Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Long Overdue....
I remember way back when we first started reading Frankenstein we were discussing some of our worst fears. After much thought I would say that one of my worst fears is the fear of being depended upon and not being able to help or failing to help. I remember one example of this last summer. It was a hot day and my dad and I were shingling the roof. We probably spent a hour to a hour and a half on the roof, but that was all it took for the heat to be an annoyance. It was so hot that I had to sit on a piece of cardboard because when I sat directly on the roof it would scorch my behind. When my dad and I finished shingling the roof, he told me to go inside and cool down while he would put up the tools. I went inside for a couple of minutes and later came back outside with a cup of water for my dad. I found my dad sitting on a chair on our front porch with a dazed look on his face. He was silent and did not acknowledge me when I came outside so I knew something was wrong. I felt a sensation of worry grip me as I wondered what to do, but then my dad told me in a soft voice to help him inside the house. He sat down on the couch to cool down before drinking some water. I did not know it at the time but apparently my dad had fainted from the heat while I was inside. It was just for a split second but the worry that I felt while my dad sat quietly on the front porch still haunts me. The thought of not knowing what to do in that situation or being unable to help my dad is one that I would rather forget but cannot because of the helplessness feeling it gave me.
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I have a similar situation. My mother had a back injury in 2001, has had multiple back surgeries since, and has developed numerous health problems. At one point, she was taking multiple medications to treat the same condition (her doctors weren’t in communication). My dad, sister and I would randomly find her passed out on the floor, not breathing. She’s had a lot of allergy attacks and my dad has had to give her epinephrine shots. We’ve had to call the ambulance a lot, spend long hours in the doctor’s office/emergency room with her. I’ve had nightmares about her killing herself because she can’t stand the pain anymore. I love my mother more than the world itself, and I can’t imagine ever losing her.
ReplyDeleteIt’s hard, but you’ve got to keep strong and stick to your faith. God works miracles.
A feeling of helplessness is very common, but sometimes that puts a person in a position to help the most. The idea that you cared for your dad in the manner that you did, and in the emergency you stayed calm shows that you can handle situations when others need to depend on you. One trait that you need to hold on to is that for your future. No one knows what could happen when you go off to college next year, but being able to remain calm in a situation of emergency is a great attribute to have.
ReplyDelete--Ashley Plover
yes, i agree with Ashley.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that you actually payed attention to him and helped him in the house and all truely shows that you care for him. I've had some what of a similar situation...I was with a cousin once and we were just working out where out of no where she faints i was clueless of what to do or who to call for help.
I know how you were feeling. My mom has awful back problems like Sarah's does. It sucks not being able to help your parent like they have helped you your entire life. If I could give my mom half of the help she has given me, I would be happy. There times where I would rather have the pain myself than let her be in pain. I think a lot of kids feel bad when they can't help their parent(s) like they have helped them their whole life.
ReplyDeleteI'm not close to my dad, I honestly wouldn't care. Haha. He has never been there for me and never will be, but Richard, you are a good person. Don't worry. You are a best friend of mine, so I'll help you if you ever faint..that's if I am there. Anyways, if it was my mom, I would worry to death. She's the apple of my eyes. =]
ReplyDeleteMan, I know what you mean. A while back in the semester me and my younger brother was in my room watching a movie while my dad was in his room sleeping and we didn't want to wake my dad so we used the laptop instead of our t.v. My brother went to go get some water and he heard my dad call out his name in a faint voice. He ran to my dad's room and was like "Oh s**t! Our dad is in trouble!" And I got up and ran into the room too. He was asked to help him up to the bed because he was sleeping on the floor and he couldn't feel the left side of his body. I told my younger brother to go call my oldest brother because my dad didn't want us to call 911 and because my brother is a CMA, Certified Medical Assistant almost the same thing as a nurse, and he'll know what to do. So I tried to get my dad up and onto his bed, but for a short guy he was pretty heavy. I had to struggle to get him on the bed. And I was thinking to myself that if I am unable to bear my dad's weight alone then how am I going to ever bear the weight of something bad happening to my dad. We got him to the doctors the next day because he didn't want to go that day. But he nearly had a heart attack right before my eyes and I would have not known what to do first call 911 or help him somehow.
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