I can't believe that one day I was out in the yard playing and just messing around, then the next it was flipped upside down. From then on it would never be the same. At the same time you could never expect it or prepare for an event so big. As a little girl, I would've never thought that In years to come that my dad was going to need a heart transplant. Looking back on that day, I realized that my dad's heart transplant had a huge impact on life. I would not be where I am now, today without many of events.

I was sitting in the living room at grandpa's house, my dad was just taking a nap in the back room. It went from a perfectly normal day, to my dad waking up screaming in pain. He told me it felt like an elephant sitting on his chest, along with someone stabbing him. I was at a loss for words, I didn't know what to do.  Soon enough, he was in his car on the way to the hospital. Thirty minutes later my mom came to pick up my sister, my brother and me. Later that night, we found out that my dad was going to be in the hospital for awhile. As a ten year old girl, what was I supposed to think when you find out information like that. Only to make it worse, we found on the way to another hospital my dad had “died” in the ambulance. Yet a couple seconds later he was revived, and was going to make it to the hospital. When we found that out I didn't really know what that meant, but I knew it wasn't good. We knew from that day on that our lives were never going to be the same, but we weren't ready for it.

Later that year, after visiting him tons of times, my grandma came to mom's house and picked us three up. This time we went to the hospital it was special, it was Christmas. So we drove up to Abbott Northwestern (a hospital specialized in hearts). After the long and boring drive, we were finally there. Although it was exciting  it was also bittersweet, like normal kids on Christmas we wanted a Christmas tree with all the presents underneath. We want to just wake up and go downstairs to see if Santa came, not get picked up and driven everywhere first. Then again as a little kid I didn't ever expect to go to a hospital to see my dad on Christmas. I never thought on Christmas morning I would have to walk through a sterile white building. It reeked of medical bandages and sterile gowns that made shivers go up my spine and gave my arms goosebumps. None of that matters right then, what mattered was that we were there to see our dad and celebrate Christmas with him.

After a couple months of in and out of the hospital, he finally got a surgery to put a pump to help with his heart function. Then what comes with surgeries? Pills, yes lots and lots of pills. These pills changed so many things he started to forget just simple things. Like one time, I won a stuffed animal in a claw machine and then a week later he gave it to my sister for her birthday with no recollection that it was mine. When I was a little girl, I didn't try to make my dad feel bad for what he did, I didn't know. So after my grandma explained it to me, I felt so terrible. I Couldn't believe that I was so ignorant of what my dad was going through. Although the pump came with so many pros, it came with just as many cons. After finally realizing that he wasn't going to be able to do everything he used to do. It came to us that this journey, was going to be way harder than we thought. It made me see that I needed to appreciate the little things.

A year and a half later he landed into the hospital he was in there a couple times before, but this time he found out his heart was failing and the pump wasn't doing enough anymore. They told him that he needed a heart transplant. I couldn't believe it my world was falling apart and I didn't know what to do.Soon days and weeks are going by. Still no heart to replace his heart. After about three-four months later we got devastating news. The doctors told my dad that he had about a month to live. His heart function was declining so rapidly that they couldn't do anything about it. Soon enough, he was in a bigger comfier room. There were so many reasons to be sad, but then three days later the doctor came to my dad again. A miracle came into my family's favor. A heart finally came at just the right time, it was so exciting and relieving. I couldn't contain my excitement. It was about a month and a half, then he got to go home. My family was so thankful for everything.

Looking back on everything I wouldn't be where I am now without being a part of this crazy journey. Going through all of this it made me realize that I couldn't take the time I have with my family or with anyone for granted. They can be taken away faster than a blink of an eye, no one could ever know what life will bring. Never expect anything, whether it's something from a sibling or like my dad getting a heart. All it takes it one minute to change everything, then soon enough, life as you know it could be flipped upside down. Always cherish the little things, someday it could mean the world.