Brotherly Love

I was happy not to be an only child. I thought having a little brother meant I would always have a friend. After having his leg amputated, we found that Andrew's cancer had spread to other parts of his body. There was less and less hope for his survival. It was scary to think I might lose him and end up as that lonely, only child.

After the many failed attempts to help Andrew failed in Houston, he was moved back to Miami. Then I was able to spend more time with him. Some nights I stayed in the hospital with him, bringing my VCR and rented movies. We would stay up really late and watch the movies, just like everything was "normal".
But Andrew was angry at the world. Sometimes he didn't want to see anybody, including me. He was embarrassed by the way he looked, and at other times he just wasn't in the mood. It would hurt my feelings when I really want to care for him and he wouldn't let me. Still, we had to learn to respect his privacy. We needed to give him some time alone.

While registering for my next semester in college, I was beeped by my mother. It was the first time my mother gave me her beeper. Before I left, my mother and I agreed that she would only beep me in an emergency, so when I got the beep, I know what had happened. I was angry that I wasn't there at the exact moment my brother died..

There is a baseball field which Andrew's friends dedicated to him. There's even a plaque with his name on it. The plaque reads: May his dreams come to life on this field. I play softball there every Sunday.

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