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Some say miracles don’t exist, and trust me, I’m not the type to believe them myself. But some things that have happened in my life I can honestly say were things that only happen once in a lifetime.

In 2013, something terrible happened to my dad.

My dad and I have always been close. You can say he’s my “ride or die,” best friend or even partner in crime, so even thinking about losing him would be like a part of me was leaving.

I remember getting the news when I was in my P.E. class. My mom was supposed to pick me up during that period to take me to a doctor’s appointment. But she never did. I thought something might’ve come up.

I called my mom after the period was over. I asked, “Hey why didn’t you pick me up, did you forget?”

“I’m sorry, Mija,” she said. “There was an emergency with your dad. He’ll tell you more about it when you get home.”

As soon as I got home, I rushed into the door as fast as I could. To my surprise, my dad was laying down with a bruised and broken nose, arm and leg because of a car accident. His face screamed desolation and despair — I’ve always seen him strong and healthy. Seeing him crippled was shocking for not only me, but my sisters as well.

I thought my dad would have been okay since he was now home. But I was wrong. Little did I know that the night of his accident would been the last time he would be home for a while.

He was rushed to the hospital.

He had acquired a Nasal Hemorrhage which is a severe nosebleed caused by a ruptured blood vessel. The nosebleed was so major it was almost as he was bleeding to death.

The doctors did everything they could to stop it.

They even thought to finish breaking his nose to put nose plugs in. They said it would be tough for him to make it because the bleeding would start again minutes later.

It all felt like a nightmare.

I missed school for four days, my mom was stressing out and a ton of family came from out of the state worried just as much as we were. It wasn’t a good environment for a thirteen year old to be in.

My dad was transferred to another hospital two and a half weeks later for surgery to heal the bleeding arteries in his nose. The doctors didn’t know if the procedure was going to work, but it was our only hope. He could’ve lost his sense of smell and live with the nosebleed for the rest of his life.

But the surgery was worth the risk.

Everything in the procedure came out just as planned. His nose stopped bleeding, and the doctors said he should be okay to go home in a few days. Everything was such a relief.

Three weeks later after the accident, my dad was out of the hospital. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy about anything in a long time. Knowing he was coming home was another step to everything going back to the way it was.

Now recovered from the incident, my dad lives with minor issues. He continues to make positive impacts in my life, and I thank God he’s still in it every single day.

Almost losing my dad has made me realize that everything can change in a blink of an eye. Forgive often, love with all your heart and don’t take anything for granted.

We usually don’t know what we have till we lose it.