It was January 20th, 2015. I would say I lived I normal life before all of this happened. I went to school, played sports, did homework, hung out with friends on the weekend, the typical for a teen. My routine was to come home from school and eat a snack and just lounge around for a little bit before I would start my homework. When I came home that day I felt worried and and didn't really know why it was like an instinct, it felt like something was wrong and I just had bad feeling in my stomach. My Mom was late getting home and she didn’t ask me how my day was or what I did at school like she usually does, she just sat there. She was there but not really, it was like she was stuck in her own head in deep thought.

Later that evening after my brother had arrived home from school my dad showed up after work. My dad is very large man who stands about 6’4 and weighs 275 pounds. He played football back and high school and body built in college, when I was younger I thought he was the strongest man on earth. He was always happy and always was trying to be a comedian. He is the type to make prank calls or tell stories that were so funny you were basically in tears by the end of it. Like one year on Halloween he was washing the dishes when my brother and I heard the garbage disposal and then a scream from the kitchen,we all ran to see what happened. My dad was clutching his right hand and thick scarlet liquid was dripping from it. he lead us to believe the he has cut his hand in the garbage disposal, then he started to chuckle,

“Hahaha you should have see the look on your faces! This is just barbecue sauce!” he held up his hand what seemed like blood before was now the tangy sauce you put on different meats. That was such a long time  ago, My dad has taught me so many important things and among them is how to have a good sense of humor. My dad was my best friend in the whole world. He was always there for me and he always put our family before himself.
When he arrived home today he seemed to be his normal self, cracking jokes and around with my brother, this gave me a little bit relief, how could there be anything wrong? Looking back on it I don't know how my dad could be so calm. When he sat down that's when he told me and my brother that he thought it was about time that he told us.

“Tell us what?” I said,

“For the past few months I have not been feeling well and decided to go get tests done. The Result came and the doctor said I have Leukemia.” he said quietly,

I was like that Kim Kardashian meme and broke down into an ugly tears. How could this happen? Panic crept up on me like a spider.

“You shouldn't worry I don't plan on going anywhere.” he said in a calm voice.

I didn't know much about cancer not many people in my life has had something like this. Was he going to lose his hair? What about his strength? And what terrified me the most was the thought if he was going to die. I didn't know any of the answers and to be honest I don't think he did either. This was my best friend in the entire world the fact that I didn’t know what would happen to him is what scared me the most.

A few weeks later he started his treatment, this was the start of chemotherapy that will continue for the rest of his life. Every Monday my dad would go to the special center to get the treatment. I never usually went because I was too scared to see what it was like, but my mom my brother and I decided to bring my dad some lunch and visit him. The treatment was a long process totaling to about three hours, when I arrived at the center I walked closely behind my mom who had clearly done this over a dozen of times, she waved to the receptionist and then continued back to the area my dad was. The chair could have swallow my dad whole it was so large. We found him slumped in that large lazy boy rocker hooked up to a large iv bag filled with the clear cancer fighting liquid. I have never seen my dad in such a state. He was ghostly pale, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was shivering. Usually by the time I got home from school my dad seemed like his usual self, seeing him like this really affected me. My dad was so strong I noticed that he had gotten weaker but I have never seen him look so sickly. I think it was at this point that I really accepted that this was happening. I knew that my dad had cancer obviously but it is just a word I hadn't seen the cancer until that moment. This really opened my eyes. My life was so “normal” months ago but now I had a sick dad that got weaker as weeks passed and need help to tie his shoes and get up from sitting, normal everyday things. Everything was changing and I didn't really appreciate that time I had with my dad while he was still healthy.

I never thought I wouldn't be able to play catch with him in the yard, or even go out to dinner with the family because he felt too sick to leave home. Now I try really hard in everything I do to make my dad and family proud, not that I didn't try before but I put my heart into everything I do. I don't know how long my dad has, as a matter of fact I don't know how long anyone has including myself. But I try my hardest in everything I do this so I can live without regrets, this is because you never know what is around the corner, your life can change and be over with in a blink of an eye. So cherish everyday you are on this earth and with the people you love.