Personal Narrative Essay: Appreciating Life

Life should be something everyone should appreciate. Never did I ever think that I would almost lose someone close to me. Especially someone who I grew up next to and spent almost all my life next to. I will be reliving the moments that almost lead my brother to his death, and how it changed my perspective in life. COVID-19 took over my brother’s life and almost took it as well. 

Since the pandemic started around the year 2020 it has caused chaos and tragedy nationwide. Panic was surrounding all over the world on how even a virus has changed and controlled people’s lives. Although many people are careful with this virus, it can still attack you when you least expect it. Unfortunately, many people’s immune systems are not strong enough to survive/ fight off the virus. Many people lose their loved ones and it changes their lives completely.       

Starting in August, I would say it was a month of preparation, especially for me since I was preparing to go to school. Never did I think schools would completely open up especially in this grotesque situation everyone is dealing with. But it is my last year of high school, and I wanted to make the best of it. I wasn’t the only one in my family who was preparing for something big to impact my life in a sense. My brother got an amazing job opportunity, but he had to travel to do this job. He considered the dangerous outcomes that could occur, but he was desperate. Especially since most workers who work in the oil fields or refineries sometimes do end up jobless because they are not needed anymore. So, this was a miracle not only for him but for his family as well.

He was ecstatic to be able to go to work to be able to provide for his one-year-old son. While he made his trip to Houston, TX, we stayed home taking care of my nephew. At first, it was difficult being able to take care of the baby, but we knew we had to do it for my brother to be able to take care of him. As days went by my brother worked until morning till night every day. Working in the hot weather for 12 hours a day I would say it drained him. On his days off he would sadly call saying “I can’t wait to go back home and see you all”. 

What started as a normal day, ended in a nightmare. My brother called home saying that he had been exposed to COVID-19 while working. When I was told the news at that time many thoughts went through my mind. “Will he be okay” or “Will he get the virus”. As three days passed he got tested and came out positive. Him being far away from home made our hearts ache because he had no one he could rely on being able to be next to him through that difficult time. Every day we would video call him, and see how he was holding up. Seeing him get sicker and sicker through the phone scared us. We could only do so much for him from where we were.  

As days went on little by little he started to get weaker. He would have conversations with my mother weakly saying “ My chest hurts too much and I can’t breathe anymore”. Eating and going to the restroom was hard for him to do. At one point we had to buy an oxygen tank for him and have it delivered to his doorstep. He relied on that oxygen tank, and that’s when we knew when the virus had completely attacked him. My mother was deteriorating from the inside with sadness. The feeling I felt was unexplainable, and I can’t even imagine how my mother even felt. We knew we all had to be strong emotionally not only for my brother but for my baby nephew.  

Thankfully one of his co-workers is from our hometown. He risked his health and life by bringing him to the hospital to be closer to his family, and get the medical attention he needed. Once he got near the hospital, my stepfather met up with them in the hospital parking lot. My stepfather helped carry him to a wheelchair because he couldn’t walk anymore. He was weak and slowly deteriorating. Hearing how weak he was made me realize much more how this virus affects a person’s life. 

As he was settled in the hospital already he had to get transferred to another hospital because there was no room anymore. Arriving in the new hospital he went through many tests and x-rays. Unfortunately, the doctors called my mother saying “Your son got to the hospital on time, and he is lucky to be alive.” He got pneumonia and his heart was extremely inflamed that it could have exploded. Hearing this kind of news made us be more on edge. I’ve never experienced such heartbreaking news, so dealing with it emotionally was difficult. 

Growing up we never really showed emotions especially love to each other as siblings, but I know he needed that love. Calling him every day after school wondering how he was is the way I showed him that I care for him and I have love for him. A specific conversation I had with him made me get depressed. On a Friday afternoon, he called me tiredly saying “If anything happens to me please take care of the baby as well as mom”. I promised him I would, but I hoped that it wouldn’t have to come to that point. 

Some days passed and slowly he was progressing. His health was improving every day. He was still weak from his heart, but the COVID was going away. He started improving with his walking and being able to get up from the hospital bed. When two weeks passed by he was able to get out of the hospital. Unfortunately, COVID did leave my brother with a weak heart, and now he has to be more careful about what he does. Taking medication every day from this moment on for his heart is going to be exhausting for him, but it is a miracle that he is even alive.   

Experiencing this moment made a big impact on me as well as my family. It opened my eyes and made me realize that life can throw you in many difficult situations. Someone’s life can be randomly be taken away at any moment. Depressing situations like this can, unfortunately, leave people with trauma, but I would say that it made me stronger emotionally and mentally. This virus has impacted the life of my brother and almost took his life. Now I would say that I spend more time with my family and showing my love to them.