Alexandra Barraza The Final Meal An event that has changed my view of life and the way I appreciate

family is a tragedy that occurred August 1, 2013. The disaster happened to my great aunt, my grandmothers sister, Manuela Lechuga, but we call her Tia Mela. She is a fifty-five year old woman with five children and four grandchildren. My mother grew up with all of my grandmothers siblings, there are ten of them and my mother is the eldest niece. Having grown up with such a huge family made me realize that regardless of any outcome you will always have each other. On August first I woke up at my regular time around eleven a.m. to go downstairs and get some breakfast. Going down the stairs, I heard no noise, no radio playing, no smell of delicious food cooking, no dogs running around the house. Everything was quiet, too quiet. In the morning around eight, my grandmother and mom are usually up and cleaning the house, while me and my two older and younger siblings are in bed. My sister Diana usually goes to my room to wake me up for breakfast, or my baby brother jumps on me until I wake up. Reaching the kitchen, I began looking for human existence. I come to find my brother in his room watching television, I ask him, Where is everyone?, he shrugs his shoulders and continues staring blankly at the television. I began to worry. I think to myself, What if something happened while I was sleeping? I jump up and run back upstairs to get my phone and call my mom. She did not answer. More worried than before, I began to call my sister to ask where everyone disappeared to. She answered but the phone call got cut off, nonetheless texting seemed to be the only way to communicate to anyone outside my home. I asked her where they were and why no one told me

in advance that I was going to be home alone. In that instance, I received a call from my mother. She seemed very calm she seemed to be on the phone, but her voice cracked when she tried to speak to me. She said that they received a phone call around ten in the morning to head out to Indiana as soon as possible. My aunt had suffered a stroke, and may not make it. Finding out there is a life and death matter concerning a loved one, your life flashes in front of you. I was kept up to date while I was at home, but still felt nervous. My aunt was slowly dying at the Franciscan Saint Margaret Hospital. The hospital placed her in a helicopter and flew her to Rush Hospital in downtown Chicago. The flight from Hammond to Chicago was only fifteen minutes. The drive was an hour without traffic. My mom, grandma, and sister did not get home until ten oclock that night. Time is precious. The Sunday before this happened, we had a goodbye barbeque for my grandma who was going to leave the following Saturday to go to Mexico. Little did we know that it I was going to be the last time we would see my aunt in her normal state. The day of the barbeque, all of my mothers great uncles and aunts came to my Uncle Manuels house to say their final goodbyes to my grandma. My tia Mela looked perfectly fine that day. My tia Mela was being her usual everyone sit down and eat until your stuffed self. When she left that day she seemed sad because my grandma was going back to Mexico and my tia Mela would have to wait until next year to see her again. My aunt is diabetic and suffers from other illnesses too, but that has never stopped her from enjoying her life. I see now that we must enjoy every day as if it were our last because the next day may be our last. The following day I woke up early to get ready to visit my aunt. When we arrived at the hospital waiting room was packed. All of my great uncles and aunts had come; my eldest aunt,

who lived in Mexico, was going to fly in so that everyone would be together through this hard time. Going up the elevator, I was nervous because I was afraid to find her already dead. When my aunts room cleared out and more guests could come in, my mom and I walked in. I was startled at the sight of all the IVs connected to her arms, half of the hair on her head was shaved off, and there were three tubes in her mouth for oxygen and for other medical reasons. It didnt look like my aunt, she couldnt move, speak, breathe, see, or hear. All of her senses were shut off. What is a human without their five senses? Practically dead, living off of a machine, the only way we could say that my aunt was alive was by seeing and hearing her heart beats on the monitor. Once I saw her condition, we proceeded to walk out and let everyone else get a chance to see her. Back in the waiting room the space was crammed, and the vibe felt low. My grandmother is diabetic, as well as my aunt, my grandma sugar was getting low and she was beginning to fall asleep wherever she sat down. I immediately went to get her a Coke to bring her sugar up. She was feeling better after a couple of minutes. The day went by slowly, people came in and out of the rooms, up and down the elevators, no sign of hope could be found. At around four oclock we began to eat the sweet bread that my uncle Pedrito brought. The only people in the patients room were my grandmother, my cousin Sendy, and my uncle Pedrito. The intercom sounded and red lights flashed, Code Red, Room 1124, Manuela Lechuga, Code Red! Every single person that knew that name jumped out their seats and ran to room 1124. My aunt had suffered a seizure. My grandma fainted in the room at the sight of what had just occurred. The doctors rushed in and kicked everyone out, locked the doors, and urged patience from all of us. The spectacle of it was described to me by my grandma, who had been brought conscious back from the room, Her eyes beamed open, her face flushed pale, and it

appeared she had jumped out her skin. I could only imagine the worst, now I see why my grandma was unconscious for a moment. The doctors repeatedly told us that not more than two people at a time could enter the patients room. There were over forty people waiting to see my tia Mela. It grew to dusk and slowly everyone left home expecting the worst news. We were debating who would spend the night; my grandma wanted to but in her condition we were afraid she would become a new patient. No one ended staying that night. The next morning I woke up at eight and headed down stairs to find my mom and grandma making food to take to the hospital. They took two big aluminum trays full of gorditas to feed whoever was hungry; something my aunt had always done. I began talking to Sendy to find out the reason my aunt had suffered the stroke once we had finished eating. The night before the stroke, my aunt was celebrating her son, Ruben, who was leaving for the Army. She had made a huge pot of pozole to say the last farewell that night. She had been down lately because he was leaving again, but nevertheless she wanted to show him how much he meant to her. My tia Mela has five children the eldest Daniel, who had recently gotten out of jail, was still getting into trouble. He lived in her basement with his two children. Next there is Sendy, my aunts pride and right hand; Shes a nurse and the one that has been sustaining the household ever since their father passed away in 2000. Next is Mayra, who became pregnant at sixteen had her baby, and had recently gave birth to another baby girl two months before my aunt had suffered the stroke. My aunts next son is Ruben, who right out of high school joined the army to become a soldier. Her last son is Abel, the wild child, Abel not having a father, looked up to his Daniel. Abel did not finish high school and was always in the streets no work and not enrolled in school.

The dinner had been ready; Sendy couldnt make it since she worked the night shift at the hospital that left the four. Danny was fixing things with a past relationship and was out. Mayra had to take care of her daughters and didnt have the car to drive to my aunts house. Ruben had been blinded by love and had spent all day with his new girlfriend and that night he was sleeping over her house. The only one that attended was Abel because he was hungry. The meal was ready and a lot of it was made but no one to enjoy it. My aunt fell asleep early that night and that morning changed her life. She woke up and yelled for Sendy to help her get up from bed because she couldnt feel the left side of her body, the ambulance arrived soon after. The food is what binds us together. The news was beyond shocking and chilling to everyone, especially her children. Sendy was the one there during the stroke and had the most traumatizing experience. Each and every other of her siblings saw how easily their mother could just slip away. Abel had an I dont care attitude until he saw her unconscious. I think thats when we all realized how delicate life really is. Daniel made a huge comeback after imagining the future without his mother. Daniel went to the hospital everyday even found a job. Ruben asked permission to stay a couple more days from the Army, and was granted a week which he made last as if it were his last with his mother. Mayra only came when she had a chance because of work. She only came on weekends. But this experience sure has shaped them to become more responsible adults, instead of always relying on mommy. The stroke played a different part on each of my aunts children, and I pray its for the better. My aunt had been in Rush hospital since August first and was transferred to Saint Margaret September fourth. At Saint Margarets she showed most of her improvements. She has been recovering slowly but progress has been made. She is no longer in comma, she opens her

eyes, and she can move the entire right side of her body. The left side hasnt made any progress yet. She will begin physical therapy September fourteenth. The best part of her recuperation is that she speaks. You can barely hear what she has to say, but with her mouth movements you can decipher what she has to say. Im proud to say that she is now conscious and determined to get better.