November of 2007 our world came crashing down. It felt as though our very lives were unraveling at the seems.
I was a "teen gone wrong", 6 months pregnant with my son, at 17. My younger sister,13, was dealing with health issues that doctors couldn't cure or even diagnose for that matter. The skin all over her body would swell up, red and puffy. She was constantly sick and lethargic. Doctors were testing forthe possibilty of Lupis.My mother facing the looming possibility of lay offs at work. Worried about the loss ofincome. And to top it all off, it happened.
We got the call at about midnight. Sure, we were worried but he'd been in fender benders before, and we didn't think it was a big deal.
When we arrived at the hospital we were greeted specifically by the officer first on the scene. That's when we got worried. He explained to us that my father had collided into a stalled eighteen wheeler, on the freeway. He said he ddn't normally hang around, but he was worried and wanted to see if was okay.
From there we were pulled into a tiny room with the words "Grieving/Family Counseling" printed on the door. We couldn't get anyone to tell us wha was going on. So we waited. And waited.
Finally at around three in the morning, someone came into the room and talked to us. He told us to prepare for the worst. He said if we thought we could handle it we could go back to see him. He was asking for my mother. I decided I would go with her. Support her.
Walking through the long corridor, the smell of blood in the air, all I could hear was my own blood pumpin through my ownn veins. Finally, we see him.
Instantly I couldn't breathe. His Skull was cracked; huge, pulsating opening in the middle of his forehead. Blood trickling into his visible eye. The other, completely bloodshot. His left arm, crushed; hardly an arm at all. Right elbow,shattered; gone. Left knee, shattered; obliterated.His lip was torn almost in half gushing blood evertime he attempted to speak.
It took every ounce of energy I had just to stand there and not scream and cry histerically. It wasn't until we were asked to step fpr a minute that I realized, in the midst of all this effort, I'd forgotten to breathe. I took one breathe. Suddenly dizzy from the rush of oxygen, and histeric with grief and confusion; I went down. I would have hit the ground hard had it not been for her.
My mother, she took it all in, and she held it. How she did it, I'll never know. When the doctors said he'll die tonight, she said "No, he won't." When the doctors said "We're amazed he survived the week, be prepared, he still may not make it through today or tomorrow, she said "No, he won't." And he didn't. He's still alive today.
We were told he'd lose his arm, he'd never be able to use him arms again, he'd never walk again, and that he wouldn't be the same person due to brain damage.
They were wrong. On every note.
The doctor's would have been right, but they didn't know my mother. For months, my father was in and out of surgery, and she stayed by my father's side every second she possibly could. And when she couldn't she arranged for someone respnosible to be there.
If it hadn't been for my sister, me, and my unborn child she wouldn't have ever left the side of that hospital bed.
She knew our whole world depended on her. Everything depended on her; and while many would have broken under such incredible pressure, she was strong. She didn't break down once. She never doubted we would all make it through, alive and healthy. Had it not been for her, though, i doubt we would have.
She held a full time job, took overtime, took care of my father, took care of my sister, found time to take her to doctors and continue the search for her diagnosis, and found the time to bus me to my prenatal appointments and there were MANY due to high risk pregnancy. Not only did she do this, she did it for a long many many months. And she never forgot to breathe...
Things finally started to fall into place again. My dad was doing better, my sister, whiile still undiagnosed, was doing much better, and my pregnancy was coming to an end.
Then reality struck again. Here I was with my tiny son, unable to care for my father's every need in a timely manner, tearing myself apart trying to keep it together for him and my son and suddenly my father's diabetes started causing major problems for him. His blood sugar was highly unstable, climbing to incredible dangerous peak and suddenly falling to low, almost comatose lows. I panicked.
My mother decided to quit her job to take care of him. We barely survived on free food, government aide, and my father's disability insurance. But we survived.
My dad was finally doing better and my mom decided to look for work again. She left suddenly, but still managed to do it on good terms with her last job. But regrettably her postion had already been filled and there were none others available, so, she searched. But the economy was down. My mother ended up being out of work for SIX MONTHS.
Today, we're doing better. She's been through a few jobs since then and is finally stable. Not ideal, but stable. Even though there's nomoney to do anything special, we're kept fed and comfortable.
I saw this contest on TV and I thought it would be the best thing that could possibly be done for her. To show the appreciation that is felt towards her. To let her know, "Hey, we love you and you deserve to be happy." Before dad's accident, and everything else, we weren't rich, but she had managed to save up enough to buy herself some new furniture, which she had been wanting for some time. As you can imagine, though, it all went into medical bills.
She Held Our World Together...
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