Waiting and Worrying

Let me begin by saying I like to worry.  I'm constantly stressing over band or school work, so I am known for going into freak-out mode in order to get something done.  The author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, however, is about ten times worse than I am when it comes to panicking.  He immediately assumes the worst possible scenario in ever situation.  For example, at one point, Eggers is unable to find Toph when he goes to pick him up from a party.  Instead of considering that Toph simply went to the wrong door, Eggers quickly jumps to kidnapping and rape as the most likely scenarios.  Perhaps its because of the tragic events in his life, but Eggers always seems to be worried about his little brother.  The author's worries increase when a friend of his ends up in the hospital after a deck collapses and she falls, smashing her head.  He visits her almost ever day and is convinced that she will never be the same again.  I can relate to this fear in my own life.  Last year, my friends mom suddenly started having seizures.  Nobody knew what was wrong, but once she was rushed to the hospital, they found out that she had a brain tumor.  It was scary because no one knew if she would ever be the same person again.  First, she had to live.  Only then could we hope that she had not lost any of the traits that made her who she was.  Like Eggers' friend, she was in a coma for days while everyone worried.  Luckily, once she came to, she ended up with her same personality.  All of her family and friends were relieved and thankful.  At this point in my book, I feel like I can relate to the author since I have lived through a similar event.  I hope that, as I keep reading, I find out that his friend was able to recover as well as our family friend.