wasn't like hanging out with a stormtrooper was a new experience for him. But it lifted his spirits instantly. His doctor had recommended he start walking around a little bit - and he decided to interpret "a little bit" as completely around the hospital. It was his idea to walk to the Emergency Room and make some quick visits (with plenty of picture stops on the way there and back), and kept asking passing nurses if any rooms had children in them. By the time we got back to his room, we had met well over a dozen patients in their rooms, and probably took pictures with 30 people or more.

 

After we got back, I stayed in costume for another good hour or so, chit-chatting with him and his family, who were also with us the whole time. When it was finally time to leave, we had spent a full two and a half hours together - and both of us had smiles on our faces the whole time.

 

That was yesterday. Today, I'm happy to announce the doctors gave him a hospital discharge, and he is on the road to a full, quick recovery. He's hoping to have his Red Guard approved by the end of this summer, and with any luck, I'll be trooping with him in no time!

 

[fuumantroop[TK]]

Great job Jack on that short notice visit!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Great work trooper

[allan1313[TK]]

Awesome job!!

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[zv288bot[TK]]

So awesome! 

[magni[TK]]

Awesome job Jack! Thanks for posting

[Bone[TK]]

Well done, man!

[Penguitrooper]

Great read on this nice Saturday morning. This is why I wanna do this! Very uplifting story!