I was working for Oscar and I had to go inside the warehouse to get the drills and keys to my excavator. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground. Waking up, the room spinning and hearing voices all around. When I finally came to, I was being held down by Charlie, Joe and Derek, all telling me not to get up. At this point, I started to panic. I could feel the rush of fear running through my body and started to feel it go to my face. I heard the loud noise of the sirens and saw the flashing lights coming towards me. The stress started building up, not knowing what was going on and no one was telling me. I started to utter words but sentences weren’t forming. I was just hoping it was all a dream.

“Sir are you okay? Everything is going to be just fine.” I noticed the paramedic was sitting next to me, talking, as he reached around me to put the neck brace on. Sentences were going through my head of what I wanted to say  but couldn’t. Everyone around looked at me with a frightened stare like I was supposed to magically jump up and be okay. The paramedic crouching next to me kept trying to get me to speak, it wasn’t working. What did happen? How did I end up like this? I knew I was going into the building but the rest is a blur.

In the ambulance I went, coming in and out of what was going on, seeing so much but it all being a blur. I felt panicked at the fact that I was strapped in and couldn’t move. I just wanted to stretch out my arms or move my head but I was stuck. I felt like I were an animal trapped in a cage. Hurting, scared, and confused,I tried listening to the paramedics around me to see if I could get any information out of their conversation they were having. No luck. I’m lying in the hospital bed, doctors all around me but no one else. My face itches really bad and it’s all scratched up. I hear a knock on the door, looking over I see a large figure, bright yellow construction vest on and an orange hate, it was my brother standing there. Immediately my whole body starts to shake and I couldn’t stop. What was going on? I watched him walk out of the room and after a few minutes, he was back.

“I’m scared and I don’t know what’s going on.” He took my hand, tears filling up his eyes, telling me everything was going to be okay. “You need to stop getting like this, it isn’t going to help the situation. I’m here with you and everything  is going to be okay.” The words kept getting interrupted as the tears danced down his face, striking the floor.

I heard him on the phone in the corner of the room talking to someone, trying to whisper so I couldn’t hear. I was the one lying in the bed, shouldn’t I be able to know what was going on? Did he know something I didn’t? He was saying something about not being surprised by the way I looked. It was my wife he was talking to my wife. I found out later by looking at a picture that when I fell, I hit my head on a fire extinguisher and fell face first on the cement causing me to have scratches and blood all on my face. I’m a little banged up. Thankfully I didn’t break anything, I took a pretty hard fall from what I can remember I'm lying there watching all the doctors come in and out, talking and explaining things, but nothing to me yet. I still have no clue what’s going on and I would really like to.

Later, a doctor came in and I asked if everything is okay and when I could go, he just looked at me with a shocked look on his face. Great, that’s never a good sign. My wife walks in, tears rolling down her face, she runs over to hug me. Shortly after, the doctors come in to update us.

“Steven I got some bad news.” I look around and everyone's faces go straight. “After we looked at your head scans, we thought it was a brain bleed. But after looking more closely we had found a cancer cell. It looks like the cancer from your lung had taken a turn and went up to the brain.” He took a pause. “I’m very sorry for this news.” He left and I didn’t know what to do but cry. I was even more scared then I had been when I got here. Now I have a reason. I wanted to scream. The doctors had later told me they believe the reason for my fall was because of having a seizure that got caused by the cancer since now it’s being active.

The following Wednesday, I got to go home. Spent my whole day sitting around, just couldn’t think straight. I mean was this really happening to me? Hours passed and I didn’t move, staring out the window, realizing how much my life is changing on me. Suddenly I noticed something out of the corner of my eye, blinding bright yellow lights heading up the driveway. BANG BANG BANG, pounding hit the door and I jumped. Door creaking open, my brother walks in. About scared me half to death. By now I’m in tears. Everytime I see him I can’t help but cry. He came over and hugged me, standing still like trees in the night, not saying a word just listening to the bashing heartbeat of one another. Knowing he came here from work just to hug me made me realize how incredibly lucky I am to have the family I do. About to speak, I hear a murmur coming from him.

“You need to start doing something instead of just sitting there letting yourself die. You better light that fire and get moving. You have family who isn’t ready to see you go.”

A week later I went to the radiologist. I was given six months to live. This was the hardest thing I have ever heard. Sitting in the doctor's office I couldn’t move, I was stiff as a rock and my face began to sweat. I felt panicked. I didn’t know how my family would handle this. The fact that now my life is just a countdown of days really starts to kill everything you were looking forward to. I just always remember the things my brother would tell me. It helps put encouragement in me and I know I need to use it. I have family that isn’t ready to say goodbye and neither am I. I’ve fought this battle once and I’m going to do it again.