Lots of emotions going through my mind. As I walk into my house and see my grandpa laying on the floor. His face is  white as a cloud. The sound of him struggling to move goes through my mind. Tears running down my face because I don’t know how I can get him up without hurting him. I asked and make sure he’s okay, he tells me he can’t feel anything and is in so much pain. So many thoughts are going through my head. I try and call my mom, she doesn’t answer; I then call my dad, he doesn’t pick up; I call my aunt, she doesn’t pick up; finally, I call my cousin and he picks up. I explain to him what happened from what my grandpa told me.”Grandpa fell and I need help getting him up, he can’t feel anything and I don’t wanna hurt him trying to get him up.” My exact word on the phone.

My cousin then came over and tried to help but we still couldn't get him up so we then called 911 and an ambulance came about 15 minutes later. They got him up after about 5 minutes of trying because they didn’t wanna hurt him just like us but they are professionals so they got him on the stretcher and into the ambulance. They then asked me if I was going to ride along with them and I did. My cousin followed behind. 

Once we got to the hospital they had me go into the ER waiting room part while my grandpa went into a room until they called me back to sit with him. 10 minutes passed and they finally called me up at this point my mom, both aunts and cousin were there. They only allow two people back at a time so my mom and aunt went back to see him and talk to the doctors. We sat there for about 3 hours until they finally found something out. 

My grandpa got admitted into the hospital. He broke something in his lower back and had low enzyme levels. When they had him all settled into his room we were able to see him. When I walked into that room and seen him lying in that bed it broke my heart. My whole world was crashing because they told us they didn’t know if he’d be okay until after surgery. Surgery was scheduled for the next day at 10 am. This all happened in the summer so we were all able to make it there to support him.

Once he got out of surgery they let us go see him once he woke up. It took about an hour for him to wake up so we ate in the cafeteria while waiting. My mom went up to the room first to talk to the doctor. They explained it would be a while for him to go home but the surgery went well. My mom wanted to transfer him to Kalamazoo. They said that was okay. 

The next day he was transferred. That night we went to see him, he finally could talk and seemed to be okay but still in pain. It made me so happy to hear his voice again. 

The doctors explained to us that he would need to go to mary free bed which was in Grand Rapids for a month or so to be able to move again. He couldn’t walk on his own anymore. On that Friday he was taken to mary free bed and stayed for about a month and a half. He was finally able to walk on his own after 2 weeks. I went and seen him every weekend. 

My grandpa is my whole world and that day taught me a lot. Me and my grandpa didn’t always get along and I often was mouthy with him but after that, it really showed me you never know when someone's last day so treats them like it is their last. Ever since that happened I've really cherished and worked so hard on building a strong relationship with my grandpa and everyone in my life. 

Looking back at that day it still gives me chills. It showed me a lot about family because I’ve always struggled with family. My dad wasn’t in my life so I held onto that and distanced myself from people and tried to push everyone away. I thought if he didn’t want to be around me why would anyone else. After watching my grandpa in that situation he was in it really showed me that people do care and love in my family more than anyone ever would and it was my dad's fault for not wanting to be around not mine.