Fights of Your Life

By Frank van der Kok

"That face, that smile, as she glanced at our house. It seemed like all the problems of the world, all her very present and very actual pains, all her harsh fights of the past 8 months, all the doubts regarding her future – they just all vanished. She was thrilled. And we were extremely happy. For her."

Frank van der Kok tells the touching, yet realistic story of a young woman, Flower, fighting for her life and future, following a severe brain damage. Based on a true story.

Let me take you through the fears, hopes, anger,love,pain and joy of this big fight. Could be any fight. Of any life. Flower's, mine or yours.
Frank van der Kok

• Language: English
• Publisher: Frank van der Kok
• Release date: Mar 9, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310413797

Frank van der Kok

Frank van der Kok is a Hungarian writer, currently living in Netherlands. Author of Fights of Your Life and Twice, a series of fictional memoire.Frank van der Kok's dèbut novel, the Fights of Your Life was first released in Hungarian in September 2013, to be then published in April 2014 in English as well. It tells the story of a young woman fighting for her life after a severe car accident. While the story is based on real events from the author's recent life, the book still remains fictional, showing the events in a subjective manner.The story of Flower now continues. Twice, as the title of the new book suggests. Only years after recovering from a severe brain damage, Flower is now back in the surgery rooms. To fight the biggest nightmare of our times - cancer. Will she survive? Twice?Frank van der Kok tells this unique and touching story in a light and informal way. As if we would be discussing throughout the night, at the candle light, over a good old wine. Dare to open his books. You will never put them down again...Sample readers' reviews:"Amazing book, just like the key players in it. I laughed a lot at the well placed irony, but I also cried a lot. Fantastic reading""While reading this book you will realise how insignificant and unimportant dreams and wishes we follow at times. Those who never had to go through anything similar will hopefully go home and hug their spouse and children, reconsidering their values.""I met several people who didn't want to read this book, expecting it to be a depressing story; a story that would take their joy of life and energy for weeks. But then aftetr finally reading it they changed their views completely. The book gave them strength and faith. And a completely new viewpoint on life."Follow Frank van der Kok in all major social media platforms.

Book preview

Fights of Your Life

Frank van der Kok

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2014 Frank van der Kok

The snow falls outside. I am staring at the snowflakes cheerfully playing in the wind. Sitting in this warm room I don’t even realise how cold and wet they can be. How dangerous... Because they are! I hate them for this. Or not? For long years I was totally in love with anything to do with winter and snow. Building a snowman, playing with the snowballs or the home-made sleighs. Or later on playing different games – with the girls from my school. Or lately the special atmosphere of a ski resort, with the fun and drinks related to it. All this altogether – I used to simply love it. And perhaps I still do. Or at least I would like to. As this cannot change anything. This cannot change my view of winter and snow. It cannot change us... Even when it reminds me of what happened with Flower some years ago.

Table of Contents

Foreword

First phase: runaway train

Intensive

Mortal combat

„A Saviour is born"

New Life

Comeback

Great small steps

Neurosurgery

Cranioplastics

Awaiting the miracle

Welcome back

Rehabilitation

Second Phase: game of nerves

Surgeries – in the shadow of death

A human being is forming

Nurses

Therapy of the mind

Ergotherapy

Society welcomes you back

Third phase: Back to the future

The end?

It is an act of faith to assert that

our thoughts have

any relation to reality

at all. (G.K. Chesterton)

Foreword

My dear Reader,

Thank you for opening this book. I assume you are in some sort of difficulties. You are in the midst of a big fight. One of the fights of your life. Of your own life, or the life of someone close to you. Or maybe you just want to help someone you see carrying such a fight? Because you care? Or because that is your job?

Actually it doesn’t even matter. Everyone gets into difficult times at one point. Sooner or later everyone needs to win the fight of their life. I truly hope your fights will never be as ruthless as the one you are about to experience in this book. But I wish for you even more that no matter how tough the fight you encounter is, you would have the strength and power to fight it through. Always fighting with courage. With the miracle of love and belief.

Writers have detailed the walks of life in so many ways by now. Luckily for me, I don’t have such aspirations. My only aim is to share with You what I have been through in the past years. In all that time, I could hardly find any external support or advice. Now I make a shy attempt to be that support for You, my dear reader. Not necessarily through my wisdom, but rather through the example of my wife, Flower. Whatever is the fight you’re in just now, I trust you will find in this small book some practical advice or inspiration in your search for solutions.

I pass our story to you with my warmest regards. Use it with open heart and don’t forget to share with others in need.

First phase: runaway train

The snow was falling at that time as well. Ruthlessly. At least that’s the way I remember it now. At that point I was rather happy. Finally the first snow of the season. Finally a chance for a white Christmas. It was already mid-December. So our worry of missing a white Christmas was real. Worries... back then we were getting worried for such things....

I got a call. A call meant to change everything in a single moment. I didn’t even answer it. It was Flower; I usually didn’t pick up her calls. It was a sort of game, a romantic nostalgia from our youths. I always called her back. Childish game, a small memory of our high school love.

So I called her back. A man answered. Introduced himself and asked me when I would pick up the car. Or at least that’s all I could understand. My mind blocked at this level of information. My soul on the other hand already started filling up with panic.

What happened? When? How?...

Loads of questions, all rushing through my brain.

- Is my wife all right?

This is all I could really say. But at least I asked clearly and loudly. With emotion. As if that would make it better. The answer was still informative and formal. He is working for the police, securing the scene of the accident and he only wants to know when I will pick up the car. The car my wife smashed. In which she hit herself. In the snow.

I was unable to focus on his words. How could I?! Earlier in the morning, when leaving to work, I pulled over once. I was worried. Just as every morning since a whole year. Each time when she left to work. I knew she was too often on the road. The rule of big numbers. I always believed in that rule. You take the same risk too often; it will at one point hit you. Pure statistics. But now I was somehow even more worried. Maybe because of the snow. Or just my inner side was sending warning messages. To warn me that I should be worried. That this snow is not one out of the romantic Christmas movies. I was worried, because she didn’t call at the time she used to. Another playful, but maybe useful rule we kept from our early years. Calling each other every time when we arrived to work. Now she didn’t.

„Maybe she was just running late. She is always late, you know that. For sure she just rushed into her meeting, not having the time to call you. Of course, work always comes first..."

My mind cleared the way, rationalised everything. So I continued my way to work.

„Told you so!"

This was the first reaction even when my phone started ringing. Then this guy comes with his stupid questions, on his annoying administrative tone. The car, the snow, what do I care?!

„Get hold of yourself! She needs you now. For the first time in life she really needs you. Don’t screw it right now..."

The instinct of survival. It started putting me in function. True, it also got some help from the other end of the line. Probably the policeman also felt something of those inner thoughts.

- Your wife hit herself very badly. She is still in the ambulance; they are trying to keep her alive.

No matter how bad this sounds, still it was this sentence that put my mind back on track. The reset button. With the only difference that when you restart your computer, it then usually works well again. Maybe it restarts a bit slower, but then again it will function like ever before. Not me. Perhaps never again?

I grabbed my coat and ran out of the office. Leaving behind work, laptop, questioning colleagues; everything that was keeping me busy the past years. I was running, as she was still alive. In big trouble, but alive.

She needs me. I need to be there with her.

I jumped into my car and started off with high speed. It was still heavily snowing. On the motorway I could see accidents here and there, cars that slipped into each other or ran off the road into the ditch. But all alive. They made it... This thought only made me drive faster. I was in a hurry, driving as fast as I could, almost pushing away the cars in front of me. Dangerous. Statistics again. Low chance we both suffer an accident in the same way, on the same day, in more or less the same place. My mind was running wildly as I was getting closer. It just came to my mind that she could remain invalid. She could lose a leg, a hand, whatever.

„That’s the worst that can happen, right?!"

I called her friend. Asked her to go to the hospital