In April of 2009 my family's life changed forever. One minute everything was fine, then it all came crashing down. It was about 9pm on a Wednesday when we received the phone call that i’ll never forget. It was a call from Silver Cross Hospital telling my family and I that my dad had been in a devastating car accident, he was hanging onto his life by a thread. That very moment is when I knew that our lives would never be the same.

First, go back a few hours into the day, around 4pm. It seemed like any other normal Saturday for us, and the plans the same as always. Dad goes and referees soccer, Mom has conference calls, my brother has a lacrosse match, and I stay at home. Little did we know, today was anything but normal.

The order in which everyone returned home was the first thing wrong. My Mom finished her calls around 5:30pm, and my brother finished his match around 7 right on time as usual. The only one who didn't return home was my Dad, he was due home at 7. When he didn't come back within an hour of my brother we immediately knew something was wrong. Especially because he wasn't answering his phone.

Around 8:00pm the phone rang. It was the hospital telling us that my dad had just been brought in with a major TBI (traumatic brain injury) and was being rushed into surgery immediately. Within 5 minutes of receiving the call my mom was out the door and on her way to the hospital. She made my brother and I stay behind with my grandma. Not being able to be with him was terrifying. I just wanted to hug him and say everything was going to be okay.

The following days were crucial. He was in a coma for 3 days. The doctors weren't sure if he would ever wake up. But to their surprise he did. Although when he emerged, he just wasn't the same. He could barely speak or move. He also lost the ability to taste and smell. I was only able to visit him in the hospital once after he was transferred to Rush hospital in Chicago. Even with all of this happening I was just grateful that he was alive.

Now, almost 7 years later, he still isn’t the same. He most likely never will be. He still can’t taste or smell, and his brain functions about 10% slower than it used to. But that is not the point of this story. The point is that he is still here with us today. He is still my dad, he still loves me, and I will always love him. Everything that happened that dreadful night just made him stronger.