Two things that disappointed me during my winter vacation

There were two main things that disappointed me during my winter holidays, my Auntie got sicker and my close friend ended up in the hospital. I left The Mount on December 14, 2007 with the thought that I would be free for five whole weeks. I was so excited, because for five weeks I did not have to worry about homework, test, or even writing papers. I believed I was worry-free. The only thing that was on my mind was going to San Bernardino to stay with my best friend at Cal State San Bernardino, and everything else after that would fall in place. Nevertheless, there were a few hold-ups before and after my trip to San Bernardino.

The first event that disappointed me during the winter vacation was, my Auntie getting sick, and since I was not around I could not be there for her or my cousins. About three days before I was to leave, my mother received a phone call from my Auntie. When my mother got off the phone, I could tell that something was wrong; my mother is not very good at hiding her facial expression no matter how hard she tries. About three years ago my Auntie was diagnosed with breast cancer, so she has been through numerous amounts of chemo and radiation therapy. Without hesitation I asked my mother if everything was okay. And that’s when she began to explain to me that things were going from bad to worse. For a few months my Aunt has been experiencing swelling and pain in her right arm, and nobody really understood why until now. Come to find out due to so much radiation therapy her nerves in her arm and fingers are damaged. So she has now been diagnosed with Erb’s Palsy, the same disability that I was diagnosed with at birth. This means that we have little or no motion in our arm or hand.

The second event that disappointed me during my winter vacation was my close friend being in the hospital, and as a friend I needed to be there. About a week before I returned to school. One of my close friends from high school had got sick and was in the hospital. Since birth she was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia, so throughout her life she has been in and out of the hospital with what the doctors call a “crisis”. From what I have witnessed after many days of visitation for the past four years, when she experiences a crisis it is really painful and the only way to get through it is throw medication like antibiotics and also IV fluids. And sometimes she may need a blood transfusion as well. This time was different, and I would never forget it, this day was full of emotions that took prayer to get through. Not only was she in a lot of pain, but she was also going through some personal issues that did not allow her to get any better, only worse. At this point in her life it was extremely important for her to realize that she had a lot of friends and family members who cared about her, and that she could not give up without a fight. I believe that once she understood that, she started to look at life a whole lot differently.

Even though there was some sorrow during my vacation I did have fun and go to San Bernardino to stay with my best friend. As a result I guess I could say that my winter vacation was not really a disappointment in the since that I learned a valuable lesson from both situation. I learned that everything happens for a reason, and that you should be grateful for what you have or even in some cases, for what you don’t have.