It’s really scary to think about losing one of the most important people in your life. But as the old saying goes, everything happens for a reason.

5 months ago I had to experience the scariest moment in my life. During this time it was supposed to be happy and full of excitement because I was graduating high school, but that’s not how it played out.

The weeks leading up to graduation were normal. But my mom had been feeling a little sick and not feeling like her self. She had been having upset stomach and really bad heart burn. But come to find out, it was only about to get worse. One week before I was supposed to graduate, I learned that my mom had a heart attack.

I remember the day her and my dad came back from camp. That weekend she said she felt fine until the Monday they came back and she didn't feel good anymore. They came home and I remember walking down stairs to seeing my parents and my grandmother standing in the kitchen. Something didn’t feel right. My dad announced that he was going to take my mom to the ER after my grandmother was finally able to convince my mom to go. I was scared but I put on a brave face and watch my mom and dad walk out the door. I had no idea what was in store for the hours to come.

It had been almost 6 hours since my mom and dad left and I knew something serious was happening. At around 11pm that night I got a call from my dad telling me that they were transferring her to one of the major hospitals in a bigger city 35 minutes away from my home. He told me over the phone that my mom had a heart attack but at the time he didn't know how serious it was. My dad reassured me that everything was going to be okay and told me to go to bed and not wait up for him to get back.

The next morning my dad woke me up and asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital with him to see my mom. I got dressed, had a bowl of cereal and was ready to leave but as I was sitting there waiting for my dad to finish eating, I knew there was something on his mind. I asked him if the doctors were able to give him any information about my mom's condition and that’s when he told me.

My mom had a very serious heart attack. So serious that one of the major vessels in her heart was 80% blocked. After he told me, he broke down and so did I. I was terrified. I could have lost my mom, but thankfully she was one of the lucky ones.

She spent 4 days in the ICU but eventually was able to go home 3 days before my gradation. A week that was meant to be full of joy and celebration turned into the longest and scariest week of mine and my family’s life. I’m beyond grateful she survived. Although she's not 100% yet, she’s getting there and she’s alive and that’s I could ask for.