Terrible News and Panicking

Last Thursday (I think), my mom was put into the hospital. No one knew what was wrong with her. That is, until two days ago. On Sunday, September 2nd, Dad took Sara (my younger sister by 2 years) and I to see her at Medcenter One here in Bismarck after we got through with church. It was the first time Sara or I had seen her since the day she was put into the hospital. She told us that they had made a decision on what is apparently wrong with her. She told us that she has "cancer of the cervix" and that she was going to have to go to Minneapolis, Minnesota for surgery. It was some of the worst news I had heard in my life. Just as bad as when Mom told me that Clarence was dead when we were sitting in a waiting room at Medcenter One where Sara was at on the morning of November 7th, 2002. They had Mom go to Minneapolis yesterday, Dad going with her, leaving Sara and I at home on our own for the first time in our lives. Dad told us that they would be doing the surgery in Minneapolis and after Mom had recovered from that she would be brought back to Bismarck for Chemotherapy. I still can't believe this can possibly be happening; it still doesn't feel quite real.
This morning both Sara and I had to get up on our own for the first time in our lives and unfortunately we slept in until 7:00 a.m. We had to hurry to get up and deliver newspapers and all the while I was praying silently that I would be able to get finished in time to be able to take my shower and make it to the bus stop on N 3rd Street and Boulevard Ave. which is about 7 blocks from our house in time to make it to my first class and thankfully, and surprisingly, though I had pretty much jogged and quickly walked the entire way, I actually finished around 7:40 a.m., my best record yet for delivering newspapers yet, pretty good when it usually takes me one and a half to two hours to do the same number. But, when I got home, I realized I was locked out, so eventually after panicking for a while, I managed to find a ladder, go to my open window, which unfortunately had a screen, which I hope can be fixed after I pulled about half of it out of its frame, just enough for me to get in. I was desperate, and it's not like anyone would be around to unlock the door anytime soon. So, I managed to take my shower and get ready in time to start my walk to the previously specified bus stop, but I'm not sure that Sara made it to school on time, she still wasn't home by the time I left, so I left a note for her to lock the door after her and to make sure to take her key.
I got to the bus stop with just about 20 minutes to spare but first I went over to the US Bank, which is right across a parking lot from the bus stop, since I had to get change for a $20 (Dad had given us 2-$20, 1-$5, and 3-$1), since I apparently needed $35 (in exact cash) for a 30-day bus pass, which I figured would be cheaper then spending $10 a week for the bus. When I got on the bus, I discovered that they had changed the price for 30-day passes in June, apparently it is only $30 now for College students instead of the full price for an adult at $35. So, we ended up having instead of just $13 for whatever else we might need, we have $18, which coinsidentally is about the same amount I have left in my checking account after paying for my tuition today, thanks to the $125 that Mom had to lend me, since I didn't have enough for tuition without help.