FAMILY IS EVERYTHING

I had never really taken family and our time spent together as important until we realized how much we needed each other. Last summer, my mom’s side of the family went on vacation together to Disney World. There were seventeen of us altogether, including eight adults and eleven kids. We had never done anything like this before, so we knew it was going to be interesting given that we would be spending a whole week together. About a month or so before we left, my nana had a stroke and was put in the hospital for a little bit. After a few days in the hospital, they took her back to the nursing home she resides in. Since the whole family besides a few people were leaving and travelling eight hours away, we were hesitant to go. We ended up going and having a great time though. I loved getting to spend so much time with my cousins, and it was great to be somewhere besides someone’s house for a holiday. However, while we were in Hollywood Studios on our last day, my aunt got a phone call. All of a sudden, everyone was in a hurry to meet up with each other. No one would tell us what was going on, but my mom and her siblings all gathered in the closest store and they were each on the phone and looked as though they were in panic mode. Us children were outside of the store trying to figure out what was wrong. They came back outside and finally told us what was wrong. We were informed that my nana had aspirated and also had a stroke. We were familiar with her having strokes, for this wasn’t the first time. We were all in shock, and it was one of those moments where we just looked at each other and knew the importance of the situation. Once all of the adults got the situation settled, they told us what they had been told. Our nan had been put in the hospital, but this time she was hooked up to a bunch of machines and was in critical condition. After that incident, my mom and her siblings as well as a few of the kids had a wake up call. Once we got back from Disney that week, each individual family went out to the hospital to visit her, sometimes with multiple of us there and sometimes with just the four of us. Once she was taken off of the machines, my nana seemed to have had an attitude change and some memory loss, which were not uncommon following a stroke. She seemed happier and would ask some of the same questions a few times. As time progressed, her memory started to get worse, and she wasn’t as happy as she was. It started to get to the point where she wouldn’t eat, would barely sit up, or keep her eyes open. That summer was very hard on my family and I, and we came to a realization that we needed to cherish time together for we all wouldn’t be here eventually. Although my nana still resides in a nursing home, my family as well as my aunt Loretta and her family always put in the effort to go visit her once or twice each week. Since that summer, my family as well as my aunt Loretta and her family went on vacation to Panama City Beach and Florida together, and they plan to make our summer vacations an annual tradition. Last December, my mom, my cousin Kassidy, Loretta, and I all went to a concert in Atlanta and stayed overnight. During the school year, we often go paint together or make sure we see each other any chance we get. I was never really this close to my family until the incident with my nana, and although it was scary and nerve-racking, I am glad it has brought me closer to my family. People often see their friends come and go, but it is important to know that your family is always with you.