Rafael Coming Home

08/01/2020, my dad, Rafael left the house around 4 pm to attend to a business matter nearby. He had just finished eating cake and before he left, he told me, “I’ll be quick”. My father didn’t call after 2 hours later. 5 mins away from my house, became the center of attention. Colliding with a car using his e-bike scooter, my father landed head first after the handlebar from his scooter got stuck with the truck of the car. At my dad’s speed, a completely stop caused my dad to be flown into the air. Right now, my dad remains in a coma until he responds to the emergency surgery and medication. At this point, the doctors tell me there is nothing they can do to invoke that response and that my dad has to choose if he wants to continue. We must wait for him to respond but every individual is different. I don’t doubt my dad will respond, but what troubles my family is our new reality. My mom has an existing mental illness disease, my sister a single mother and without the financial and moral support from our dad, we can meet our bills and living in a community like Parkchester, but not knowing how long. My dad doesn’t receive any insurance or Medicare and based on my father’s immigration status, he isn’t eligible for any financial assistance. Whatever my family can receive is what we will use to cover his medical bills at the hospital and for investing in future rehabilitation centers. I miss my dad so much. He began a new life in a new country, learning a new language, all by himself. He’s been consistent with my mom despite her mental illness, unexpected child birth from my sister and on my first day of college. I never took my relationship with my father for granted. He instilled to display gratitude for the littlest things because he came from poverty, being raised by a single mother and 8 other siblings. His dad and sister were murdered at the age of 5 and over the years, my dad’s faith in friends was undervalued because the struggles he endured ALONE. He taught me the same thing, but right now, he needs the support of everyone. Before my dad left, he was watching the history of the Sumerians, an ancient civilization that was believed to be the first human civilization and responsible for many human inventions, despite future human civilizations. He was the only person I knew so invested in learning about the history of humans and our connection to aliens. This was the day of his birthday.