Super Heroes

I walked into the customer care department and went straight for Natasha’s phone. My mom explained to me that my dad had a stroke. She continued to say that due to weather, my dad and his friends could not get out of the canyon they were in. As a result, they were going to life flight him to Grand Junction. The plan was that my brother and I would stay put. My mom’s friend Bonnie was going to drive her to Grand Junction. I don’t think anyone trusted my mom to drive four and half hours by herself.

Once I got off the phone I felt my legs shaking. My manager looked over at me and asked if I was OK. I told her that I thought so. She told me if I needed to go home I could. But what good would that do? My dad and mom, from two different directions, were both on their way to Grand Junction. I couldn’t imagine sitting at home thinking the worst. My mom didn’t want me and my brother to go with her, so that idea was out the window. Plus, the information had not sunk in, so I had yet to understand the severity of the situation. I decided it was best to stay at work and keep myself busy.

About forty-five minutes later I received another phone call. I saw my mom’s number appear on the caller ID of my cell phone. I could feel my heart beat quicken, and my hands fumbled as I went to answer the phone. I listened to my mom’s calm voice. A sense of relief came over me. They were going to send my dad to Salt Lake. It was going to be a little past five when they would expect him to arrive. This bit of information made everything seem so much easier. I get off work at five so I had planned to go to the University of Utah Hospital right after. I was unsure of how to get there, but I figured that would be my last concern.

Right when I thought things were going to get easier I was wrong. It was my mom again. The weather was too bad, so they were not going to send my dad to Salt Lake. Instead, they were going to transport him to Denver. My family had never been to Denver, and I never imagined my first time there would be under these circumstances.