My Grandfather's Stroke: A Defining Moment In My Life

A defining moment in my life would be my grandfather's stroke when I was 12 years old. I was sitting on the couch and remember hearing my mother cry in the bedroom. I ran back there to see what was wrong. She then told me the news that my grandfather had had a hemorrhagic stroke and was being rushed to the hospital and might not make it. Time froze for me and it took a while for me to comprehend what had just happened. That night we were driving up to Iowa where my grandfather lived. The whole ride up there I was praying and hoping that he was okay and that everything would be fine. When we got there 12 hours later, he was still in surgery. After he got out of surgery, I went to go see him and he didn't recognize me. He couldn't even say my name.

It was such a shock to see my grandfather who was a farmer that worked so hard and worked such long hours to a bedridden shell of the man he once was. That night when we left the hospital, I asked my mom if he was going to get better. She told me that it would take a lot for him to get better but I just knew that he was going to get better. As the weeks progressed, he did not get better and eventually his condition plateaued and declined. As I saw the hurt in my family, I knew right then I wanted to become a doctor to help those who were in the same condition as my grandfather. Once I had my goal of being a neurosurgeon set, I worked towards it by going to summer camps focusing on science and medicine. When I went to highschool, I went to my technology center and enrolled in an advanced engineering program that had a biomedical course so I could learn more about the human body. Through this program I also have the opportunity to shadow a medical doctor. By shadowing this doctor, I got a real glimpse into the world of medicine in which I hope to