It was the beginning of August 2022 when my grandpa was hit and run over by a car. He was riding on his bike and the car didn't see him, so they ran over him, crushing most of his bones. He was rushed to the hospital, where they called my aunt and told her to spread the word. 

My family lives in Wisconsin and the crash happened in Utah, so thankfully, my mom was able to hop on a flight to take my little brother with her. She bought a one-way ticket, not knowing the state her dad was in, or if he was going to make it or not. 

That was a very sad way to end summer. Not only were we worried about my grandpa, but my mom was gone and took my brother, so they left five of us there. I proceeded to work and babysit the rest of the summer. 

It was two days before school was starting that my mom called me and told me to pack a backpack because I was flying to Utah to surprise my grandpa because he was being released from the hospital after being there for about a month. I was super stressed because we were going to be gone until right before I started school, but anything is worth seeing my grandpa.

A little backstory about my grandpa. He has always been my hero, even before he overcame this unthinkable situation. Not only is he strong, but he is selfless, choosing to take care of many elderly people in his church by bringing meals over many times a week to make sure they are well-fed. He is a leader of an organization called Project Perfect World where he flies to Ecuador with a team of doctors, and they perform surgeries on children for free because they can't afford it. He hasn't always had very much money. He has even been laid off many times and struggled to keep food on the table, but always found a way. He does anything and everything to make my grandma happy, and he does a good job at it too. I strive to be just like him when I am older. 

When I landed in Utah, it was late at night, and we were planning to surprise my grandpa the next morning. 

As my brother and I walked into the room, my grandpa broke down in tears. He couldn't believe we had flown almost 1,500 miles to go see him. I’d do anything for him though, so it wasn't a shocker in the end. 

As he was walking out of the hospital, he chose to play the Rocky theme song “Going to Fly Now” by Bill Conti, because my brothers are obsessed with those movies and that song represents working hard for something and finally achieving it, which is what my grandpa did. All the doctors and nurses who had helped my grandpa over the last few weeks stood in the hall and cheered for him, most of them in tears after seeing him come so far. Everyone was so happy for him. 

Later that day, my grandpa told me he expected me to get all A’s at school that year and I told him “I’ll try” and that it was not going to happen because I struggled tremendously with school. But then he changed his tone and got very serious and said “I didn’t recover by saying ‘I'll try’. I recovered by giving everything I had and more every single day. It was the hardest thing I have ever done, but I did it, so I could still be here today” and I felt so bad. After that moment, I never had the mindset of “I’ll try” because he told me otherwise. My grandpa was told by the doctors they didn’t think he would live, but somehow he pushed through against all odds. 

My grandpa is my idol, my hero and this experience just proves why he holds that special place in my heart. I’m so glad I was able to go see him and say “hello” instead of “goodbye”. I’ll always love my grandpa.