Dad?--Param

“Dad? DAD! Dad, are you okay? Dad, what happened? Dad, I’m here, it's okay!”

What just happened? How could this have happened? Did he just fall or pass out? Did he hit his head? Did he eat something wrong? How much pain could he be in? Did someone poison him? So many questions were going through my mind all at once and I felt like I couldn’t breathe or think or talk or anything. He was fine just a few hours ago. What could have gone wrong?

“SOHRAB GET THE PHONE NOW!”

...

People have always told me that my dad and I look pretty similar and that I’m the female version of him. We both have very busy schedules and are always working. We never took many breaks to make sure that we always finished everything in a timely manner.

On Wednesday, December 28th, 2022, my family and I left to get our blood drawn at 6:00am. You may think it's strange that we went to get our blood drawn very early in the morning but we all had to fast and none of us can eat very early in the morning so this was perfect for us. We’ve gone this early multiple times in the past so this was pretty normal for us.

When we arrived at the lab, my mom and brother were able to get their blood drawn but the phlebotomist struggled with my dad and I. We were told to drink as much water as we could and move around in order to get our blood flowing as much as we could. We followed the orders but still couldn’t get our blood drawn and decided to just come back in a few hours or so since we had other work to finish. Once we got home, I decided to catch up on sleep and my dad decided to run some errands before we both went back to the lab. I remember just sleeping in my bed and hearing someone calling my brother. It was a very faint call and I thought I was just dreaming until I realized it wasn’t a dream but someone right outside of my door. I sat up in my bed to try and figure out what was happening because I’d never heard someone call my brother in a tone full of pain and agony. That’s when I saw him.

I saw my father lying down right outside of my bedroom weakly calling for my brother’s name. I jump out of bed and immediately trip on my quilt. I twisted my ankle a bit and hurt my wrist but didn’t care. I run over to my dad to see eyes once full of light staring at me coldly while he calls for my brother’s name. I’m still trying to figure out what’s happening and call my mom upstairs who panicked when seeing the condition my dad was in. I ran around the house to find the blood pressure machine to check his blood pressure and immediately called 911 right after checking. I was barely able to hold my phone while talking to the operator but explained the entire situation to her and she immediately sent the paramedics. The wait for the paramedics to arrive was agonizing. When were they coming? How bad could traffic be? HURRY UP! 

What must have been 10 minutes felt like 10 years when the paramedics arrived along with the police. My dad could barely get up and talk. I answered all the questions asked, feeling numb, confused, anxious, impatient, and horrified. Watching him trying to talk and stay strong for us broke my heart. Despite being panicked, I still tried my best to look strong for my mom and brother.

As my dad was being taken away to the hospital, our neighbors came running, asking how they could help us. Somehow, I still didn’t cry after my dad was being wheeled away but I could barely talk. I called my cousins and they immediately rushed over to help out. My mom and brother went to my cousin’s home and I went with my uncle while gathering my dad’s belongings to go see him. The ride to the hospital was silent. The fear of losing my dad at that very moment was overwhelming and I didn’t know what to expect. I could only think about if I had prepared enough for this moment and if I knew all the important information my dad wanted me to know. When we made it to the hospital, we were told that he was in stable condition but that we couldn’t visit. I didn’t have any energy left to plead with the doctors to go see him so we left but as we left, my dad called and told us with all his strength that he was okay. We waited and waited and finally, after a day, we were notified that my dad could come home.

We were all so excited and so thankful that he made it home and he seemed to be in better condition. However, this excitement didn’t last too long. On the day that people all over the world were celebrating the new year, drinking, throwing parties, and spending time with their families, I barely saved my dad from severely hitting his head from passing out again. Yet again, I was on the phone with a 911 operator and yet again, I felt numb.

Eventually, he came home again and we learned that stress had been one of the leading causes of what happened to my dad. Stress. Something that society warns you about. Something that everyone must take on in their lives. Something that some (including me) didn’t see how much it could affect someone until it could be too late.

For the next two months, I took care of my dad, sat with him, and was always by his side. I stayed up for hours at night but still slept a few hours before school started to make sure that my dad was well. I slept during the day after school when I knew someone was with my dad. I always did my homework and one of my best memories with my dad was just me sitting with him and just having a conversation with him. Thankfully, his health slowly became better, and he became way stronger than he was before and is back on his feet.

This incident was when I truly understood what it meant if I didn’t control the amount of work and stress I took on. I lost sight of what was actually harming me when I thought it was helping me and seeing the consequences of these actions taught me how important it is to take care of yourself. Before this, I was scared to take breaks since I didn’t feel “productive” but now I see how productive breaks can be. I now do my best to make sure that my family and friends take the breaks they need and assist them with anything they may be stressed with. In the end, we have to be proud of ourselves for the amount of work we have gotten done and we must understand our limits. At the end of the day, our health always comes before our work and school and we always must make sure to keep an eye out for it. Only we can truly change our habits for the better and it’s time we start to learn that now and avoid any more pain in the future.