My Big Strong Step-Daddy

When I was four years old, I moved to California with my mom so we could live with her new boyfriend, Tony Ortega.

                Tony’s image always scared me, he was bald, had a goatee, and had tattoos on his arms and back.  Though he looked scary, he was a very smart man, just wasn’t always careful.

                What I didn’t know was my mom had met Tony in a doctor’s office; he already had a series of problems, including kidney failure.  I was just getting ready for the ride.

                As I grew older, I would always argue with Tony, whether they were things I should be in trouble for or just things that didn’t make sense.  I would say those three words in my mind, “I-hate-you.” Not really knowing how strong hatred was.

                I was now 6 years old, Tony had just gotten his first kidney transplant; he was in pain now and everyday it seemed like he took it out on me.  I remember crying almost every night.  One morning, my mom told me Tony had proposed.  I started balling and said “How can you love him?”  I never got an answer, instead the next day Tony ended up in the hospital, his kidney transplant had failed.  After this, nothing got better.

                Tony worked at Foster Farms; he had worked in the back where he had to climb up freezers to get to meat and other supplies.  Tony’s boss was a close family friend; she knew how bad Tony’s health record was.  In 2004, during Thanksgiving break, I had been with my grandparents in Modesto when I got a very disturbing phone call from my mom.

                Tony had been in car crash, the problem was, Tony wasn’t in a car, he was riding his motorcycle.  He had broken his tibia and fibula in his right leg, and shattered his right hip.  His bone was sticking out of his leg; they had to remove skin from his lower back to cover the bone.  When Tony recovered, he didn’t seem like the same person anymore.  He didn’t walk with his chest puffed out and his head held high; instead he dragged his right leg, staggering from side to side.  But, when you called him, he still turned around and gave you his cheesy half smile.

                When Tony went back to work he struggled dragging himself up the freezers.  Several days went by and Tony still struggled, his boss Felicia told him he would have to retire.  Tony argued saying he could do it, that he loved his job and he wasn’t a quitter, but a fighter.  Felicia had no choice, but to let Tony go.

                On Halloween of 2006, Tony had told me he was sorry that I couldn’t trick or treat because I lived on a farm with no other houses.  Tony then went to the store to purchase three large bags of candy.  On the way back home, Tony had been hot by a car, and left there.  In the middle of the road lay my step-dad and his truck, surrounding his truck and himself, lay every piece of candy imaginable.

                In 2007, on a dark Sunday night, I was on the phone in my room.  I noticed my house seemed to quiet.  I told my friend to hold on, and I walked into the living room.  I then saw the most menacing sight that a twelve year old girl could see.  I dropped my phone and I soon was not able to breathe.  My face became warm, but my hands felt like ice.  I dropped to my knees, threw my hands in my face, and began to cry.  My mom had Tony in her arms, Tony was having a seizure not just that, he was having a seizure and a heart attack at the same time.  I called 911 and a friend that lived close by, once at her house I saw bright red lights out the window.  The next morning I found out Tony had survived.

                On a late fall night in 2008, my step-brothers girlfriend Loretta had been home watching Tony while no one else was home.  After awhile, Loretta helped Tony into the shower, closed the door and went in the living room to watch TV.  About 20 minutes later, Loretta heard the water turn off, then “BAM.”  Loretta ran for the bathroom, Tony had slipped and fell and now was unconscious.  Loretta quickly called my mother, my step-brother, and me.  Once everybody was there, Tony was awake.  But he didn’t know who anyone was.  My mom called 911 and we almost immediately heard sirens.  One the paramedics came in, Tony was naming everyone in the house, even the paramedics.  Tony said he felt fine and requested that the doctors leave.  Two days later my mom got a phone call from Tony saying that he wanted to go to the hospital.  My mom thought this was quite odd, because Tony NEVER wanted to go to the ER.  So my mom left work, and rushed home.  Once she got there, she called 911.  The paramedics rushed over, when the ambulance arrived, Tony no longer wanted to go.  My mom looked at Tony and said, “You requested an ambulance, which means something is wrong.” “I’m sorry babe, but you’re going.”

                Tony sighed, and proceeded to stand up. When Tony got there, the doctor looked at him.  The doctor had had found a bump on Tony’s head.  They assumed it was from the fall, but kept him just in case.  Days went by and tests were run.  The bump on Tony’s head, was brain cancer, and along with it, brought six months to live.

                Tony was admitted back home, along with his new hospital bed and IV.  As weeks went by, Tony looked worse.  He now had a poisonous spider bite on his foot.  His feet looked like huge duck feet.  On his right foot was a huge baseball sized lump.  Tony now didn’t eat, because he was never hungry, so he was anorexic.

                A few months later, I was on my way to Colleen's house to stay the night with a few girlfriends.  The night was going great, I wasn’t thinking of anything, just having fun.  Suddenly at midnight, I got in the worst mood possible.  I was giving attitude, being rude, and getting annoyed.  So, I ignored everyone and went to bed.  The next morning my mom came and picked me up.  Once in the car, my mom told me on April 10^th 2009 at midnight sharp; Anthony Jess Ortega had died in her arms.  Once I got home, I jumped on Tony’s chair, laid there, and cried.

                Anthony Jess Ortega didn’t get to see me graduate or marry my mom.  But, Tony did get to raise not just two kids, but three, because in my eyes, Tony will always be my big strong- step dad.

Author's Note

This is true, some names are changed for personal reasons