Chapter 1

Your life really does flash before your eyes when you think your life is about to end. I saw everything I ever loved in the blink of an eye before I slipped into unconsciousness. When I woke up I saw my family gathered in the room. My mom burst into tears and pulled me into a hug. I looked at her face, seeing how tired she looked. 

"How do you feel Cara?" she asked, brushing my light brown hair out of my face. I opened my mouth to tell her I felt fine, but no words came out. I immediately frowned, trying to speak once more, but again no words. I started to grow panicked, tears forming in my eyes as I stared at my mom. My mom looked at me in great concern and I shook my head, grasping my throat. 

"What's going on?" my dad blurted, kneeling next to me and taking my hand. I strained myself to tell him I didn't know, but nothing but air exited my lips. I began sobbing uncontrollably while Wayne, my older brother, ran out of the room to get someone. 

"Cara calm down okay? Deep breaths," my dad whispered, kissing my forehead firmly all the while I kept crying, wanting some sort of explanation as to what in the world was going on. A doctor came in a few minutes later and my mom collapsed into my dad's arms. The doctor looked at me and took a deep breath. 

"She can't say anything!" my mom exclaimed and the doctor sighed with a nod. 

"This is common after a stroke has occurred. We're going to keep an eye on Cara and have her work with specialists in our rehabilitation center. I'm assuming this is only temporary and with some help she'll be back to herself in no time. If things don't look better after a few weeks then we'll deal with it then. No need to worry now," my doctor spoke and while I felt a sense of relief from his words, it was still beyond terrifying to be able to know what I wanted to say and not have the ability to speak for the time being. 

"Get some rest Cara. Lunch will be here soon, but you just need to relax and get some fluids in you," my doctor spoke with a smile, taking my hand and squeezing it. I nodded, wiping my tears and taking a deep breath. He left the room and my brother gave me a styrofoam cup filled with ice water. I smiled at him as a sign of thanks and he sat down with a thumbs up. I wanted to ask my family what exactly had happened, but I couldn't obviously. From what the doctor said though, I had a stroke apparently. The last thing I remembered before blacking out was being in the gym running on the treadmill with "We Will Rock You" by Queen playing. 

"The gym owner called 911 after he saw you fly off the treadmill," my mom spoke, probably realizing I was trying to piece everything together. 

"The doctors said you suffered a stroke, a pretty bad one especially at the age of 23," my dad piped in and I nodded, sipping on the water. 

"You've been out for a few days, in and out of a coma and when you came out of the coma you were almost in a zombie-like state," my brother whispered and I shuddered at the thought, looking at my mom. 

"At least you're okay," my mom exhaled, dabbing at her eyes and I smiled at her. 

"Maybe she can write down what she wants to say or ask," my brother offered and I nodded frantically with a grin. He laughed, as he handed me my notepad and pen from my backpack. I took it, laying it down on my lap and uncapping the pen and placed it on the paper. I began by writing to ask them how they found out what happened, but when I finished my scrawling I stared at my writing in confusion and horror. 

"What is it?" my dad asked, standing up and looking at the paper, audibly sighing; which sent my mom into another panic. She took the pad and squeezed her eyes shut tightly. My brother looked over her shoulder and he took a deep breath. 

"The doctor said it was nothing to worry about. He said these things happen after a stroke. She had a major stroke, it's obviously going to take a toll on her brain and its functioning until she can get back into the swing of things," my brother spoke with positive enthusiasm. I hoped he was right because I'd only been awake for a little over ten minutes and I was extremely annoyed of being the only one to understand what I was trying to say. 

"Wayne's right, this is hard on everyone right now, but we just have to take it one day at a time," my dad spoke, clearly consoling my mother who was sitting with her head in her hands. I slumped back into the hospital bed with a sigh and I look at my dad lazily. 

"Bored?" he asked and I nodded as he let out a chuckle. 

"Do you want to watch TV?" he questioned and I shrugged with a nod, what else was there to do, and at least I could understand what people were saying so TV wouldn't be as tortuous. My dad handed me the remote and I began flipping through the channels until I found a reality show my family and I enjoyed. We watched and my family chatted a bit until finally my lunch arrived. The woman serving the lunch pulled a table up to my bed and placed a tray on it with a smile. 

"Whadja get?" my dad asked glancing at my plate. Ham sandwich, an apple, and a bag of pretzels. I showed him the plate after remembering what I'd just thought I said did not come out through my voice. 

"Will you be okay if we go down to the cafeteria and get some lunch for ourselves?" my dad continued and I nodded, popping open my bag of pretzels. He smiled at me and I saw tears beginning to form in his eyes. 

"Always a fighter Cara," he whispered, as he followed my family out of the room. And just like that, I was left to my own thoughts once again. I saw a magazine lying next to my bed, and I grabbed it. I furrowed my brow as I stared at the magazine and the jumbles of letters, not able to decipher a single word. I looked through the pictures in the magazine to distract myself from the overwhelming frustration I was caught in. How could I suddenly not know how to speak, write, or read all the words I'd known for 23 years of my life? It seemed completely bizarre, but I kept hope that what the doctor said was true; this was only temporary. As I looked at the pictures in the mag, I wondered how much longer I'd be kept in this hospital room, and when I went to rehab if I'd actually have to stay on site or I could go home. I tossed the magazine on the floor next to my bed as a nurse came in with a smile. 

"Hi Cara, we're just going to take your vitals and some blood," she began, as another nurse came in to assist her, "this will be happening for the rest of the day every few hours just so we have a record of how you're doing."

"How are you feeling right now?" she asked, hooking up a blood pressure machine to my arm. I gave her a sideways thumbs up, causing her to frown for a moment before I saw the other nurse explain what was going with me and the whole "not able to communicate" thing. She nodded, and I wanted to ask her a million things, but how could I? I didn't know sign language and I couldn't write it to her, or pick a word out of a book and point it to her either! After my blood pressure was taken, I zoned into my head, wondering how this could've happened while the nurses poked and prodded at me. I could hear my family coming back down the hall and I sighed in relief as they came back in, bringing more guests as well. I perked up seeing my brother's wife, Alana, and my four year old niece, Marie. I impatiently waited for the nurses to finish their tests so I could see Marie. I felt the nurses packing up and I looked at them. 

"We'll be back in about 2 hours or so," one spoke as they smiled, waved and exited the room. I grinned at Alana as she bent down and pulled me into a hug. I hugged her back as she pulled away, concern in her eyes. I gave her a thumbs up and she sighed with a nod. She hoisted Marie up onto the bed and she crawled up to hug me. She was getting so big! I scrunched up my face in a smile as I waved at her and hugged her. I pointed at her and gestured my hands out to show how big she'd gotten and she tilted her head in confusion. 

"Aunt Cara is saying you've gotten so big!" Wayne piped in and she looked back at my brother, still obviously confused. 

"Why can't you talk?" she asked, laying against me. I frowned, beginning to braid her thin hair. I took a deep breath a sighed, looking to anyone else in the room to help me out. 

"Aunt Cara got sick, she just doesn't feel good right now," Alana explained, always knowing what to say. I smiled and nodded to her to show thanks as Marie rolled around and held up what I assumed was a new Barbie doll she'd gotten. I smiled and nodded. I attempted to at least mouth the word pretty as I batted my eyelashes and Marie giggled with a nod, apparently understanding what I was trying to get across. 

"Can you do her hair?" she asked sweetly, handing me the pathetic plastic brush that came with every new Barbie purchase. I brushed through the dolls hair as Marie decided she was going to do my hair while she waited. For a moment I felt a lot better than I had for the past few hours and it was a satisfying relief, but I knew it was only a temporary feeling. 

"Is it only temporary?" I heard Alana ask softly and my dad sighed. 

"The doctor says this is a common side effect after a stroke and we don't have anything to worry about...yet," he hesitated and Alana bit her lip, smiling over at Marie and me. I finished doing Marie's dolls hair and handed it back to her. She grinned and hugged me. 

"She looks almost as pretty as you," Marie gushed and I kissed her forehead with a smile. I was the luckiest aunt ever. Wayne scooped her off of me and spun her around sending giggles erupting into the air. I couldn't help but smile and laugh along, finding relief in the fact that I could hear my laughter. 

"Are you ready to get going?" Wayne asked, looking at Alana and she nodded slightly. 

"Call me tomorrow and let me know what's going on, and if anything changes call me ASAP," Wayne said, hugging my mom and dad before waltzing over to me. 

"Get some rest, all of this will be over soon kid," he spoke, ruffling up my hair. I swatted his hand away and he laughed, hugging me and kissing the top of my head. He brought Marie back over, who engulfed me into a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. 

"I love you Aunt Cara," she smiled and I motioned out "I love you too" through gestures; which greatly delighted her. Alana hugged me as well before they left the room to just my parents and me. I yawned and my mom sighed. 

"Your mom and I are going to go home for a little while, take showers all of that, and we'll back this evening. Will you be okay? You can press the emergency call button at any time," my dad explained and I nodded with a roll of my eyes. 

"Still sassy as ever I see," my mom snickered and I nodded with a laugh. 

"Love you Care Bear," my dad smiled, kissing me goodbye, with my mom following suit. 

"Get some rest," she whispered, brushing my hair back from my forehead and I nodded. After they left I turned the TV up, knowing it was the only thing I had to keep me busy from my own thoughts. I snuggled down in the hospital bed and stared at the television, absorbing all the sounds on the screen. 

Author's Note

Yay or Nay?

Reviews

[Sinbulvinter]

Very inspiring and heartfelt piece. The expression, characters, and emotions are truly realistic and honest. I feel for the girl Cara, and her family especially. It's a motiving and inspiring story to read, yet sad.

You have a lot of talent and are wonderful with expression, wording, and realistic emotions and characters. I did notice a few grammer errors, and shortening/splitting up paragraphs might do you some good for easier flow. But this is a wonderful chapter to read. I'm very impressed.

[kaylahardy120]

Thank you so much! And thank you for the feedback, I truly appreciate it! Not many people give me grammatical feedback, so it's so helpful!! (:

[Sinbulvinter]

Grammar is an issue I have as well, and one I've been working on. I always try to leave feedback with writers, since I appreciate when people leave feedback for me.
You're welcome, again, great work with this one

[Hebe]

Very well written. You created amazing emotion, I felt the turmoil and frustration and sadness! Got a little chocked up thinking how ones life can change in an instant! Definitely a YAY! I want to know more :)

[Kimiko Watson]

Quite interesting and heart-felt story

[Poetic License]

YAY!!! Bring it on! I am completely fascinated by a 23 year old stroke victim and all the challenges this will raise.

[Samiksha]

This is stunning! Loved it, absolutely!

[kaylahardy120]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it! (:

[Anshuman Aryav]

Really you have that talent which motivates everyone and this story is awesome and i have no word to say now......
Great job...

[kaylahardy120]

Thank you so much! (: I'm glad you enjoyed it!!

[Taz]

I love this so much! So far it is excellant, I seriously could not put it down, it is awsome. I can't wait to read more. You have a real talent.

[wordman]

i enjoyed the story,i guess we never know and age doesen1t seem to matter,,it is a real life story whether true or not.

[Levi Levin]

I think your doing a great job. Your first person stance here is very good. Keep up the good work!

[kaylahardy120]

Thank you so much! (:

[Levi Levin]

Your welcome:)