As I exited the plane after a gruesome nine hour ride, I was greeted with the nostalgic atmosphere of Krakow, Poland. Walking down the steps that led me to the airport, my mind flooded with thoughts of how I was going to spend my one month vacation here in Poland with my family. However, one thing stood out to me the most. It wasn't the annual expeditions we had of hiking through the Tatra Mountains, or ziplining through the Polish wilderness, or spending time with my childhood friends .It was finally being able to see my relatives that I am able to visit only once every few years. I grabbed my traveling case, and these thoughts came to an abrupt stop as I was greeted by a familiar smile: the smile of my Wojek (Uncle) Alex. I immediately dropped my items and ran to him as fast my little legs could, and jumped to give him a hug. However, I wasn't met with the usual bear hug and booming laugh. My uncle seemed weak and tired. His overall appearance looked pale …show more content…
She began explaining that Wojek Alex had been recently diagnosed and suffering from a condition called Stage 2 Hypertension. By definition, Stage 2 Hypertension is when an individual’s systolic pressure is 160 mm Hg or higher or your diastolic pressure is 100 mm Hg or higher. Wojek AlLex had been suffering from both. As a result of Stage 2 Hypertension, individuals often have damaged organs, arteries; suffer from fatigue, weakness, dizziness. This made complete sense in regards to my uncle since he was unable to attend many of our family gatherings and trips due to his weak state. Although I had little understanding of what this meant, I knew something was wrong because Wojek Alex was not the energetic, lively person he used to be. My uncle was the person I looked forward to the most during this trip; however this time, I did not know whether he would attend anything