Wednesday, December 9th, 2015 was the scariest day of my life. It was my 16th birthday, but it was also the day I almost lost the closest person to me, my mother. I had my sweet sixteen the weekend before and life was going good, until suddenly, my world was turned upside down within the matter of a few hours. It’s crazy how life can change in the blink of an eye. I went through my first three classes of the day, happy and laughing along with my friends, not a care in the world. I walked into Mrs. Sherman’s fourth hour biology class and sat in my assigned seat, going through the motions of getting ready to take notes when the classroom phone rang. I remember thinking “I bet someone is leaving early and I’m extremely jealous of that person.” Mrs. Sherman was talking on the phone and when I looked up from my desk, she was staring directly at me with a strange look on her face, when she hung up the phone I was told to go down to the office for dismissal. I had no intentions of leaving early that day, but I thought that maybe my parents were going to surprise me for my birthday. Walking down to the office I sent a quick text to my Mom saying “I’m walking to the office now. Thank you for picking me up early!! Love you!” Little did I know that might of been the last text she ever saw from me.
   

I walked into the upper school office because I did not see my parents car outside and I was getting no response from my text. When I walked into the office I was greeted by Ms. Molina. I knew right then something wasn’t right. I was told that I needed to go to the lower school office immediately, where my little brother is waiting for me. I rushed down to the lower school office, my brother was sitting there, pale as a ghost. He looked up at me and said “Ashley, what's going on? Something is wrong. We never leave early.” My heart dropped because he could also tell something was off. Before I could give him an answer, my grandmother walked thru the office door. She looked at me and gave me a sad smile, any glimmer of hope I had of it not being something bad, completely faded away. Not wanting to worry my brother, I played down the situation.
   

After my grandmother signed my brother out, she told him to wait a minute and pulled me outside to give me the heart wrenching news. I was told that my mom had just been admitted into ICU at Memorial Regional Hospital with 2 aneurysms at the base of her brain and that they weren’t sure if she was going to make it. While I was being told this, she was being prepped for emergency surgery, but refused to go into the operating room without seeing my brother and I first. Not willing to spare another minute, we grabbed my brother and were in the car flying down 595 towards the hospital. It was a race against time and the clock was winning.
   

Pulling into the valet section of the hospital, we got out of the car and my father, aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandfather were all waiting for us to arrive. The pain in my chest was unbearable because I couldn't stand the thought of losing my mother. Before we walked into the hospital my father pulled my brother aside and gently broke the news to him, it broke my heart to see the tears streaming down his face, I knew I had to stay strong for him.
   

Everyone went into the ICU waiting room, while my father took my brother and I to see my mother. I vividly remember walking down the hallway to her room and seeing all the sick people openly lying with tubes and life support, it was frightening. Nobody should ever have to see that, let alone my 10 year old brother or even myself. My father stopped us outside of room 213, the door was closed, so I couldn’t see inside but I knew my mother was in there. My dad took my brother in first and then came back out to sit with me, letting my brother and mom have some alone time.  Emotionally tired, stressed, and worried I slid down the wall and sat on the floor, resting my head in my hands and let the tears flow. My dad bent down and said “Your mother is a strong woman, she is going to fight as hard and for as long as she can. We have to be strong for her too. No matter the outcome we will get through this together, I promise you.” Before I could respond, the door opened and my brother walked out with bloodshot eyes from crying, he looked at me and said in a raspy voice “Mommy wants to see you.” I thought I was prepared to see her, but in that moment I panicked. I could not walk through that door and walk back out knowing that it could be our last conversation. As if he could sense me freaking out, my brother gave me a hug and said “Go see her, I did it. You can too.” Not wanting to disappoint him and not wanting to regret not seeing her, I timidly walked into the room and shut the door behind me.
   

My heart broke as soon as I closed that door. I looked up and saw my mom lying, helpless, in the hospital bed. She looked so frail, since the last time I saw her. Machines and IV’s were hooked up to her, I couldn’t help the tears that started to fall. I walked up to her bedside and gently took her hand in mine and her eyes fluttered open. I couldn’t help but notice how tired her eyes looked and how pale her skin was. She looked up at me, smiling, and said “Happy Birthday, baby girl. Listen to me, no matter what, I love you. You have a bright future ahead of you and you can do anything you set your mind too. I promise you I’m going to fight this. Be strong, your brother and dad need you more than anything right now. I love you more than the world, remember that.” Looking down at my mom, she had tears in her eyes, both of us not knowing what the future looked like. Taking my time and choosing what I said carefully, I replied “Mom, I love you so much. Your tough and the strongest person I know, we will get through this together. Don’t worry, the boys will be well taken care of, I promise. I also promise you that I will fulfill my potential in everything I do. I will make you proud. This is not a goodbye because I know I will see you tomorrow. I can feel that everything is going to be alright, it has to be. Mommy, I love you more than anything.” I leaned down, planted a kiss on her forehead and then turned and walked out the door. As soon, as the door closed behind me I lost it. I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of pain, it was unbearable. My dad suddenly appeared and pulled me into his chest letting me get it all out, before we headed back into the waiting room.
   

We all were impatiently standing around the waiting room, waiting to hear from the doctor. Everyone was trying to make my brother and I feel better, but until I knew my mom was going to be okay nothing was going to help. After what felt like an eternity, the doctor walked in, he told us that my mom was on her way to the operating room and that he was optimistic about the final outcome. Unable to feel comfort in this news, my dad decided it was best for my brother and I to wait at home for the night, so my cousin brought us home. As soon as we got home, my brother and I curled up together on the couch watching TV, with the phone right next to us waiting to get an update.
   

It was about 11:30 p.m. when the phone rang, my brother was sound asleep on the couch, so I took the phone and went into my room. I took a deep breath and answered. It was my father. He gave me the best birthday present I could've ever asked for. He said to me “Sweetie, mom is out of surgery. Everything went better than expected, in time she will be able to make a full recovery.” I can't explain the sense of relief that washed over me in that moment. Wednesday, December 9th, 2015 was the scariest day of my life, but I learned to not take advantage of loved ones. You may never think that losing someone close to you is even possible, until it almost happens.