On April 25th, I had an exam in my astronomy lab. Two minutes before the class started, my mother called. She sounded urgent and told me something was wrong. She asked if I had time to talk, but I didn't, and so I told her I would call her after my exam.

I rushed through it, barely conscious of the stars I was naming or the theories I was defending. I walked over to the bus stop, frantically dialing mom, but she didn't pick up. I called my dad's cell, and after three long, unbearable rings, he answered. He remained calm, but I could tell that he was pretty shaken about something. He told me that Maggie, my sister, was in the hospital, and that they didn't know what happened.

***

That Wednesday had begun as a pretty normal day for Maggie. She woke up, showered, had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, and drove to school. She dropped off the brothers, Matt and Zack, at the middle school and went around to the high school. She puttered through her first two classes, history and algebra, and went to her third class, study hall.

She really liked this class because she spent the entire time hanging out and playing cards with her friends. Today was no different, until she started to feel dizzy. Not sure of what was going on, she put her head down to try to clear her mind. When she felt a little better, she raised herself again. But the dizziness hit her, hard, and she collapsed. She fell out of her chair and hit her head on the hard tile floor. This was the last thing Maggie would remember for the next six days.

The teacher wasn't there that day, so the intern took over and found Maggie wasn't breathing. The school's hall monitor and police officer showed up almost immediately and performed CPR. If they hadn't been there, Maggie would have died. The principal called 911, and the firemen appeared within five minutes. They defibrillated her heart, reviving her, and put her on a gurney while mom arrived to find Maggie being carried out on a stretcher.

Mom jumped into the ambulance with Maggie and called dad to meet them at the hospital. She looked at Maggie's head; there was a gargantuan lump on the back of her head where she hit the ground. Maggie was flailing her arms, wild and crazy, and they had to strap her down. She was delusional and incoherent. Mom didn't cry until they arrived at the hospital; she was too busy worrying to cry.

At the hospital, they sedated Maggie and hooked her up to so many wires and tubes and machines that she looked like some sort of electric spider web. All they knew was that her heart had stopped; they had no idea why. When things calmed down enough, dad went to pick up the boys and mom called me.

***

This is, in a nutshell, what my dad told me that afternoon. He said my uncle, who lived near campus, was going to be coming down Friday, and that if I wanted to come down with him I could. In fact, he said, I probably should. But he left it up to me.

I spent that night and the next day debating whether or not I should go visit her. I knew that I should, that it was my duty as her brother to go. But from the sketchy details my dad had given me, I came to the conclusion that the worst was over, and that Maggie was going to be all right. I would be going home for the summer the next weekend and I could just see her then. Also, exam week was coming up, and we were celebrating my girlfriend's birthday that weekend. I decided that I would stay at State.

That whole week I called home every day to get an update. I talked to Maggie, but she didn't remember talking to me. She kept asking when I would be coming to see her, and I kept telling her I wouldn't be coming. She said she understood, but inside she was furious. I felt bad, but it wasn't my main concern. I didn't really appreciate how close to death she came -- I really thought that it was something she was going to bounce back from. I put Maggie on the back burner while I dealt with the rest of my life.

***

She was released from the hospital on May 4th, the same day I came home. The doctors had diagnosed her with Long QT Syndrome. Her resting heart rate was 30 beats per minute, less than half of what it should be. They put an implanted cardiac defibrillator, ICD, inside her chest so if her heart stops again, it will start it for her. She's so skinny that you can see it, a large lump 1" long and 2" wide, sticking out of her chest. Some kid tried to touch it at school, and she slapped him. Hard, too, from what I hear.

Maggie couldn't go to class full time for the rest of the semester. Her head injury had caused some cognitive problems, and so she went on a half-day schedule, alternating each day between her morning and afternoon classes. The school had arranged for her to pass all her classes regardless of her performance, and her teachers understood. She also had to quit track, and they weren't sure if she would be able to pick it up again in the fall. She spent most of her day doing what little homework she had and watching MTV and VH1.

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