To learn that your child is two hours away and is in danger is not something a mother wants to hear. To listen from my bedroom, laying there crying and thinking my brother could be dead. Then, praying to God to let him be okay that I would not lose my hero, the person I look up to. Looking back to what happened brings tears to my eyes. I still ask myself why him, what did he do to deserve this. He is now living life different with only one eye. We began to realize that things could happen that quickly. I can remember that night so vividly. The cries of my mother and the terror in her voice, then my father beside her trying to calm her down. That night was just a mother's worst nightmare, and for me a taste of reality.
"One family, my family, so perfect, so bright." My family was your typical family, a Mom, Dad, a son, and a daughter and we had never really been faced with any type of life changing event. In the past I went through losing my grandpa, but it didn't seem to affect me as much as this did. In addition to my parents and brother, I have a step sister. She is in her thirties and married and when we need her she is there. My brother is twenty and is now a sophomore at Rowan University. My parents, are your typical parents, they would do anything for my brother, step sister, and I. For me, Chelsea Blair, I like to keep myself busy. I go from school to sports and leave just enough time to squeeze friends in.
"Everything was right until that one night." It all happened about a year ago, in March of 2008. I was in eighth grade and fourteen years old. I have never really gone through any horrific accidents or really experienced anything that could change my life. The thought of something bad happening was an unreal thought to me. The last thing on my mind would be something would happen to anyone in my family. I remember my Mom talked to my brother earlier that night and he said he was not going anywhere. I guess his plans changed since she talked to him.
It was a stormy night, the wind whistling outside, the rain pounding on the roof. It was around two in the morning and everyone in my house was asleep. The phone began to ring which is very strange at this time of night. Normally I would have slept right through the sound but I found myself laying awake in my bed. Soon I heard my mom get out of bed and walk into the kitchen to retrieve the phone. She looked at the number on the phone and did not know who it was but answered anyway. Right behind her my dad followed her standing by listening to what was going on. I just sat quietly listening, trying to figure out what happened.
"Just one call, one ring, can decide our fate that the future will soon change." With just one moment on the phone everything changed. My Moms voice began to sound shaky and filled with sorrow. I had never seen or heard her cry, she was always strong and kept her emotions from us. You could hear my dad trying to comfort her tell her everything would be okay. All I heard was my mom almost screaming.
"Where is he? Is he going to be okay? How much did he drink? Where is he now? What hospital is he at? What happened? What’s the name of the hospital? What condition is he in? Is he alive? Will he live? Can you do me a favor and just stay there until we get there. Me and my husband will leave as soon as possible. We will be there in about two hours."
"The cries, the yelling, the praying and hoping, that he will be okay. The rain pounding on the roof, waiting and thinking all of these possibilities, but is he alive?" I had to try to put the pieces together. I did not know what was going on at the time. I did not know it was my brother they were talking about, but after listening I put it all together and had to face reality. My brother could be dead. All I could do was sit there and pray to God. I just repeatedly said, "God please let him be okay, please let him live." After my mom got off the phone she came into my room and said.
"Chelsea your brother has gotten into an accident at school. Right now he is in the emergency room and in serious condition. Your father and I have to go there and I'm not sure when we will be back home. I will call your sister to stay here until you leave for school, then grandma will come and stay with you."
I did not know how to react. I did not know what to say. All I could do was sit there and cry. My Mom called my sister and informed her on what happened and she rushed over. Meanwhile, my parents grabbed what they needed to go be with my brother. Once my sister arrived my parents gave me a kiss goodbye and told me to call them when I woke up for school. I got out of bed to see my step sister, but I just was not myself. I was speechless and in shock. I got my sister a blanket so she could sleep on the couch and then I went back into my room. When I got into my room I grabbed my rosary beads and clenched them in my hands. That night I had been more religious than ever. I just laid in bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking of all the good times I had with my brother. I found myself falling asleep, with the rosary beads in my hand hoping that everything would be okay.
When it came time to get ready for school, I told myself to be strong. I knew I could get through it, I just had to act like my normal self for the day, even if it was just an act. “When he is reached, still breathing but bruised, we thank God for his life but remain confused." I picked up the phone and called my Mom. They had gotten to the hospital safely but were on their way to another one. She said that he was going to be okay, he just had a hard fall. She told me she would call me later in the day. My mom also asked if I wanted her to call me teachers and inform them of what happened. I told her no. I did not want anyone to ask questions. I did not want them to know what was going on, I thought that it would be best if I kept it to myself.
That day at school had to be one of the worst days, but I had to get through it. I put the thoughts and tears aside for the day and acted okay even though deep down I was not. No one could understand what I was going through so why bother trying to explain my circumstances. There were so many strong emotions that were flowing through my body, it is somewhat unexplainable. I felt upset and mad with many other emotions thrown in. I felt like I was in the middle of a whirlpool trying to find my way out. I could swim as fast and hard as I could but I would still be in that whirlpool. What was happening to me, everywhere I turned I could not escape these feelings. They were always there and I never wanted to tell anyone how I felt. They could not help me.
When I got home from school I was greeted by my Grandma. I went straight to my room, I did not want to talk about anything to anyone. I got another call from my mom and they were being transferred to another hospital. She told me that my brother fell really hard on his left side, causing him to lose vision in his left eye. They were going to go to an eye hospital to see if they could do anything for him.
"A young man now scared, just seeing the world with one eye, without the other, how will he get by." I could not think of how he felt. His life will be changed along with everyone else. "With his heart still beating, he is getting stronger each day, but his life will forever be changed." He did get stronger and days later he did come home. He was all bruised, his face showed his pain. The black and blue around his eye just showed what he went through, his suffering. When I first saw him, shivers went through my body. There was nothing I could do for him. I could not turn back the clock and prevent him from getting hurt.
"It’s something that will never come back, a moment put in the past, but what happened shall always last." As time went on my brother recovered, but he will forever be blind in his left eye. Now with the lawyers involved the true story was revealed. My brother was attending a party and had a little too much to drink. While leaving he fell down a flight of concrete stairs, causing him to lose his vision. There are still many questions that have not been answered about that night. An ambulance was never called, he was brought to a hospital by other people at the party. If they had never done that and called an ambulance all this could have been prevented.
"We will get through this, he will just see his world in a different way, it will never fade away." Almost a year has passed and I have tried to go back to living my life, but it is still not the same. Yes my brother is okay now, but this tragedy will never go away. We had to learn the hard way what could happen if you drink too much. I know now I am afraid to ever drink. Every now and then when we watch the news as a family and there is a death at a college because of drinking, and we just sit and shake our heads. We can relate to those people, we have felt the effects too. Even though this is just one horrific event in my life, it will never be forgotten. It has become a part of me, and it has made me grow up. It made me realize things could happen in a blink of an eye. I got slapped in the face with reality, but I guess everyone has to experience it at sometime.
