Cammi Quijano
EN101
Professor Rounds
November 9, 2012

Blinded From the Truth

One of the most important women was taken from me in a blink of an eye when I was 18 years old. It was a real shame because 4 months later my daughter would be born, and all I wanted was for the two of them to meet. They say when one door closes a window opens, so although I lost my aunt I was awarded with my first child. I wanted my aunt to be a part of my daughter’s life and to impact her the way she impacted me. I wanted to raise my daughter and love her infinitely just how my aunt did with me. But God, how am I supposed to raise a kid when I’m still a kid myself? I need her guidance more than anything right now yet; she’s gone, just like that. This woman raised me to be who I am today and losing such an amazing person was one of the most traumatizing moments of my life. What will happen now? Will I be okay? Will I ever get over this?

We cannot sleep in the same bed together; his inability to sleep and his condition has deprived me of sleep as well. It has been eleven years, and my husband randomly gets so stressed out that we both start losing sleep. He goes months of being stable and then all of the sudden he has another traumatic episode. My husband has been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. It has been really hard for both of us but he has been so great with the kids that they don’t even know. He is the most wonderful father; for someone who is so stressed out at time, he can effectively put everything behind him by putting on a strong face and being the most patient person with his two daughters. You would think after 12 years of recurrent panic attacks his relationships with his daughters would change, but on the outside, it seems like he has everything under control.

Those who do know my father all say the same thing about him “your dad is a great man”. They are all right, one of the most caring human beings I have ever met in my life. My father will make sure to go out if his way for anyone in need of help, if I was asked to describe him in one word it would be a task I couldn’t do… there’s too many ways to describe him; kind, noble, humble, funny. I remember having a conversation with him once and asking why he makes his life more complicated to help out other people. I will never forget his response; “because if I help them out, I’m setting you and your sister up to being helped with, they will return the favor by helping my two kids out, like karma but I’m doing it so good karma hits you both and helps you out” The reason I remember so well is because even then, he is still putting other people in front of himself. He sacrifices so much of his time to hope that my sister and me will get treated well because of the actions my father does.

Everyone can agree that Camila and Paulina Quijano have it all; these two sisters are both so blessed to have such loving and wonderful parents who work so hard and would give their world to make them happy. They sacrificed so much to have Camila, the first to go to college in her family, attend her dream University. She has everything to be forever thankful, sometimes it is even questionable if she deserves everything that is given to her. One word to describe Camila would be lucky, anyone would kill for the amazing opportunities she has and most importantly for the loving father she has in her life. When I was finally old enough to be able to see the truth, it was like my innocence was gone, I was in a cave, blinded from reality. All this time I thought nothing could ever happen to my father, nothing bad could ever happen to this angel of mine, he is too good to everyone to be put into this situation. He is too kind to ever feel sad. When I think of my dad I think of how delicate he is and how I would never want anything bad to happen to him, I rather it be me then him, I rather it be me to feel pain in order for him to be happy. I know it should be the other way around but I