2 . A Different View

At age 14, 15 and 16, the way we looked was the most important thing in the world to us. My friends and I wanted nothing less than perfection.

In high school, we joined the gymnastics team, and our ______ became even more important to us. We had no fat, only muscle. On the weekends, we would go to the beach, _______of our flat stomachs.

One summer day, all my friends were at my house ______. At one point, I was running back to the pool. I ______ on a bee, and while it was dying under my foot, it stung(蛰) me. I instantly started to feel ______. That night, I began to run a high fever and my leg and foot were red, hot and swollen. I couldn’t walk. I could barely ______. When my foot started to go numb, everyone became more ______. My foot was not getting enough blood. I had to go to the ______, and my leg hurt as if it were badly broken. I couldn’t move. All I could do was think about how soft my waist was becoming. That ______ me more than any concern over my leg.

That would all ______ when I heard the doctors mention possibly cutting off my foot. It was still not getting the ______ supply it needed. The doctors would have to speed up their treatment.

Never before had I had such great ______ for my foot. And walking seemed like a ________from the gods. Less and less would I want to hear my friends talk about ______ and who was wearing what. More and more I expected visits from other kids in the hospital, who were quickly becoming my friends.

One girl came to visit me ______. Every time she came, she brought flowers. She was recovering from cancer and felt she should come back and ______ the other patients.

She still had no hair, and she was swollen from medications she had been taking. I would not have given this girl a second ______ before. I now loved every inch of her and looked forward to her ______.

Finally, I was improving and soon I went home. My leg was still swollen, ______ I was walking, and I had my foot! When I would go back to the hospital, I often saw my friend. She was still visiting people and ______ good cheer. I thought if even there was an angel on this earth, it had to be her.