My Sister Caused My Concussion-Family Said 'Keep Silent ' The Neurologist Wouldn't Back Down... — Transcript

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1. 0:00Just tell them you fell down the stairs.
2. 0:02My mother gripped my arm in the
3. 0:03emergency room whispering, "Family
4. 0:06protects family." My head throbbed.
5. 0:08Beside her, my sister Britney scrolled
6. 0:10through her phone as if we were waiting
7. 0:12for coffee. She was the one who had
8. 0:14slammed my head into the kitchen
9. 0:16counter. My name is Julia Reyes. I'm 24,
10. 0:19and Britney had been violent for years.
11. 0:22My parents always shrugged it off.
12. 0:24"She's just passionate." They'd say.
13. 0:26"Try to understand her."
14. 0:28Understanding Britney meant swallowing
15. 0:31her rage again and again.
16. 0:33That night at Sunday dinner, I announced
17. 0:35I'd been accepted to medical school. My
18. 0:37parents gave a lukewarm congratulations
19. 0:40while watching Britney's face. It turned
20. 0:42to stone. "Medical school?" She sneered.
21. 0:46"Still trying to be the smart one?"
22. 0:48Before I could answer, she grabbed my
23. 0:50hair and smashed my head into the
24. 0:51counter. The last thing I heard was our
25. 0:53neighbor, Mrs. Gallagher, screaming from
26. 0:55the doorway where she had come to return
27. 0:57a casserole dish. Now, in the ER, Dr.
28. 1:00Okafor walked in studying my chart.
29. 1:03"Julia, what happened?" My mother
30. 1:05answered first. "She fell down the
31. 1:06stairs. Clumsy girl."
32. 1:09Dr. Okafor ignored her. "Julia, I need
33. 1:11to hear it from you alone."
34. 1:14My mother protested, but the doctor
35. 1:15cited hospital policy for head injuries
36. 1:18and sent her out. Britney shot me a
37. 1:20warning glare. When the door closed, Dr.
38. 1:22Okafor pulled up my scan. "This injury
39. 1:25doesn't match a fall, and you have older
40. 1:27injuries that were never treated. Was
41. 1:29this done to you?"
42. 1:30Tears filled my eyes. "If I tell you,
43. 1:33it'll destroy my family."
44. 1:35"If you don't," she said gently, "it
45. 1:37might destroy you."
46. 1:38So I told her everything. The porch
47. 1:41shove over my grades, the glass
48. 1:42paperweight thrown at my head over an
49. 1:44internship, the beating after a
50. 1:46boyfriend called me pretty. Each time,
51. 1:49my parents blamed me.
52. 1:51"You should have ducked." Mrs. Gallagher
53. 1:53had seen tonight's attack, I added. Dr.
54. 1:56Okafor wrote it all down. "I won't send
55. 1:58you back into danger." she promised. My
56. 2:01mother burst back in. "We're taking her
57. 2:03home." "No," Dr. Okafor said. "I've
58. 2:06already contacted the patient advocate
59. 2:08and the hospital's legal team."
60. 2:10Mom's face went pale. "Julia, what have
61. 2:13you done?"
62. 2:14"She did what she should have done years
63. 2:16ago," the doctor answered.
64. 2:18For the first time ever, Britney looked
65. 2:20afraid, and I felt safe.
66. 2:23Over the next 2 days, everything moved
67. 2:24fast. Mrs. Gallagher gave a full
68. 2:26statement and apologized for staying
69. 2:28silent.
70. 2:30"We all saw things," she admitted. "Your
71. 2:32parents explained them away."
72. 2:35Detective Shaw told me Britney had two
73. 2:37earlier complaints from roommates and an
74. 2:38ex-boyfriend, all dropped under
75. 2:40pressure. "You're the first to hold your
76. 2:42ground."
77. 2:43Meanwhile, the pressure came from home.
78. 2:46My mother left voicemails that swung
79. 2:47between begging and threats. Britney
80. 2:50texted, "Nobody likes a snitch." Dad
81. 2:53called me princess. "Blood is thicker
82. 2:55than water," he pleaded. "Blood is what
83. 2:57I'm worried about," I said. "Mine on
84. 3:00your kitchen counter while you watched."
85. 3:026 months later, I watched Britney plead
86. 3:04guilty to assault. The judge ordered
87. 3:06anger management, therapy, restitution,
88. 3:08and a restraining order. My parents
89. 3:10glared at me, not at her. Outside, Mom
90. 3:13begged, "We're family."
91. 3:15"You can't fix this," I said. "I'm sorry
92. 3:17you lost your daughters, but I'm not
93. 3:19sorry I saved myself."
94. 3:21That night, my chosen family gathered in
95. 3:23my apartment. Dr. Okafor, Mrs.
96. 3:25Gallagher, and Detective Shaw. I
97. 3:28volunteered in the trauma unit and told
98. 3:29a bruised woman's husband, "I need to
99. 3:32speak with her alone."
100. 3:33The truth cost me my family. It gave me
101. 3:36myself.