Jen and Rafeek

Well for my hero I picked my parents Jen Kaplinski-Latiff and Rafeek Junior Latiff. They were both born in the same year my fathers birthday is April 01 so, yes, my dad is an April Fools baby. It's pretty funny. My parents are the type of people who are strong, kind, responsible and very smart. My dad works at Honda and he has been working there since he was 17. My mom on the other hand does home child care and has been doing it since she was 21 years old. My parents were 18 when I was born. Hi,my name is Tamara. I live in Barrie, Ontario Canada. I'm in grade seven in Mr. Odette's class and I go to W.C Little Elementary School. Today I will be explaining why my two parents are my heroes in my life back then and to this day on. So I hope you enjoy the story that I have put together to show many people that it's gonna be okay. Sometimes life can be hard but you can manage it. And that's what my parents did and I'm really proud of that.

When I was born, I was a very healthy baby but as soon as I turned six years old I was starting to black out and have my eyes roll back in my head. My parents didn't know what it was and so they took me to the doctors to check it out. After a week or so I was diagnosed with epilepsy. I used to cry and say I was stupid and dumb. My parents would always be upset knowing what I thought about myself. They didn't know what happened and were scared so after a week the doctor told my mom that I need to take this medication that would help me out with the epilepsy. Boy let me tell you I hated taking that. It tasted like puke! EWWWWWWW!!

Now the real and inspiring part of this story is that my mom and dad saved my life and if they weren't there I would not be standing where I am today. Well one night I was going up to get my pj's on and as well as my mom. That's when it happened. I had a seizure right on the stairs. Luckily when I went to fall back shaking, my mom caught me in her arms. My mom yelled "RAFEEK COME HELP!! YOUR DAUGHTER IS HAVING A SEIZURE!" My dad raced up the stairs and carried me up and laid me down on the ground until I came back to planet earth. After my parents told me what happened and I was so confused. From then on, my parents started having to wait in the bathroom while I was taking a shower just so they knew I was okay. Then my mom would sometimes sleep with me so she knew I was okay, even sometimes my dad. My parents always knew how to make me think positive of myself and it was just by saying, "Tamara, you are not stupid or dumb. You are very smart and you are the best thing that ever happened to me and your dad and you are gonna get better because we are gonna pull through this, baby girl."

After I turned ten years old I went to see the doctor and how the medication was doing with me. The doctor had to hook up a whole bunch of wires to my head from a big machine, also connected to a computer, to see how my brain works. The test came back saying my brain has been getting better but afterwards told us to come back tomorrow. So of course we came back and they gave me an x-ray and the test came back awesome as well. My mom was so proud to hear the news and it just made us all happy again. My mom ended up noticing that I wasn't having a seizures as much as I did in the beginning and she knew that she was doing good with me. My mom was so much happier and started to smile more. After a month I went back to the doctors so they could take a sample of my blood and then send it off to be tested. After they did, they told my mom that they would let us know if I would be cured of epilepsy or if I would have this sickness for the rest of my life. A week later we got a phone call saying that the test results came back and I couldn't believe it I was cured of epilepsy and I was so proud but also sad. I was happy because I was cured and I didn't have to take that awful medication but sad because I used to be an B student and now I would be a C-D student and it sucked.

The way my parents overcame their obstacle was when they would see me smile and that they knew they were helping me get better. One interesting fact is that my parents still finished school when they had me with them and they wanted to show me that they could accomplish things and finish school as well. My heroes inspired me to believe in myself and that I can do anything if I put my mind to it and also don't get pregnant at a young age because there are a lot of responsibilities to it. My parents were inspired by my dad's mom and dad, Rafeek and Vera Latiff, because they gave them a home, food and showed them what to do with me before I came so my parents Knew what to do and how to do it right. Now you are probably wondering where was my mom's mom. Well, that is pretty sad story so I'll make it short. My grandma Liz had cancer and was in the hospital for a bit until she was cured and was able to help my mom out and visit me all the time and I'm very lucky to have grandmas like them.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF I STILL HAD EPILEPSY?
1) I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DRIVE
2) I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO GET A NORMAL JOB LIKE A DOCTOR OR TEACHER
3) I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO LIVE ON MY OWN OR TAKE A NORMAL SHOWER

Well, now you know why I consider my parents as heroes because they took care of me and saved my life too. Thank you for reading my biography, bye:)

RESOURCES ARE:
Grandma Latiff
Grandma Liz
Grandpa Rick
Grandpa Latiff