Keep Goin' Part 3

Continuation of Keep Goin'. If you missed it, check out Part 1 and Part 2!

My grandpa was really a fighter because he hung on for the next few days. It was December 28^th, and I was supposed to go to my former babysitter’s house for the night. Every year around Christmas time I would go to her house and watch “A Christmas Carol” with her son and husband. I loved to see them, but I was just so sad. After the movie was over, the phone rang. I just thought, please, don’t be the phone call I think it is. My babysitter, Lisa, handed me the phone. She said, “It’s your Mom.” I looked at the caller ID and read the numbers; it was her. I answered the phone call ready for the news.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mark.”

“I have some good news.”

“What?”

“The doctors decided to take out Grandpa’s breathing tube to see if he could breathe on his own. He can! He’s breathing on his own!”

“That is amazing! I am so happy right now!

“He is doing so much better. I will call you later.”

“Alright Mom, love you.”

“Bye, love you.”

My face lit up like a bulb on the Christmas tree, and I told Lisa, her husband Tom, and her son Justin the good news. There was now some hope. It was a miracle. As the days went on, he got better and better. He was now able to breathe on his own, and he started to say some words to my grandma, mom, and uncles. All I thought was, he’s gonna make it, he’s actually gonna make it! He was moved from the Critical Care Unit to the Step Down Unit. My Mom came home and told me that I was able to go see him. I was the happiest boy on the face of the earth.

That weekend my Mom and I got in the car and started driving to the hospital. I got out of the car holding two things, my racing shoes and my running watch. I couldn’t wait to show my grandpa these things. We got to the door of the Step Down Unit, and we walked inside. We got to my grandpa’s bed, and he was sleeping. I hadn’t seen him in a while, so it felt so good to see his face. My Mema touched my grandpa on the shoulder and said, “John, Mark’s here.” He didn’t wake up. “John, Mark’s here.” He still didn’t respond. “John, Mark’s here!” He then realized what my Mema was saying, and he opened his eyes. He looked straight at me and smiled. I never saw him that happy. I went over to him and gave him a hug. He said, “Hi, Mark!” I said, “Hi, Grandpa! It’s great to see you!” It was the best feeling in the world to see my grandpa. I never thought I was going to see him again after he entered the hospital. I them told him that I had something to show him. I bent down and picked up the shoe box containing my Brooks T5 racing shoes. I handed them over to him. He was amazed and couldn’t believe how light they were. He wanted to know where I got them and how much they cost. He couldn’t stop talking about them. Then I reached into a small pouch that had my Garmin Forerunner 405. I put the watch on his lap, and he picked it up. I started to talk to him about its satellite capabilities and all of its other cool features. It came time to go, and we said our goodbyes. It was great to see him. I will never forget that moment.

He got better and better, and he was admitted to a Rehab center to learn how to swallow. He was recovering very quickly. The doctors said he would be home in a couple of months. The next Saturday I had a meet at the Armory in New York City. I couldn’t wait for this race. I was going to run the mile, and I knew it was the day to break five. I had a new strategy. I had to think about my grandpa in a positive way. I had to block out all the bad memories of him in the hospital. I had to picture going to see him in the rehab center with the good news of breaking five. As I got to the starting line on the fastest indoor track in the world, I whispered to myself, do it for Grandpa.