By Victor C.
I want to talk about an experience I had, last April 9. I had been called home by my dad six days earlier, since my mom was in the hospital and she had taken a turn for the worse. She was in to get chemotherapy induction treatments for leukemia which she had been diagnosed with about two months before. I was driven out by Larry Patrisso at nine o’clock on a rainy night all the way to Middletown so my aunt could pick me up and take me to my house in Bethlehem, Pa. I was in shock at first, and I didn’t fully comprehend what was going on. After I got home, it started to sink in that what was happening was real, especially when I saw her the next day. It was the third time in my life I had seen my mom on life support, and it never got any easier.
I spent time with her that day, then again on Sunday. It looked like my dad had made a mistake in calling me—I got to talk to her and say I love you to her, and she really understood me. My brother Tim came up from California that day and he got to talk to her, as well. After that, things got worse and worse, and she eventually passed away. My father, brother, and sister were there, as well as some family friends and a priest from my home parish. I learned some things through this whole experience, and they stick with me. This is good because I am usually fairly hardheaded. I felt the love and fellowship both from this school and from the 12-step program as a whole. Terry and Lindy McCarthy drove to my house from New York, and stayed a few nights. Tony, Mike, Betty, and Cindy Argiros also came down for the viewing. Father Stephen came to help say the funeral Mass. I am very grateful for all that these people have done for my family and me. I have also learned that my mom is still with me. I talk to her daily, and I feel her love and support every day.
