My Senior Year from Hell

Senior year, the best year of your life... or so they say. The year started like everyone else's, walking in the doors of my high school for the last time, saying "hi" to my friends that were gone all summer and of course, chirping our favorite teachers.

The year was smooth sailing for most of the first semester. Then the first thing happened, my mom was informed she needed a double hip replacement ASAP. Only two weeks left until Christmas, my mom had her first hip done she was in the hospital for nearly a week post-op. The responsibility of visiting her in the hospital (an hour away) bring her home, taking care of our horses, along with cooking and keeping the house clean all feel to me. Once my mom got home from the hospital I also had to play the role of the nurse to my mom, changing her bandages, and making sure she stayed clean.

Christmas was a little hard but we made it work. My sister came home when she could to help me with what she could, my dad did nothing. It was a long hall but a merry Christmas nonetheless.

A few months passed. Things were getting back to normal until my grandfather fell ill and was hospitalized. He landed up having pneumonia, after a few short days, it claimed his life and the family was left in turmoil. My grandmother was devastated, after 56 years of marriage she didn't know what to do with herself, my mom, myself, and my uncle were taking shifts after the funeral trying to make sure she didn't fall apart.

A few short weeks later, almost one month to the day, I lost my best friend, my sweet little 12-year-old black lab, he was my safe place, the shelter I looked to when I felt overwhelmed. Without him, I didn't know how to cope with the loss of him.

With the pain of the loss of my grandpa still fresh and the loss of my dog tearing a hole in my heart, it was time for my mom's next hip replacement.

I was back at it again playing nurse, homemaker, farmer, and caretaker. But this time I didn't have the time to be tired. Still watching over my grandma, who was still living an hour and a half away, my mom, my grades and all the extra responsibility I had on my shoulders at this point.

Shortly after my mom was up and starting to move around, I got a call from a doctor in the city saying that I needed to come in and see them about my knee. (I had a bad accident a few years back that they had been trying to fix for years.)

I packed up and drove the six hours to the city and had my appointment. The doctor informed me that I was going to need a surgery, they were unsure of when there was going to be an opening, but they would call me as soon as they knew when they would have an opening.

With just a few weeks to graduation, I had so much on my mind, and so much left to do.

The day came the last day of high school. A day that brings joy to families as a whole, a day to be proud of. It was all of those things with just a slightly heavy heart laying in the back of our minds. I walked the stage and graduated with honors.

After we left the school I was driving home when I got the call that I was having surgery one week from that day, I said thank you and continued on with my day.

Although it was a crazy year with so much stress, heartbreak, and loss, I survived and now when things get rough I think back and remember that if I was strong enough to survive all that I can make it through anything.