I remember that day so vividly.
It was April 16, 2012 (the day after spring break ended). The sun was beaming through the blinds on my window. I woke up to my alarm clock at 6:45 am, got in the shower, put on my school uniform, and went to sit with my mom for breakfast. I walked out of my room not expecting to see my dad. I asked why he was still here and not have yet left for work. Irritated yet excited he answered, “Your sister has been calling me since 3 am because she thinks she’s in labor, so we’re going to the hospital.” At that moment, I didn’t know if I was more excited to finally meet my nephew or get an extra day of vacation. I quickly changed out of my uniform and into regular clothes and rushed my parents to leave so we can get to the hospital. My eagerness and excitement made the fifteen minute car ride to Kaiser Ontario feel like an hour drive. When we arrived, there were already so many family members and friends to crowd the room. Everyone was expecting the arrival of baby Titan.
After almost five hours of impatiently waiting in the waiting room we were notified that we can meet baby Titan. Thrilled, we rushed through the narrow doorway to go hold him and congratulate the new parents. The baby was passed from family member to family member and the room was filled with joy and contentment. After the initial excitement of the new baby came worry and sadness for Kendra. She was rushed into emergency surgery due to complications during the delivery. Adding to the stress of her heading into surgery, we had to find a way to keep James calm. As any man would be, he was worried about what would happen to his wife. The only thing going through his head was losing the love of his life and having to raise a newborn son on his own. Silent prayers and wishes filled the waiting room. As a family, we comforted one another and spread as much positivity as we could. We hoped and prayed that this moment of euphoria wouldn’t be covered by distress and heartbreak. The excitement in the waiting room a few moments ago turned into quiet stillness. My mom and I walked down to the hospital gift shop to try and distract ourselves from the sadness on the second floor. When we came back to the waiting room there was no change. We waited, and waited, and waited. Eagerness turned into uneasiness. Tears of joy turned into sniffles. Time seemed to be going so slow. Hours went by as we waited hoping the doctor would come out and give us the good news that surgery went well and she would be able to go home in no time. Around 1 am the doctors came in and gave us the news that Kendra’s surgery went well and she should be expected to recover fully. All the negative thoughts that clouded our mind were lifted and a sense of serenity overcame the room.
After almost 15 hours at the hospital, all of my emotions that kept me awake and alert were converted into exhaustion. My parents made the decision to take me home and try to get some rest. The next day we went back to the hospital. In that moment we felt no external worries; we just wanted to be there for each other.
That day, I learned that you can’t always control situations and that things won’t always go as expected. I learned to appreciate life and cherish the ones around me. I am appreciative of my nephews and my family. Four years later, my sister is as healthy as can be and Titan is now a four year old boy that loves to run and play with his little brothers Chase and Noel.
19 comments:
I appreciate your insight here, I firmly agree that being appreciative of life can go a long way. I think it is great how the events of that day happened, life is truly a blessing from God and we have to cherish every moment of it.
This story sheds light on the gift of life. While another life is brought into a world, another is in jeopardy. I liked this piece alot, it reminded me of how my cousin almost lost her life because of birth complications , and how scary it was for me. I sort of relived that fear while reading this piece, and most of it was due to your descriptive language. Overall a great piece!
The birth of a new relative is always exciting but we can forget about all the things that can go wrong during child birth. There are so many birth complications that can occur with the mother and child. You don't expect or prepare for the bad things to happen and you just have to hope and pray that all goes well. I am glad to hear that your sister and nephew are happy and healthy.
I feel like something someone always someone forgets is that the baby maybe healthy but there are some cases where the mother dies to problems after birth but the baby still lives. However, I'm glad that this was not your case and your sister was able make a full recovery. But when you were waiting, I can't imagine what it was like to sit there waiting to hear from the doctor about your sister's surgery. I'm glad that both your sister and your nephew is currently healthy.
I liked your piece because it made me uneasy in an effective manner as you described what that day was like for you. It was easy to feel involved with your story as the mood shifted. Feelings of relief came naturally through your progressions that lead towards a good ending.
I've been in a familiar situation as well when my aunt gave birth to my baby cousin but the epidural went wrong. I experienced the same nervousness and uneasiness that you described in your piece. I really enjoyed how concise you were with getting your emotions across to the reader. Thank you for sharing such a personal and nerve racking experience with us.
I liked that you used suspense to continue to build on your piece. The more that I read, the more nervous that I felt, so I can only imagine the difficult time that you and your family had on this day. I'm glad that everyone is now healthy!
Your story was keeping me at the edge of my seat with the suspense that you were creating by trying to prolong the answer to all of our questions. I liked the details that you gave because to me it made the suspense even more foreboding. Great job.
I really enjoyed your writing and your use of shift of tone as it goes from joyful to tragic then back to joyful. I also enjoyed this piece because you were willing to share something so personal and frightening not only for you but your family and friends. Thanks for sharing this piece.
This story is truly suspenseful. It started off with a happy tone to a dreading tone. I'm happy that the story had a good ending. I'm happy that your sister & nephew are doing well.
When i was in the 4th or 5th grade, my cousin was born 3 months early. I remember rushing to the hospital after school to make sure my aunt and cousin were ok. We weren't able to see my cousin until he was out of NICU. This story reminds me of how everything that we go through in life we have to be grateful for. we never know when a miracle could go wrong.
I can definitely relate to this story. I have quite a few siblings myself so I definitely related to all the feelings you and your family shared. The thoughts of your new family member; good and bad. It's all a lot to take in and think you showcased that very well in your story and I really enjoyed it.
I really liked your piece alot. The imagery you used made it as if I was actually there. I can relate to this story very well because I can remember when my nephew was and all the excitement our family had. Your story had great insight and mood shifts that made me nervous for the mother's out come. Im glad everyone is okay and healthy now.
Courtney, thank you for sharing such a personal piece. This reflection was so well written and left me wanting to read more and more to see what would happen next because what seemed to be the welcoming of a new baby turned into the uncertainty of your sister's life. I am glad your family is doing well. Overall, good piece!
I thought your story was descriptive enough for me to invision the situation in my mind. As I was reading I couldn't resist to think of my personal experience, my mom also had complications after giving birth to my two year old sister and as much as I was excited to have a little sister, I was so scared of losing my mom. I couldn't see my 15 year old self taking care of a new born child and two younger brothers. I couldn't imagine loosing my best friend,my mom. The way you described your excitement I was thinking of how I also reacted similarly and how the atmosphere went to sad and devistation from happy and excited. I really liked this story because I could relate to it and it was well structured. Good job!
I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to balance the feelings of happiness for newborn Titan and worry for your sister, but your description gives me the best description anyone who has not directly experienced this can have. Although I would be interested in hearing your personal thoughts in addition to that of your family as a whole, I still believe it was very brave of you to write this. I'm really happy to hear that everything is going well and that this has had a positive influence on your life that revealed itself after the very difficult ordeal.
I connected with this story greatly, my little brother was born with a heart murmur and he was to be rushed into surgery right away, he lived in that hospital for the first year of his life.
We always have that moment when we don't know how something is going to turn out. The apprehension, the uncertainty, the fear, we have all felt it before, which makes your story particularly easy to sympathize with. Well done, well done indeed.
This story is a great one, I realy enjoyed reading. Your detail and structure was greatly used. I can only imagine how you felt in this situation and reading this story made me feel ljke I was the one going through it. Good Job!
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