Remember When

By Zaina Starr

I remember when,

I received the call,

The call that changed my life.

I remember when,

I saw the nurse,

Hands grasped, tightly,

Around an ambu bag.

I, hurriedly,

Grabbed my phone,

And began phone tag.

I remember when,

The ambulance rushed south,

Doctor said,

"Her brain won't stop swelling!"

No words could escape my mouth.

I remember when,

I saw you,

A machine breathing for you,

Ventilation.

Nothing good

Could come of this.

All I knew,

My baby sister, Sami,

Was only sixteen.

What a lot for a mother to miss.

I remember when,

I waited for an end,

Operation.

Minutes turned to hours,

Frustration.