Holidays are annual. Every holiday that approaches have the same patterns. When Thanksgiving rolls around, people prepare by buying food and setting out decorations, when Christmas comes, they put up lights, set up trees and get gifts for people. Something most don’t think about, however, is when those annual plans change. A car crash or a death in the family can change everything.

Sophomore Dustin Rittenberry and freshman Jose Guerrero both will have been in a hospital during the holidays. Rittenberry will be at the hospital this week to get surgery on his knee, he will be in surgery for about four hours but will have to attend physical therapy for approximately three to six months. Rittenberry is nervous for his surgery, hoping that everything will go smoothly and that he’ll be treated fairly. He is disappointed that he won’t be able to see the christmas lights outside on the houses because he will just have had surgery.

Guerrero has an uncle that has been in and out of the hospital. Guerrero’s uncle has spent a little more than a month’s time all together in the hospital for a broken pelvis. The time spent away has been overwhelming for Guerrero, and in a way, indescribable.

“The past Thanksgiving we weren’t with him, and it was rough,” Guerrero said.

The whole process has felt like a big family reunion to Guerrero. Both Rittenberry and Guerrero have missed a little part of recent or will miss a part of upcoming holidays due to having surprises come up, things that weren’t in the plan.