update on saemi, my injured 12th grade student

Today was the first time seeing my 12th graders since the break and all the drama with Saemi happened. They all seemed pretty normal, I don't know what was I was expecting, maybe for them to break down into tears when I took roll and left out Saemi's name? A few students were absent so I was asking the class, "Where's Dulce? Is she coming back? Oh, and what about Daniel? Is he going to be back?" and I almost asked "Where's Saemi?" out of instinct since her seat is empty, but I didn't.

Big Amy seemed a little on edge, especially when I was asking everyone where Daniel was (Daniel is Korean like Saemi and they were very good friends), but for the most part she acted normal. Everyone acted so normal. It was weird. It would have been less weird if everyone was acting out of character, but instead I conducted class with a huge pink elephant standing in the room right in front of me, and no one said anything about it. I wonder how the next few days and weeks will be.

This is the spot where Saemi fell. It was the roof of a bar/restaurant. Apparently she was balancing on the ledge in her high heels and fell three stories to the floor below, right on her head.



The doctors still don't know the extent of the damage, but seeing as how this is China, I'm not surprised by that. Thankfully this school has a lot of money and the administration is helping the family with their medical costs, which means Saemi is at least getting the best help available in this country. They're doing a mixture of Western and Chinese treatments. I'm not sure of a lot of details, but I know they've been doing accupuncture and are hoping it will bring her out of her coma.


Saemi is breathing on her own, which is step in the right direction. When I left for my vacation the only thing keeping her alive was the machine she was hooked up to. Now that she's able to breath on her own, it shows at least some sign of life. She's been moving her hands and opening her eyes, but there's no real signs of consciousness yet. The doctors have performed a few surgeries to decrease the pressure in her skull by draining fluids and they're anticipating by May of this year everyone will have a clearer picture of the Saemi that will be here post-accident. Like I said, they don't know the extent of the damage, so who knows what this new Saemi will be like. But I'm hoping for the best.


That's Big Amy and Saemi, during better times. Whether you're religious or not, I'm a true believer in the powers of positive thinking, so if you're reading this, please do a little "Get better, Saemi" mantra in your head and send some positive vibes over to Shanghai. She needs it.