My New Responsibilities

Waking to the buzzing of my alarm clock, I felt tired. Because Mom had become ill, I became the mother. Mom had contracted Poison Ivy. Usually it lasted for only a few days, maybe a week at the longest. However, this time was different. She became extremely ill and couldn’t even perform daily task, such as laundry, cooking dinner, etc.

That morning I got ready for school and woke Mom up, but she couldn’t; I had to help her get dressed, while suggesting that she call the doctor. She agreed and dropped me off at school. Mom’s health troubled me all day. Suddenly, the intercom came on instructing me to the front office.

With a rock in the bottom of my stomach, I slowly walked the never ending, narrow halls to the office. When I arrived, the principle led me to her office. When I saw the emotion on her face, the little rock in my stomach turn into a boulder. Mrs. Parks explained to me that Mom had passed out in the doctor’s office. Fortunately, they wheeled her into the building next door to be hospitalized. Immediately a doctor help her awake and ran lots of tests. Mrs. Parks said that Mom was very lucky and might have died.

Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I didn’t know what to do. The rest of the day, I sat in my classes thinking about Mom. At the end of the day, Mima picked me up. She took me to Subway, and we ate in silence. Half way through our meal, I looked her in the eyes and told her I wanted to see my mom. She teared up and told me, “Let’s go!” We packed up our sandwiches and headed over to the hospital. When we made it to Mom’s room, it was a shock to see her. Mom had tubes coming out of her left and right and a heart monitor, fuzzy hair, and a pale face.

After the nurse completed some blood work, I walked over to the bed and looked at Mom. In a soft voice barely audible, she said, “Come here sweet girl.” So I crawled up into her arms and started to cry. Mima and I said good night.

The next day we went to visit mom. She looked better and nibbled on angle food cake. She informed us that her pancreas stopped making insulin. This explains the excruciating stomach pain and extreme exhaustion. The day she visited the doctor her blood sugar level exceeded 500. A normal sugar level is 80-120. This caused Mom to faint.

Within four to five days the hospital released Mom home. She explained to me how our lives would change. We would eat healthier. She described to me that I would have more responsibilities, and exercise daily, because to this day mom will have diabetes. Her condition will never change! Live life to the fullest because you never know when it might change.