My story. Part 1: The phone call.

They say life can change in an instant. I believe that.

One cold, gray February day I was home sick from school. I was fourteen and in the eighth grade. I can't remember what I was sick from, that seems so insignificant now. My parents had gone to the emergency room in the Big City to check out some things. That's what they told us..."some things".

Later it came out that my dad was having trouble coming up with words when he spoke. When he wrote, he had to scribble out many mistakes and it became a struggle to write coherently. Both of those were rapid onset symptoms.  I had noticed all of that, but it didn't seem worthy of a trip to the emergency room. 

I was fourteen and hardly an expert.

So they headed to the Big City and I stayed home in bed. The day seemed to drag on and on and on and on. Morning turned into afternoon, then slowly it turned to dusk. The longer the day was without my parents coming home, the more I became nervous.  A sick feeling in my stomach started to grow.

I remember checking the garage and the street in front of our house many HUNDRED times that day. Surely, nothing was wrong. I tried to convince myself of that. Maybe they are just eating, or shopping, or driving home.  Right?

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

The clock creeped forward every slow second at a time.

I think it was about six when the phone finally rang.  It was my mom.  She muttered phrases like...

BRAIN TUMOR

SIZE OF A PEACH

MAJOR SURGERY

THEY ARE KEEPING HIM

TOMORROW

My world started to spin. 

This can't be happening!!! 

Maybe they are wrong.  Maybe?

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let them be wrong I screamed in the quiet night.  Through my choking sobs I tried to make some sense out of this.  There wasn't any sense to be made.  It was inconceivable. 

Life as I knew it changed forever.

With one phone call.