Hello Steemit,
I AM @theessential

Today I want to tell you a story. One of miracles and tragedy.

Most of you here on Steemit have not learned a ton about me yet. I have had a great life, don’t get me wrong- but like many others on Steemit, I have also experienced tragedy.

Today I want to start a several part series about an event that happened to me a few years ago...

Well to be honest, it didn’t just happen to me... it happened to my whole family.. and everyone close to us.

I intend to break this up to make it a little more readable. Thank you to everyone who has shown me support- and thank you for your time.

PREFACE

I would like to start off by saying that this story isn’t for the faint of heart. I won’t be posting any graphic images without warning (or at all) but the content itself may be a little hard to digest.

If you are looking for a story filled with nothing but happiness and butterflies, you should move on now. This story might not be for you.

If you are ready to endure the harsh reality that ensues, you may be at the right place.

This is a story of miracles but also a story of tragedy- the easily understood and the unexplainable.

Much like any other story I have told, I will be telling it as accurately as I can remember it.

After I tell my side of the story, I will be conducting a series on interviews with some of the others who were affected.

I don’t expect anyone to share all the same opinions- truly I have no expectations.

Let me just say this:

This is a more than a story. It’s a memoir of my life- or at least a time in my life.

I will appreciate your candor but will admire your respectfulness.

Part 1: “The Call”

It’s easy to take moments for granted. Every day we are given opportunities to seize the moment. We unfortunately, often let these moments slip by.

Then, when something terrible happens- we think to ourselves, “We should have done more”..

There’s probably a reason why “carpe diem” is the moral of many of the inspirational quotes we see on social networking posts, in advertising, etc...

I am not an exception to those who have squandered our fleeting moments.

Friday July 11th, 2014

It was a typical day followed by a typical night. I had been living with my Grandma at the time while I was working. She had recently had surgery and I was taking care of her and helping out around the house. At this point, I had not acquired my nursing license so I had been working as a Nurse’s Aid at the hospital that was convieniently located within 15 minutes of her place.

It was a Friday..I had gone to bed a little early that night. I remember that I had not been sleeping well during the work week and I finally was able to get some rest on Friday night.

I was startled awake as my grandma comes barging into my room...

It was approximately 2330 (11:30pm)

She’s on the phone..

Pacing frantically around my room..

“Grandma, what’s going on?!” I demanded

I jump out of bed..

I can now hear that it’s my brother on the other line..

I can see the tears brimming in her eyes.

The anxiety is rising inside of me and my heart is pounding.

I knew that this was bad...

“Grandma Please, tell me what’s going on!!” I cried..

She was having difficulty speaking in general...

I remember falling to my knees as I was completely overcome by panic.. begging her to tell me what was happening. it was becoming more and more clear what was going on by the context of my Grandma and my brothers conversation...but I didn’t want to believe it.

Suddenly, she hung up.

Looking down at me with tears running down her face she spoke..

“We have to go Zach. Your Mom and Dad were in an accident..

..on their motorcycle”.

My Dad on his Harley- you can see my mom in the mirror, snapping the picture

I couldn’t breathe. All the years my parents have been riding their Harley...Why now? Why them?

Why me?

My parents were good people- Loved and respected in their community. They didn’t deserve what had happened to them.

I know one thing was for sure.

Whatever happened- it was an accident- and it wasn’t their fault.

My Dad would have been driving and my Mom would have been on the back.

They wouldn’t have been speeding because my Dad didn’t speed.

It had to be some kind of freak accident.

And lastly-

I knew one more thing was certain.

My Mom and Dad may be law abiding, safe riders, but we lived in Ohio, and there wasn’t any helmet laws.

My parents were not wearing helmets. They never did.

We quickly made our way to the car and headed to the Grant Medical Center

There wasn’t a lot of discussion between my Grandma and I whilst heading to hospital.

I think we were both in shock.

After all, my Mom was my Grandmother’s daughter- her only daughter. They were close and always had been. My grandma had two sons as well but my mom was her eldest and her baby. She couldn’t bear the thought of loosing her... neither of us could.

At this point, nobody really had any idea what was going on. In a situation like this, it doesn’t feel right to start speculating as to what had happened. I think we were wishing for the best and preparing for the worst.

I started to feel ill as I saw the hospital in the horizon. I knew that Grant Hospital was a Level One trauma center, meaning- they would be going there unless they were critical.

Photo curtesy of Ohiohealth.com

My parents lived in a small town, a little less than an hour from Columbus. There were many hospitals available between them and Grant- reputable hospitals at that.

But I knew in my bones that this was serious. I mean, isn’t a motorcycle accident always serious? Especially one that happened at night.

We pulled into the parking garage and walked up towards the Emergency Room doors.

My Brother was standing there already. Next to him, was one of his Commandinng Officers. My brother is in the Air Force. He must have gone with him to offer his support.

This was the beginning of what was to become the most difficult time in our lives.

We were in for a long night ahead. We had no idea what had happened or what was going to happen. I can tell you that nothing could have prepared us for what was to come.

Follow me to hear how the story continues..

Again, this will be a multi-part Series- part two will be available in the next week.

Thanks for stopping by Steemians,

@theessential