Appreciating The Presence: Personal Narrative Analysis

Appreciating The Presence Regret is an emotion that nobody would like to feel. This experience happened to me when my aunt came across unexpected circumstances. It is always our family members whom we tend to least worry about concerning their lives. In the future, unexpected events can alter the way we reflect upon the past. In, life you have to appreciate those who matter to you, before you lose them. I came across the realization to appreciate those that matter to me, when my aunt was hospitalized. One sunny summer day in 2013, my family and I had just celebrated my baby cousins first birthday. Her arrival was a very big deal to all of us, one she was the first girl to be born in the family compared to all boy, and anther because she was born on July four. Exactly, a week later my aunt came over mentioning some pains in her abdomen. Initially, we thought it
was unusual because of the fact she hardly visits unless for emergency reasons or just to swing by. My mom started talking with her and told her to go to the doctors, to have it checked out. I thought it wasn’t a big deal and went along to go play with my cousins inside as they were still outside. A couple hours passed by, and I heard some gasps come from outside. I thought something was wrong with my aunt but then made the assumption that they must be gossiping about people.
A few more hours passed and it was now dinnertime. My mom then decided to order pizza for everyone. As we all began to bite into our hot and steaming cheese pizza, I noticed my aunt wasn’t eating. I found that unusual because everyone likes pizza and my aunt has always had a healthy appetite. I then realized she went to go lie down on the hammock without having so much as taken a single bite of her food. My aunt didn’t say word but just sat there with a pained expression on her face. My family and I didn’t think much of her pain because she’s always had a high tolerance for pain. We all assumed it might just be indigestion because she suffers from gastritis. After we finished eating, my mom and my uncle engaged in a secret chat away from the rest of us. By this time I picked up a bad vibe and knew something was wrong with my aunt. A couple minutes passed by, and I went to go check on my aunt who had turned as blue as a blueberry. I now knew something was definitely wrong with my aunt. In less than half an hour my mom and uncle rushed my aunt to the hospital. Since, we all couldn’t go together my older brother was left in charge of my cousins and I. We all stood waiting around in suspense for the phone to ring and receive an update on what was happening with my aunt. My baby cousin and her older brother began to cry as a sense of dread crept over them. We prayed that the phone would soon ring and we would receive some type of good news to have some piece of mind regarding the situation. Three hours late the telephone finally rang. The voice on the other end of the phone was my mom’s low-pitched voice. My mom then spoke cutting in and out because of the fact she was crying. My mom then informed us that my aunt had kidney stones. We all felt relieved because she would need a simple surgery to remove them and get her back to full capacity. My mom then informed us that my aunt could face complications due to her having kidney stones and diabetes at the same time. My family and I felt depressed about the current situation, but we managed to keep our spirits up knowing she didn’t have a serious illness affecting her. I for one never thought that a simple operation such as removing kidney stones could be fatal. I would later on come to realize that every surgery and operation has its drawbacks. By midnight we received another update containing by far the worst news yet.
My mom informed us that my aunt’s kidney stones had been removed, but she had gone into a comatose like state. My aunt had apparently had a negative reaction to receiving the morphine resulting in her comatose state. At that moment I knew every member of my family was devastated knowing she would be in a comatose state for an unspecified period of time. It was now late at night and we went to bed. My cousins and I could not sleep that night the current days’ events felt so surreal. The following day we all took a trip to the hospital to visit my aunt. As we arrived at the hospital, I felt a child run down my spine. The air was cold in there, a deafening silence in the hallway as we continued further in to locate my aunt’s room. Hospitals in my mind are either a safe and happy place filled with doctors or a place of death looming around the corner. Once we reached my aunt’s room, only a few of us at a time could visit her. The doctor informed us that too many visitors at once would reduce the oxygen concentration within the
room. My cousins were allowed to go in first followed by my brother and me. My baby cousin unfortunately couldn’t go in to visit because the hospital didn’t permit it. I for one thought that even if she could go in it would be better not to see her mother in such a sorry state. My brother and I then proceeded to enter my aunt’s room. As I entered the room the light from my eyes vanished and encountered a dark room. My aunt lay motionless on the hospital bed. At that moment I felt a pang of sadness in my heart. A single thought crossed my mind as I took in the scene in front of my eyes. I better cherish my family members while I can, one’s life is fleeting and only death is assured in life. The joy I experience with my family today could easily be that of sorrow tomorrow. It would take my aunt about a month to awaken from her comatose like state. After having woken it would still take another two weeks for her to be released from the hospital all whilst only being able to spend limited amounts of time with her kids. I however, would come to learn a great lesson from this experience. I would come to learn that the unexpected could occur and alter our lives. I would come to appreciate how important it is to cherish the time you spend with family. The event that my aunt had undergone served as a wake up call for me to maximize the time I spend with family. It is never too late to realize that those whom we love could easily be gone the next and we should appreciate them while we are able to.