Welcome to the Dorm

I arrive at the Goodlaw Center for Comprehensive Rehabilitation along with my two sisters and three female cousins.  My oldest sister Kara helps me along with cousin Ariel transfer into our respective wheelchairs (we’re both paralyzed from the hip down in both legs) as my mother, father, and uncle gather us all up.  Once Ariel and I are in our wheelchairs, the nine of us head to the dormitory office to check in.

The staff member introduces herself as Linda and goes over some of the rules and welcome stuff.  She also explains how this is a unique situation with me in a female suite (there are five women I’m sharing with: my two sisters and my three cousins, at the specific request of the parents) and that it’s not something to go blabbing about.

“We set aside an entire dorm suite for the six of you,” Linda explains to my mother as both my father and my uncle are filling out paperwork.  “There are six of you, so two to a room and three rooms to a suite,” She continues to explain as we take our turns filling out paperwork.

Linda takes the nine of us to the suite and shows us who will be in which room.  Unlocking a door, she explains, “Kevin, you will be pared with your sister Kara.”  Unlocking another door, she says, “Ariel and Wendy, you two in this room.”  Finally, unlocking a third door, she finishes with, “Amanda and Mariana, you two will share this room.”  She also points out who is in which specific bed, then she shows us the rest of the suite including the wheelchair accessible toilet and shower & bath area.

We all come back out to the hallway so Linda can explain tomorrow’s schedule.  Tomorrow, they want us to have breakfast then head to the front desk to get our permanent ID badges.  From there, an ambassador would take us from there to where we need to be.

We now are on our own and Kara – being the oldest and in charge – says, “It was a long car ride.  Everyone get undressed and we’re going to hit the shower.”  When we enter the room, as usual Ariel and I are given a bath at the same time and are washed over as always.  Everyone gets their bath or shower, then we head back to the bedroom and get dressed.

We all head into Ariel and Wendy’s room since they have the gaming console so we can pass the time playing a multiplayer video game together.  Amanda wins the game and we make our way to the cafeteria for dinner.  Although they allow people in wheelchairs to eat first, they don’t allow anyone else, so we decided to wait so we can eat together.

We get to the table and Mariana blurts out (loud enough for us, but quiet so cafeteria staff doesn’t hear), “This stuff is nasty!”

Another student sitting nearby realizes that we are new and says, “Welcome to the Insane Asylum!  Get used to your rations.”

I pull Kara into a hug as Wendy feeds me the mash potatoes and (after swallowing) say, “What do we want to do after we eat?”

Amanda suggests, “How about let’s get the router set up so our laptops can feed off the networks.”  Turning her attention to Wendy, she asks, “Did you bring the Server?”

Wendy replies, “Yeah.  We also have the network printer.”

We finish eating and head back to the dorm.  Ariel and I pull out the router and plug it into the network connection in the middle room to allow the signal to reach all three rooms.  Mariana adjusts the desk in the room so the server can easily get to the network outlet.  Meanwhile, Wendy begins setting up our server.  She puts the server box on the floor and after plugging everything in, she pops the installation DVD into the drive while Kara plugs the network printer into the proper outlets.

Our laptops begin feeding off the wireless connection and about a couple hours after starting, our network and computers are setup.  We then hook the gaming console into the router and our installation is completely finished.  All that needs to be done is install the software onto the server and create network installations for software so they can be reinstalled onto laptops if needed.

Morning comes around and the plan is for Wendy and I to stick together since we are both the programmers and are scheduled to go into the same program together: Computer & Web Application Programming.  “We will all meet together for breaks as well as lunch.  When class lets out, we will gather together as well,” Kara explains as we head towards the cafeteria for breakfast.