Tough Times

Tough Times

         "What possibly could be wrong?" Pat contemplated while lying in his bed as he listened to his father's voice tense with strain, talking with his mom. He strained to hear the conversation going on in the other room, and as he eavesdropped on the conversation, he was able to catch a few words.
         "....pay....and food...." As he heard the words, Pat knew that his dad was talking to someone who needed some money to pay for some basic necessities.
         "....Sarah...don't worry." he heard his father say in a comforting tone to his mom. As he listened to the last sentence of the conversation, he felt as if he had a large pit in his stomach. He didn't know what to say or do other than just to sit there and fall in the labyrinth of darkness that enveloped him.

         As Pat woke the next day, he forgot all about the conversation he had overheard the night before and leaped out of bed, ready for school. But, as soon as he bound out of his room, he saw his mom with her exhausted face, and he remembered the troubling words that he had heard the night before. As he always did, he gave his mom a big hug before he left for school. He knew how hard his mom and dad had to work to provide for him, and he always tried to show his appreciation to them whenever he could.
         That night, his father told him that his mother had lost her job, but he already knew that was what he was going to say. As his dad explained the situation, he felt a pit in his stomach and didn't say anything, and just sat there listening. As his father continued to talk, Pat suddenly had the urge to cry and had to furiously blink his eyes to stop his tears. But, he couldn't hold it back and beginning to sob helplessly, it all came out. His father tried to comfort him as best he could, but Pat felt all alone in the world.
         As he went to basketball practice that night, he tried to drill the shots down, but had no luck as they all rattled off the rim and onto the floor. He couldn't get his mind off of his worries and what would happen if his mother couldn't find a new job. His coach realized Pat wasn't concentrating and asked him what as wrong, but Pat resisted and wouldn't open up to him. He couldn't even make a lay-up and feeling helpless; he slammed the ball into his bag and left the court that night agitated.
         Despite his earlier concerns, Pat gradually forgot about his worries and continued doing well in school. His mom had already sent out dozens of resumes and Pat thought that at least one company was bound to call her back. As time went on though, there was no response and the whole family became more and more worried that his mom would be unable to find a job in the area. After several months of having only half of the usual income, it was clear that the family would have to cut costs. Pat didn't care what they cut, as long as they were all happy and had food and shelter.
         Even though she got no response, Sarah continued to vigorously and enthusiastically send out her resume but it seemed that everyone was ignoring her call looking for work. Soon, it got to a point where Sarah felt powerless since she couldn't pay for any family expenses. Pat's father knew how hard Sarah was trying to find a job. But without her income, he was finding it hard to keep up with expenses. He knew he wasn't capable of taking on a second job on top of his incredibly stressful and tiring day job.
Pat's father reluctantly came to the conclusion that the basketball lessons would have to be discontinued to save some money.  As he sat down one night with Pat, he solemnly told him that he wouldn't be able to take any more basketball classes. As Pat listened as to what his father had to say, he wanted to show his maturity, even though he was upset, especially since he knew that this was going to happen. But Pat knew he'd still be a good basketball player even without the lessons and told his parents so. Both his father and mother saw his determination and smiled at each other as they knew that he would adept well to this difficult time.
         After his last lesson, Pat continued going to the nearby basketball courts and practicing on his own until nightfall. Even when there wasn't an individual court for Pat to practice on by himself, he walked for blocks just to get to one. As it got closer to the summer time, Pat would wake up before the sun rose just to get some more practice time in where there weren't any other kids on the courts. He tried to play pick-up games as much as he could too to keep up his competitive skills. Both of his parents saw his dedication and as they secretly went to watch him one day, they saw his true potential of not only his athletic ability but how focused and determined he was when he got onto the court. Although he didn't have basketball shoes or even a good basketball, he had the focus and drive to do the best he could with what little he had.
         Before Pat's birthday arrived, his father began to put away a small portion of his salary each week to save up for a basketball net, ball and shoes for him while his mother worked at the nearby supermarket to help pay for a small portion of it. They knew that he would appreciate this gift more than anything else. When Pat's birthday arrived, he was stunned to see such extravagant gifts, especially since there wasn't much extra money. He realized how much they both cared about him just to spend that much money, especially when the budget was tight and was very gratified.
         
         A couple of weeks after Pat's birthday, his father began to have pain in his legs and gradually, it started hurting in his hip. When he went to see his doctor, the doctor suggested Pat's father get an x-ray to see if there were any problems. When the x-rays returned, there were no signs of any irregularities in the bones so Pat's father had a bone marrow test performed. The results came back: CANCER.
When Pat's father broke the bad news to his wife and Pat, they were in disbelief. What was there to say? He had cancer and that was that. They couldn't believe that this could possibly happen to someone in their family. Bad things only happen to other people. To further confirm their diagnosis, the doctor ordered a CAT scan and when the results came back, they were all very distressed to hear that it was indeed cancer and it was spreading fast. They started the chemo treatments only days after confirming the news.
Pat had the hardest time coping with the news of his father having cancer. For weeks, his mom often heard him sobbing long after his regular bedtime and knew that he needed help. His mother tried many times to sit down and have him explain that everything was going to turn out all right, but he didn't feel comfortable pouring his feelings to his mom because she had enough problems to deal with already. Inside, Pat knew that if his father didn't get better, and his mother still couldn't find a new job, they would have serious money problems. He wanted to do something to help pay the bills, but he just couldn't think of anything to do.
         After two weeks of the chemo treatment, Pat's father was often asleep at the hospital for most of the day.  Everyday, Pat would go to the hospital after school just to see his father. Even though he was asleep most of the time, Pat would still visit his father looking like he was in a world faraway lying there in a hospital gown hooked up to all sorts of wires that were hooked up to large monitors. When they took another CAT scan, it indicated that the cancer was not spreading, but was actually getting smaller.
         After hearing the good news, Pat no longer needed to worry about his father, because his father would fight it off. He was not just strong mentally, but physically. Although he knew his father was getting better, he was still worried about his mom and the family's monetary situation. The family was officially in debt, and his mom needed to find a job with much higher pay. She decided to send her resumes outside of their vicinity to the city to get a better chance of getting the job. The new strategy worked and a new agency finally called her one day and offered her the job.  When she heard the offer, she had been so discouraged at that point, that she couldn't say anything for several seconds. She thought that this was just a caller trying to tease her, but this was not the case. As the caller continued speaking, Sarah finally gathered her composure and was able to speak, though in a shaky voice. When she accepted the offer and hung up the phone, she was smiling from ear to ear. But then she thought, the pay was good, but the commute was going to be long. She immediately dismissed this thought as she was just glad to be offered a job to support the family.
         But Pat knew things wouldn't remain that content for very long. On a rainy, windy night, after Pat's father had been on chemo for one month, he developed a cold with a temperature of over 105 and immediately had to be put on antibiotics, stopping the chemo. The antibiotics were administered, but the cold wouldn't go away. After several days, his cold steadily got worse and he soon developed a cough. As he continued the antibiotics, his doctor diagnosed him with pneumonia, which was resistant to many of the antibiotics. The doctors gave him and even stronger antibiotic, which fought off the virus and Pat's father continued chemo. By this time, he was very weak and even after the chemo was stopped, he still slept most of the day, and could not leave the hospital and come home.
         Although Pat didn't see his mother until seven and even eight o'clock each night, he visited his father daily and continued to practice basketball afterwards and go about his daily chores. His father was always on his mind and every time he practiced on his basketball hoop, he remembered how much his father cared about him and hoped his father would get better soon and continue his chemo.
         Two months later, his mother got a call informing them that they should come over to the hospital immediately. Although his mother was against letting Pat come along, she allowed him to come since she was frantically scrambling to get herself together. They sped along the freeway, the cars a blur to them. The clock was against them and they only had so much time. As they arrived, they jumped out of the car, signaled a valet attendant, and ran into the hospital. They frantically skidded across the newly waxed floors and into the room where his father had stayed since the beginning of his treatments. As they entered the room, they found the bed covered with a lone white sheet and the whole room spotless with the exception of a single decorative plant. Pat's heart began to sink like a half ton submarine into the water; they were too late!
         "Had he already been taken away?" they both thought.
         Frantically running through the hospital corridors, they tried to locate someone to tell them where he had gone. As Pat's mom hastily approached a nurse, and breathlessly demanded to know what had happened to her husband, she told them that he had been moved to the critical care unit in the hospital earlier that day. They hurriedly punched the down elevator button while the elevator slowly moseyed on up. The elevator door opened and soon, they were in the ICU. After notifying the nurse at the front desk that they had arrived, they were told that he was in a coma because of a recurring infection.
         As Pat looked at the still body behind the curtains, he was close to crying at seeing the sight of his father so close to death. They sat there watching him, feeling helpless; wishing he could be with them. They tried talking to him and touching his hand to share his pain. As the day progressed, it seemed Pat's father was slowly dissipating.
         A little before midnight two nights later, the brittle and thin wire that Pat's father was tied to snapped, and he traveled into the dark abyss, unable to be revived. As the heart monitor signaled no activity, they both prayed that he was still alive but to no avail. Pat was thankful that his father had hung on so long, but at the same time, he wanted him to still be there. After he was gone, Pat and his mom grieved and cried until they had no more tears left to spare.
         Week after week, Pat continued to cry late at night and his grades even began to dip. His father's death hit him hard, especially since it had happened so quickly. It seemed Pat just couldn't get past the hardship and began hiding in his father's room. It seemed to empower him and he felt comfortable there; like he was in his father's presence. As he looked at pictures of his father and went through his father's desk, he found a letter from his father addressed to him below the mess of other documents. It read:

Dear Pat,

You have been the greatest joy in my life since you were born. I remember how I loved reading to you at bedtime and holding your small body, keeping you safe. I want you to remember to stay strong no matter what and care for your mother. I know you can get through this hard time. Continue to succeed in school and practice basketball for yourself, your mom, and me. I will always be comforting you in difficult times and encourage you more when you succeed even though I'm not physically there.

With love,
Dad

         After reading the letter, Pat felt the most warmth within him that he ever had in his whole life. He was going to achieve, stay strong and continue to make his father proud of him. After this, he began to get A's in school and continued practicing basketball. He went on to college on a full scholarship, surpassing all the other applicants, even they all went to better high schools.
         As he looked back one day in his adult life, he remembered the first 15 years of his life, and how difficult they were to him to get through. But, he looked at the bright side of it; he was stronger because of all of the difficulties.