Lift Me Up--Noah

 

Everyone has a role model in life, whether it be a parent, aunt or uncle, celebrity, athlete, or anyone that brings true inspiration and passion. A person that stands out to you due to their charisma and determination. That person was my father. 

From a young age, I was very close with my father. I am the only son out of my two sisters, so immediately he took me under his wing. I can remember the days when I was 5 and he would help me build my toy train tracks, or when I was 7 playing football with me in the front yard, and even yelling my name so loud during my swim meets that I was embarrassed. But reflecting back on those memories, it was just him expressing his love and support for me and doing what any father would do for his son.

 Like any father, he was goofy, loving, supportive, generous, and overall a pure hearted man. His drive to ensure that my family was safe and comfortable is what drives me to have such a strong family value and have love for the people around me. My reality with him and my family was pure euphoria and an endless amount of smiles and laughter. But growing older, I began to see the true nature of the reality behind the smiles. Where behind the smiles was pain, suffering, and struggle. 

It all started about 4 years ago during 2019, where my father’s health began to decline. I remember the phone call where the doctor declared that his kidney was dead and he needed to be on dialysis. No problem right? He can get through this, he’s strong. Well, not exactly. It was a struggle for my family and I to adapt to his treatment. From the start, I began to see my father struggle with daily tasks such as chores around the house, feeding himself, and it even came to the point of him being barely able to walk. Overtime, it became worse and worse, recurring doctors appointments, random infections, and other struggles. My family and I tried our best to ensure my father felt the same way as he did for us, safe and comfortable. But things changed on the morning of July 26, 2020. 

I woke up to my mother crying at 7:59 in the morning, urging me to get out of bed and get dressed to go to the hospital. She was on the phone with the doctors as they performed CPR on him. I was very disoriented, barely waking up and trying to wrap my head around the situation. We got there as soon as we could, but it was a struggle to get into the emergency room due to COVID. It took us an hour to wait to get an all clear to go in, but it was too late. At 9:45 in the morning, my father passed away due to a heart attack. When we entered his room, he was lying there peacefully. I remember going through his phone and the last thing he did was look through his photos of us. I thought he would be there to teach me how to drive, see me walk the stage at graduation, but the harsh reality was he was not going to be there physically. It was tough for my family and I. I felt like I had lost a piece of myself. My rock, my number one supporter, my sports buddy, my father. He was my everything to my family and I. 

Months passed and I had to learn to live without him. I had many sleepless nights talking to him and telling him about my day, the little accomplishments that I achieved, telling him my drama, anything I could have possibly thought of. Throughout those months of being without him, my grief was strong and I struggled. But there was one thing that got me through that time, and it was love. My love became stronger for the people I cared about, and I was reminded everyday by my mother and sisters to stay strong and have faith. Our love for one another brought us together in a way I never could have imagined. We all learned together to lift each other up, work through the day and make sure our goals were achieved. It wouldn’t have been possible without love, especially from my father. The love that my father gave me to lift me up from my downs, to lift me up for when I feel like I am lost, and to lift me up and help others. Although he is not here physically, his love continues to inspire and lift up my family and I.