All Chapters of I Had a Heart Attack During Orientation: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

“How much longer do you plan on staying sprawled on the ground?”Dad’s voice thundered so loudly that everyone on the field could hear it.More than 3,000 students stood under the baking sun, but no one dared to breathe too loudly.One side of my face was stuck to the sizzling rubber of the running track. My chest felt so tight that I could have sworn there was a block of cement crushing it. Every breath tasted metallic in my mouth.There was a small bottle of medication I could feel against my thigh, but I could not muster up the energy to grab it.One of the orientation leaders, Mr. Mantooth, could not watch any longer. He was new to the school and had only been sent here this year. He was not even thirty years old.He bent down, reaching out to press the back of his palm to my forehead. He turned to Dad and said, “Mr. Helman, Felix is really burning up. Can we let him rest in a shady area?”Dad glared at him. “Lead your own group, Mr. Mantooth. You don’t have to interfere

In a diner across the street from the school, the air conditioning was on full blast, and it was like a winter wonderland there. Today was the last day of orientation, so Dad had reserved the whole diner. The tables were all piled with food, and it was all stuff Dad liked to eat—cheeseburgers, fishsticks, onion rings, and a huge serving of fries. None of it was the kind of food I liked. I had a weak constitution from a young age, and I could not handle all this fried food. When Mom cooked, she made sure that everything was soft and that she used as little oil and salt as possible. Dad would complain about it every time. “What in the world is this? It tastes like air.”“Come, Jamie. Have another burger.”Dad passed Jameson a burger. The patty was thick and juicy.Jameson smiled and thanked Dad. He ate so heartily that his face was smeared with oil. There was a sense of satisfaction in the way Dad looked at him. His expression said, “Look at how hale and hearty this boy

The emergency room of First Memorial Hospital was a bustle of activity. The smell of antiseptic that pervaded the hallways was so strong that it made people want to puke. I was inside the emergency room receiving emergency treatment.Dad sat on a chair. His back was stiff and straight. His hands were shaking. He gripped the reports from the orientation so hard that his knuckles were white. Mr. Mantooth stood in a corner, gray-faced and silent. Dr. Lansing leaned against the wall. His face was pale. Mom sat on the opposite row of chairs. Her gaze was pinned on the emergency room doors. Her knees were grazed. The blood on her knees was mixed with dirt, but she did not seem to notice it at all. “You’d better be ready for some bad news, Mr. Helman,” Dr. Lansing said finally. “We brought him here too late. His pupils were totally dilated, and his body temperature was so high. There was no response even after doing CPR for half an hour. He’s already—”“Shut up.” Dad’s voice

At some point, Mom walked over to stand behind Dad. “I warned you,” she said. Her voice was soft, but her words cut like knives. “I told you Felix had a heart condition when we got the first diagnosis. I told you he couldn’t do strenuous exercise. What did you say in response? You said no one in the past three generations of the Helman family had any heart issues. You told me not to trick you with that stuff.”Dad did not say anything. “Before orientation started, I asked if he could sit it out or do something else. What did you say? ‘What kind of man skips out on an event like an orientation? It’s your fault he’s so dead now.’”Dad suddenly stood up. He walked to my desk and flipped open a notebook. Inside was a piece of paper with lines of scrawled handwriting. It was not a journal of complaints. It was a log.[Ran three miles. Chest started hurting about halfway through. Took five pills and made it through.][Vision started going spotty at eighty-first push-up. Took five