It was graduation night, we were all excited for Colleen for accomplishing and graduating high school. As Eleanor, Colleen, and I got ready, all in dresses and put makeup on, for the big night we decided to take pictures.  The night was full of smiles, laughs, and happy faces. When it got right around 6 o'clock we left, and started to head to the school for the ceremony. It was Mom, Dad, Eleanor, Colleen, and I all in the van with the radio blasting into the back. My sisters and I were singing off key at the top of our lungs having a good time. As we got onto the school road Colleen stopped and she looked pale.

I asked, “Are you okay?”
She said “My nerves are getting to me, is all.”

So I said, “Okay,” and left it at that.  As we pulled into the school we had to look for a place to park, we found one the was in the middle row near the middle school gate. We all made our way out of the van, and into the school. All with goofy looking smiles on our faces. Colleen had to go stand where she needed to. While the rest of sat in the back of the gym near the bottom of the bleachers. That was until I got a text from a friend asking if i could go sit with them.

I turned around, “Mom, can I go sit with Autumn?”

Mom looked at me, “I suppose, but I don’t wanna have to find you after this is over,” she said with a stern voice and a look her in eye that I knew not to disobey.

I just shrugged and told her, “Okay.”

I walked over to where Autumn was sitting. Which was in front of the graduates, at the very top. As the ceremony dragged on and on and on, with everyone’s speeches, I looked around the gym, my eyes landed on my family that was when I noticed Eleanor’s boyfriend Fox showed up. Finally it was time for the graduates to walk up to get their diplomas. My hands were trembling, my face was pale, I felt nervous for what was yet to come. As I heard Colleen F., I stood up and cheered for her. She was finally graduating. As I sat down, I got tears in my eyes, all my sisters graduated and now it's only me left in high school. I wouldn’t have nobody to talk to, or rant to, it was just me.  At the end of the ceremony I caught up with my family. Colleen took a few pictures with her friends then Mom, Dad, and her left to head home. After a while Fox, Eleanor, and I made our way to his car. On the way there we were talking about what to do to celebrate. It was between going out to Dairy Queen or going to the movies, or to do both. When we arrived at the car we decided that we were going to go home pick up Colleen then head into Cadillac to get ice cream then to go see Pitch Perfect 2.  We had everything figured out until we got the phone call that changed my life forever.

Mom had called Eleanor, she walked away on the phone. When she walked back to us she had tears brimming her eyes.
I took a cautious step toward her, “What’s wrong Ele?”

She looked at me with sad droopy eyes and said, “Dad fell,” it was silent for a minute, until she continued, “He knocked himself unconscious, he is awake now, but he can’t move the left side of his body.” 

I looked at her in disbelief. I felt my whole world turn upside down in a fraction of a second.  I couldn’t move, I was paralyzed, stunned, and scared as Eleanor violently shook me back to face reality. I slowly moved to get into the car. I opened the backseat door, got in and waited for them to get in.  

They got in and we started the anxious drive to our house. We finally arrive there. I rush inside to see my dad lying on the floor on his back barely breathing, barely living. I collapsed onto my knees.

“I love you” I said to his lifeless body. I had tears streaming down my face. I couldn’t stop them they just kept on flowing from my eyes onto my cheeks and onto my dad’s shirt. After an eternity  I got up and started to walk out of my house. My mom caught my arm, she looked me in the eyes; are you okay? She mouthed. I stood there for a second before I nodded my head slowly. I continued to walk out and into the cool summer air. Before I knew it I was halfway up my hill and sitting in the road all alone pondering where my life would go from here. I scrambled down the hill when, all of a sudden I heard the squealing of the breaks as the ambulance came to a halt in front of my house. As I came to the front of my house I watched the rescue squad jump out of the ambulance, grabbing their gear, and heading inside. I chase after them into the house wondering what they were going to do. I see them unloading their gear, and setting it next to my dad. They had to defibrillate him. When I saw that I couldn’t hold back anymore tears I just bawled. After a while the rescue squad helped put my dad on a gurney and put him in the back of the ambulance to head to the hospital. Mom asked if she could ride in the ambulance , they told her she could because they had questions for her. So as the ambulance took off, Fox told us to get in his car. Fox, Eleanor, Colleen, and I got in and headed to Cadillac Mercy Hospital. On the way way there, all sorts of questions were spinning in my head. Is he okay? What’s going to happen? Why did this have to happen? Why does bad things have to happen to good people? What if he doesn’t make it? How will I survive? Can I survive life without my father? The last question is the one I thought and dwelled on the most. As I was lost in my own thoughts we arrived at the hospital. I soon realized where we were and slowly got out and walked into the emergency waiting room. We sat down.

I walked up to the desk, “Can I see Harold F.?” I asked.
The polite lady responded, “Um. I do not see him registered.”
“He’s coming in the ambulance.”
“I don’t think he is here yet then, ma'am.”

“Okay,” is all I said and walked away. I went to sit by Colleen on the floor. It had been a long day, before I knew it I felt myself drift off to a dreamless sleep. After a few minutes, I woke up dazed. Eleanor, was in the back. Only two of us were allowed back there, and mom was one. As Eleanor came out, I got up and went to room number three. I walked assuringly to my daddy’s room.

As soon as I walked in I said, “Hi Daddy.”
He replied with, “Hi babygirl.”
“How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay,” he said. I know he was lying because he always says he’s fine, even when he’s not. I didn’t say anymore; I walked over to his bed and sat in the chair next to it. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I felt tears forming in my eyes. I kept thinking I can’t let them fall. I can’t let them fall. I have to be strong for my mom. The doctor walks in.

“He had another stroke on his left side. There is a specialist for stroke in Pontiac. I will call him and see what he wants us to do.”

Pontiac. They want to send my dad to Pontiac? Where is that at? How far away is it? Will I be able to visit him? While these thoughts swarm my head, the doctor leaves the room. I look at mom, “Where is that at, Mom?”
She looked at me, “I think it’s a few hours away.”

I just looked puzzled. I was about to say something as the doctor walked in with this machine, that looked a lot like Facetiming. The specialist wanted to see and talk to my dad.
“Hello, sir. How are you?” The doctor politely asked.
“I’ve been better.”
“Okay, I think it would be best if you came down to Pontiac so I can examine you further,” he replied without any hesitation.
“Okay. We will have to fly you, because that is the fastest way, and this might be life threatening.” After that he hung up.
The doctor came in, “Let's get you ready.”
“There is no way in hell i am going to be flying anywhere. No. I refuse to go.” He practically yelled.
“Dad, please. you need to go. You will be okay. Its faster. There is so much you need to live for. You have to watch me graduate high school, you have to watch Andrew grow up, all of us girls, Mom, someday you will have to walk me down the aisle.” I said barely audible.

He stopped fighting. “Fine,” he replied grudgingly. 

“Thank you, Daddy,” I said as I kissed his cheek. I walked out of the room and back into the waiting room. “So, they want to transfer dad to Pontiac.” I said hastily. They all just looked at me shocked. I am going to Google it. It said it was two hours and 25 minutes.

I look up, and Fox says “Lets go do something so you guys can get your mind off your dad for a while.” We all just nod in agreement. He continues, “How is your mom going to get home?”
I think for a while, “Maybe grandma will do it.”
“Call her and find out.”

“I will call her, and tell her what’s going on then I will see if she will come get Mom,” Eleanor said quietly. After talking to Grandma for ten minutes or so she says “Grandma will come get Mom. She will be on her way shortly.”
After a short time Fox asks “So what do you guys wanna do?”

“We could just go see Pitch Perfect 2. If you still wanted to.” Eleanor said.

We discussed this for a few minutes until we decided we would and that there was still one more showing for tonight, it was at 9:45 pm.

“I’m going to go say bye to Dad before we leave. I will also tell Mom what we are doing.” I said to Eleanor and Fox.
A couple of minutes later I emerge from the hospital emergency and back into the waiting room. When I got out there, we didn’t say anything to each other. We all just kind of mozzie our way outside, and into the dark starless night. We all silently got into the car and drove to the theaters. As soon as we parked we got out into the chilly air and walked inside. As we stepped in you could feel the warm air hit you in the face.

We made our way up to the register, Fox pulled out his marine card “One marine, one student, and two adults for Pitch Perfect 2, please.”

“Okay,” the man replied. He then told him the price, but I wasn’t paying any attention. We walked to theater four got into our seats and waited for the movie to start. After the movie was over we just went home. When we got home Mom met us at the door.

“Did you have a good time?”

“Yeah,” we all said in unison.
This was the longest and most stressful day ever. All I want to do is head to bed. So I say goodnight to everyone and head into my room into a restless night. As the sun comes up it got brighter and brighter in my room. Shoot, I forgot to close my blinds last night I think silently to myself. Last night, please tell me last night wasn’t real. As I think about last night I get tears in my eyes. I begin to wonder if Colleen was still having her open house. I throw the covers off of me and crawl out of bed. I stand up, steady myself, and open the door. All I see when I open the door are fake smiles plastered onto all of their faces. I walk out farther into the living room; I plop down onto the couch and curl into a ball.

As Mom makes breakfast I break the silence that has been swarming us. “So,” I start off, “ Is Colleen still having her open house?”

I hear scrambling in the kitchen, “Yes,” is all my mom says.

“Okay,” I replied. “I’m going to go get ready. I’m not very hungry this morning Mom.”

“Rachel, you have to eat. I know you are upset, but it's not going to get better because you are starving yourself.”

“I’m not starving myself Mom!” I say defensively. “I’m just not hungry right now.”

“Fine, but you better eat at the open house.”
“I will,” is all I said to her.

After that I really didn’t say much. I went into my room to get dressed, then went into the bathroom to do my makeup. As the day dragged on, I talked to some family and put a fake smile on my face. Fake it til you make it, right?  At least that’s what I thought. All though through the day that’s all I thought about. After Colleen’s open house we discussed when we wanted to go see dad. It was about a three hour trip down, so we needed a whole day. We decided that we would go tomorrow, on Sunday. We would just have to be back early enough for me to get some sleep for school.  Holly wanted Colleen and me to go over to her house after everything was settled. Eleanor and Fox decided to take us over there, so they knew where to pick us up in the morning to go see Dad. After we made it over there, we decided to watch movies and go to bed. I was actually having a good sleep until I was abrutly awoken by Colleen saying that they were on their way and were almost here. I shot straight up from bed, grabbed my glasses, changed my clothes, and headed out of Holly’s room. As soon as I seen their headlights pull in, I told Holly’s mom, Amanda, bye and headed toward the car. Colleen followed. We started the long drive to Pontiac. We had a lot of pointless conversations, and snacked on the way down there. It sure was a journey. When we arrived there I was shocked at how big the hospital was. As we headed into the hospital, we had to find the southeast, floor six, room 2028. This was a really nice hospital is all I could think. It had a fireplace, fake of course, it had its own little waterfall thing. We headed to the elevators got in and pressed floor six. We got to floor six in no time at all. We all got out and followed signs to the right room. As soon as we walked in Dad had a big contagious smile on his face. We spent all day there. When we left to go home you could see the sadness on his face.
He ended up spending a week in Pontiac. We visited him one other time and that was on his birthday. The doctor suggested that he go to a rehabilitation center. He was in Lakeview Manor for two weeks. I went to see him everyday after school. It was in Cadillac, so it was a lot closer to home.

This was the worst way to end my sophomore year of high school and start my summer with. It was extremely hard not being able to see my dad everyday when he was in Pontiac. It got easier when he was transferred to Cadillac, but it was hard knowing that he wasn’t home. I was afraid of going anywhere, thinking that something could happen to him and I wouldn’t be able to see him. It was the worst feeling in the world. We still have trips to the hospital with my dad. We’ve had a couple of scares since then, but none as bad as this. This was the worst one. We all know that we have limited time with him; that’s why we try to spend as much time with him as possible and cherish it. “To lose someone you love is to alter your life forever… The pain stops, there are new people, but the gap never closes… This hole in your heart is the shape of the one you lost - no one else can fit it.” -Unknown.