I sent a message to my sister at 12: 30 p. m. during my lunch to ask her about my father's progress. He was having his second knee surgery and my expectations were the same as the previous successful surgery. My brother picked me up from school and we headed for the hospital.
When we arrived at the hospital, my first question was "How is he doing?" My father was connected to a breathing machine and his face was very swollen. I tried my best not to cry because 1 was supposed to interpret for him what was happening as the nurses did not speak Spanish. I had never seen my father this way. He looked so fragile and different from the strong man I knew. I asked him how he was doing and he said he was fine. I returned to the lobby and I was in a state where I realized that my hero, best friend, and love of my life was in a dangerous state and at this point anything could happen.
I recalled on when I was a child. "I'm going to the store" were always his words, and that was without a doubt my cue to follow him. We would walk to the car, and sometimes if I was lucky, I got away with sitting in the front seat. We would arrive at the store and he always said "Get whatever you want and something for Ana"; Ana is my sister. My dad and I were best friends, he never showed preference with his children, but I just always happened to follow him. It was okay for me to cry when I wanted something because I was his youngest girl, he couldn't say no to me.
All along my father had dedicated his life to giving us the best. Growing up does not necessarily mean that one must distance from our parents because it is childish; it is a time to take action and embrace the feelings because it is the right thing to do. Life presents us signals to acknowledge and value what is the most important in life.