Have you ever wondered how you would feel if someone got injured in your family? How would life be if they did not survive? Would you be able to live without them? Can you survive without them? It was a warm summer day in July. The exact date is July 8, 2013.  I was at camp with my little brother Jake and he was playing with his friends and I was running through the sprinklers with all my little friends. It was around lunchtime when I saw my mom with my cousins, Cam and Sophia. I was wondering to myself why they were with my mom? My mom told my brother and I to get our things so we can go home. My brother and I quickly got our things so we can hang out with our cousins. I was whispering to Sophia and Jake was whispering to Cam in the car. My mom sat there in silence the whole car ride to my house. She tells us to all go upstairs to play and she will make us lunch. Sophia and I sat on my floor in my room and played with plastic toy horses. Later on I went downstairs to see my mom is tears in the kitchen, she told me to go upstairs and continue to play and that she is ok. I slowly walk up the stairs so I can hear if my mom stops crying. I remember hearing my mom call us downstairs into the living room so she can talk to us. That’s when I knew something was wrong and that it was bad. We sat there on the chocolate colored couch in silence. The next thing that we hear is…. “Uncle Stefan was in a motorcycle accident and he is in the hospital.” My mom said trying to hold back her tears. She had to stay strong for us and my cousins. She then went on explaining to us what happened.

Still trying to hold back her tears she continued, “He was on his motorcycle last night and he was going down a one way street. He then was hit by a woman who was drunk and on drugs at the time. Titi is at the hospital with Uncle Stefan and he is in surgery right now.” I sat there trying to stay strong for my cousins but I could not I had to just let out the tears. I could not just keep them inside. Cam sits there not saying a thing, he just sat there. He was in total shock and did not know how to handle it. I tried to ask him if he is ok and that he can talk to me I am here for him. But he said nothing to me. We all just sat there thinking about what was going to happen next. I had no clue what was going to happen was he going to live was he going to die, there were so many questions going through my head that no one could answer because no one knew what was going to happen next.

A few weeks later, some of my questions have been answered and I know what’s going on. The first time I saw my uncle was so hard, the minute I walked into that room tears came down my face. I tried to pull myself together so my uncle would not see me crying. All you could hear was “BEEP” there were so many machines hooked up to him. He had a tube coming out of his throat so he could breath. He looked like he was in so much pain. He laid there in the hospital rope that they give you. I remember him always being hot and sweat would just drip down his face. Then I found out that he broke basically everything on his right side of his body, and they pieced back some of his ribs together. I walked over to his bedside and grabbed his hand. First, my hand just held his hand but then he grabbed my hand tight. The minute I felt his hand I started to cry again I could not stop. I did not want to let go but I had to tears just kept coming down my face. I walked out of the room because I could not do this anymore. I did not know if he was hurting because he could not talk. His speech was messed up because he hit his head. All I wanted to do was help him and make this all go away but I could not do that. It was a long 3 years for my family but we stayed strong.

Days, weeks, months, and years went by and he is finally semi better. First, he was in a coma for a few months, next, was physical therapy almost everyday, then came he was able to go home some days and spend the night with his kids, then came finally being able to come home and stay home. There were times where he would be doing something and he would fall so that meant he would be back in the hospital for a few days to make sure he did not do any damage. When he finally started to slow down and just take a break he was then able to go back to college. It was scary I’m not going to lie there was not one day that went by where I did not cry. My whole family has learned something from this experience. My cousins, brother and I have learned that doing drugs and getting drunk will end up harming someone or yourself. Also we learned what it’s like to be in court and what everyone has to go through. It’s hard having someone you love injured and not knowing if they will end up being ok.  

 
Sometimes you can’t always help the person you love and all you can do is just wait and be there by there side until the end of everything. The end will either be good or will be bad and my ending to this is good.