The cold, brisk air blew across my face and I could hear the distant laughs coming from the kids playing just around the corner. I glanced down, bringing my full attention to the tinted orange leaves getting tossed around by the wind. I take a deep breath in through my nose and out through my mouth. On that final breath, I smelt something peculiar and it was almost alerting but I was still unsure of what or where it was coming from. I took a look around but I was instantly interrupted by a high pitched scream followed by a giant cloud of smoke exploding up into the air above my house. I sprinted towards my house panicked and confused of what was going on. My heart was racing and my entire face turned pale white as I heard outlying sirens become louder as they grew closer. I arrived to my family standing with tears trickling down their cheeks just in front of the home I took my first steps in,  covered in flames. I ran towards my family, squeezing each one of them as tightly as I possibly could shaking with fear.
“911 my house . . . my . . . my . . . my house,” My mother stuttered.
“Maam, we’re going to need you to tell us what’s wrong with your house,” The call-taker responded.
“My house is in flames,” She said in a panicked voice
“Is everyone safe and out of the house?”
“My son...my son’s still in there.”
“Stay calm, we’re sending help right away Ma'am.”

My hands were trembling and I couldn't help but to think what I did to deserve this. There were so many questions spinning around in my mind but no answers. As we waited for the arrival of the paramedics and firefighters, I realized something was off. I looked around as my heart rate increased, slowly realizing that my brother wasn’t anywhere to be found.
“Mom, where . . . is Gage!?”
My mom gazed at me with her eyes full of tears and no response. For a second, I didn’t understand why my mom wouldn’t answer me but then it all made sense. Gage was taking a nap when I last saw him and he must have not woken up when the fire was started.  My mom had nothing left to give so I knew I had to take charge even if it meant risking my own life. I covered my mouth as I ran in trying to avoid breathing in the smoke. The deeper I got into my house, the more distant the screams from my mom became. I had so many thoughts spinning through my head but I had to put those aside, and focus on getting my brother to safety. I ran throughout my house with my hands in front of me feeling my way towards my brothers room. I finally approach my brother’s room and it’s filled completely with a giant cloud of smoke. It’s too dark to see anything so I attempted to call out for him, hoping for a response.
“Gage . . . Gage . . . Gage are you there!?”
Not one single response, just silence. Right when I felt like I was losing hope, I thought of an idea. I began to feel across the wall for the light switch when the tip of my finger bumped it, turning it on. I began clearing the smoke by wafting my hands to and fro when “BANG!"

I slowly squinted my eyes open to an all white room with a group of unknown people staring down at me.
“Should we tell her the news or is it too much for her right now,” Dr. Smith mumbled.
“I think it’s best for her to know as soon as possible,” Dr. Hampshire replied.
“I’ll break the news to her slowly and give her some time alone.”

The doctors have been whispering for what feels like forever and I feel as if my heart is going to jump out of my chest. Each minute that passes, more anxiety builds up inside me. I want to interrupt the conversation between the two doctors to ask why exactly I am here but it seems as if there preparing to talk to me soon so I decide to wait there in complete silence.
“Hello Lexi, I first want to introduce myself. I am Dr. Smith and you are currently in the hospital. I don’t intend to freak you out more than you already are but unfortunately, I have some very bad news. You were in a severe accident and I am not sure of what you remember from it. There was a house fire that occured and your brother was stuck in it so you tried to run into help him. Sometime during this, you became unconscious from the excessive amount of smoke and passed out in your brother's bedroom. When you were passed out on the floor, the light shattered and the glass pierced through your leg. We successfully removed all the glass but due to the conditions you were under, we were required to amputate your leg.”

I was completely speechless. There was nothing to say except why. Why did this happen to me? Why did that light have to fall? Why did they have to remove my leg? None of this made sense to me and I didn’t know what to do or say. I grasped the blanket covering my leg and lifted it up slowly. One leg. That’s all that’s left. How can I walk with one leg? It didn’t make sense to me. All I can feel is anger and sadness built up inside of me making me just want to scream. I sit up facing the doctor as I clench my fists, trying my very best not to explode.
“Listen, I understand this is really hard for you to take in right now but I need you to take a few deep breaths and relax while I get your mother,” Dr. Smith murmured.

As I waited for my mom to walk in, I thought to myself for a moment. If I sit here bringing myself down for my whole life, that won’t do anything for me or for anyone else. I realized that nothing good would come out of living my entire life in sadness all because of one accident. I decided that I had to push through this and gain my confidence back even if it meant a lot of hard work and determination. Just as I got lost in the deepness of my thoughts, my mom walked in with tears running down the side of her face.
“Honey, I am so sorry this happened to you, It’s all my fault,” My mom whimpered.
“This is not at all your fault. It was my choice to try to help Gage, not yours,” I replied.
“I should have followed you instead of just standing there screaming your name repeatedly.”
“You don’t need to feel bad. What happened, happened and there’s nothing we can do about it now.”

My mom and I talked for a while which led to a long meaningful hug that lasted for a pretty long time but I didn’t mind. It was nice finally getting to bond with my mom since we never really see each other anymore with her working full time. My mom insisted on helping me get through this which led to me explaining that I was going to learn from this by focusing on reaching my goal to be able to walk again.

November 25, 2018 marks the one year anniversary of when my leg was amputated. Training has been going well and I’ve pretty much gotten used to the whole one leg situation. Once in awhile, I’ll forget and go to take a step with my other leg and stumble but that doesn’t happen as often anymore. I’ve had some breakdowns here and there but those happen rarely now. I often find people staring along with pointing at the empty space where my leg should be but I try not to get bothered by it as much as I used to. I’m not able to walk on my own yet but I have improved a lot and If I keep working hard, I should be able to walk without assistance.

November 25, 2019. Everything has been going very well. Training has continued throughout the year and today was the final day. This year went pretty smooth besides a few bumps in the road but nothing too bad. I couldn’t be more grateful for the people who have worked and trained with me for these past two years because without them, I would still be lying in bed. All my motivation has come from my family and I love them all dearly. Two years ago, I felt like giving up and that there was no hope left for anything but today, I see that if you never give up, you can truly conquer whatever you wish to. Today I am going out and sharing my story with young children who have similar conditions and If everything works out, I’ll have the opportunity to train them to overcome their problem as well.