Little Things

Eduardo Lievanos Medina
English 1A
February 18, 2013
Essay #1 Final


 It is amazing how one experience made me appreciate my mother more than I expected.  I remember complaining about the simplest things she did like cooking.  I complained when my mother made beans that were salty and the rice being to dry.  I realized the small things my mother did I took for granted, after more than two months of not be able to eat.
I was extremely nervous but at the same time excited when I went to go see the orthodontist.  I had no idea what he was going to happen.  My orthodontist told me that the braces would straighten out my horrible crooked teeth.  When I got my braces, I felt uncomfortable due to the fact it was hard to eat and talk.  I didn’t complain because I thought to myself in the end it would be worth it.  I was hoping that the braces would fix my teeth completely and I would get them off in no time.
After three years of living with wretched metal on my teeth, I was hoping to get the braces off soon.  Early in the morning, I received a surprising phone call from my orthodontist telling me they had some news and needed to see me as soon as possible.  I was in a great mood the day I went to his office.  I was expecting the orthodontist would tell me that he could finally take off the braces. I could not wait to smile in the mirror and admire my perfect teeth.  As I walked in, I saw everyone waiting for me with paperwork to fill out.  Once they called me in it didn’t take more than two minutes for the orthodontist to tell me that the braces have done all that was possible.  If I wanted to fix my bite and make it perfect, I would need double jaw surgery.  Now, I had to decide if I wanted to wait and get surgery or leave my teeth how they were without the braces.
The doctors’ explained the risks of the surgery to me and my mother.  The surgery can have complications such as losing too much blood, the heart being to weak for the anesthesia or even sudden death.  Also, I would not be able to eat for six weeks after surgery due to the fact that my jaw would be wired shut.  Since, those risks came with any other surgery and I was not too worried.  I knew I was in the good hands of the doctors.  On the other hand, my mother wasn’t too excited.  She was already worried before knowing the risks of the surgery, and after hearing the risk she got depressed.  I was horrified by the fact that I would not be able to eat for six weeks after the surgery.  I realized I would not be able to even taste the salty bean and dried rice my mother had cooked for me.  Just the thought of not being able to eat made me miss my mothers cooking already.
After talking with my parents concerning the awful news, I decided the best thing for me to do is to go ahead with the surgery.  My mother worried that something could go wrong during the surgery which made it a difficult decision for me.  My mother did not know anyone in the family who had been through a surgery and she had no idea what could happen.  The doctors had explained all the risks that came with getting the double jaw surgery.  Jaw surgery was more complicated because of the risks during the actual surgery, and the risks after the surgery was over.  I remember my mother trying to convince me not to do the surgery.  She mentioned to me, “If it is not completely necessary, just don’t take the risk.”  I understood why she worried about what can happen to me during surgery, but I knew that in the end it would benefit me in many ways.  With the benefits of the surgery in mind, I told her I would be going through with it and just hope for the best.
The day had come; it was a warm summer morning in September of 2012.  I was surprised I had slept the night before the surgery, and that I did not feel as nervous as I had imagined.  It was about five in the morning when my alarm went off, I got out of bed with so many thoughts scrambling through my head.  If someone had asked me what I was thinking, I would not be able to explain my thoughts.  After getting dressed, I went to the living room to find my mother already waiting for me.  I asked her why she was up so early.  She replied, “I could not sleep at all, I am worried about you.  I thought I should talk to her and make her feel more comfortable, but I knew it was impossible.  The only way for her to feel better was for the surgery to be over. Its amazing how I was the one going through surgery but I was most concerned about was my mother.
We were about to hop on to our car to go to the hospital when suddenly my mother stopped me and asked me if I still wanted to go through with the surgery.  “You still have time to change your mind,” she said.  I looked at her and said, “we are too far into this, we can’t go back now.”  The ride to the hospital felt like the quietest car ride I had ever been in.  The only thing I heard was the wind outside of the window and the low voice from the radio in the background.  Once we arrived at the UC Davis Hospital, I suddenly started to get more nervous.  I expected to walk in and see bright lights, white walls covering the hallways and crowds of people.  All I saw was empty orange colored hallways.  I was so nervous that when I walked to the help desk, it felt like a five k to me.  I waited in the waiting room no longer than ten minutes when the nurse came to get me.  By that time I was shaking in my boots.
I walk into the small room covered with nothing but white curtains.  There was pile of cables on the bed, which I would be hooked up to.  It was only my mother and I now in the room.  I got dressed for the surgery when the surgeon walked in and asks me if I am ready.  I did not know what to say so I just nod my head.  Once I was hooked to all the cables necessary for the surgery, the anesthesiologist walked in and stuck a needle in my arm.  That’s when I started feeling relaxed, I was almost falling to sleep.  As I was about to fall asleep, the bed started to move.  Now they were taking me to the room where the surgery would take place.  The last thing I remember was giving my mom a hug and seeing from a distance a tear running down her cheek.  Before I knew it, I was in the deepest sleep I had ever been in.
Seven hours had passed when suddenly I wake up from my slumber.  As I opened my eyes, I saw a  room crowded with doctors around me. My dad and brother were in front of the bed.  As I turned my head, I found my mother on the other side of me.  My mother was crying and the doctor was telling me to give her a sign that I was fine.  All I did was hold two thumbs up, since I could not talk  .  After the anesthesia wore off, my face was so swollen it looked like a basketball.  I was short of breath and vomiting blood due to the excessive bleeding from the surgery.  I was thinking about how hard it was going to be to get through the next few weeks without eating, but then I looked at my mom and she said, “you made it.”  At that moment, I realized she was there for me and she was going to be there for me until I reached the end of the road to recovery.  My mother quit her job to take care of me during the surgery.  Knowing how much I had taken her for granted, I realized the big things she did for me and the small things like cooking simple meals that I was going to miss.