My boyfriend of 1.5 years had a brain aneurysm that afternoon. His housemates notified me around 5pm. They drove me to the hospital and the nurse said he didn't have much time. He was not responding, although he had seizure after seizure. They had to move him to a hospital in the nearby city so he could get emergency brain surgery. His housemate, god bless him, drove me there too, although we got lost on the way which upped my anxiety. When we arrived, they asked if I wanted to be in the room while they worked. I wish I said no. I shit you not I watched them duck-tape my boyfriend's head down to the bed and the doctor drilled a hole in his skull while the nurse held down his flailing arms. His body went still when the drill went in all the way. The surgeon left and the nurses came in large numbers to hook him up to all kinds of monitoring devices and fluids. Blood poured out of his skull and into a bag near the bed. They asked me a lot of questions because his family wasn't there and I had the most medical information about him. His mom arrived around midnight (she had to fly in from another part of the state). It was the first time I met his family. Who meets their boyfriend's family for the first time at a hospital apart from in soap operas? She hugged me and asked me how the surgery went. She obviously thought he was going to be up and about the next day. I told her I didn't know, and they were saying it was worse than they originally told her over the phone. I didn't have the strength to tell her what was going on so I just bolted. His housemate drove me back to their apartment, and I spent the night in my boyfriend's empty bed, taking in his smell because in my gut I knew it would be the last time I could. I slept for maybe 30 minutes, tops.

I should add that since then, he has recovered quite a bit and is doing marvelously for someone who was in his condition. We had to break up for a lot of reasons, but I'm sure he will go far in life as he is obviously a survivor and I wish him the best. But I will never ever forget that night.