The phone call wasn’t another birthday wish. It was about her mother’s heart.

Jasmine Hutchison wanted a classic 21st birthday celebration.

She’d never been all that interested in drinking alcohol but still wanted to go out to a bar in Indianapolis to mark the occasion. That’s what you’re supposed to do when you turn 21, she thought.

Her mother, Hope Hooks, talked about going with her. She even picked out an outfit and asked Jasmine to do her hair.

Yet Jasmine knew her mom might not be up to it.

Hope was 46 and had been dealing with an irregular heartbeat for 10 years. An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) helped regulate her heart rhythm. The device delivers an electric shock if her heart falls out of rhythm. A week before Jasmine’s birthday, the ICD went off. In the days after that, Hope’s heart issues left her so fatigued that she had to sit out her youngest child’s 10th birthday party.

Still, Jasmine held out hope. “For a minute, I actually thought she was coming,” she said.

Then, on the big day, Hope told Jasmine: “I’m sorry, I have to stay in because I’m feeling too tired to go out.”

So Jasmine left her mom at home and headed to a club with her friends. At midnight, her parents called to wish her a happy birthday the minute she turned 21. She left the club and went to a friend’s place.

The next morning, Jasmine’s dad called. She immediately knew he wasn’t calling with another “Happy birthday.”

“The hospital just called and said mom’s defibrillator is not showing a signal,” Kenny Hooks said.

He couldn’t immediately leave work, so Jasmine sped home. When she saw that the family dog was in its crate, she knew it meant her mom had not let him out.

Then Jasmine found Hope on the kitchen floor. She wasn’t breathing, and her skin was cold.

Kenny arrived soon after. As did an ambulance and a fire truck. But it was too late for a medical response. Hope had passed away on Jasmine’s 21st birthday, Dec. 1, 2014. Her death was attributed to a combination of paroxysmal ventricular fibrillation and chronic systolic and diastolic heart failure.

“Most people dream of their 21st birthday as being some sort of official welcome party to adulthood, but mine will always be a nightmare,” she said.

Jasmine’s birthday marked a less celebratory welcome to adulthood. She put a return to college on hold to help take care of her younger siblings Jalen and Jada, then 10 and 14, and support her grieving father.

“I had to grow up really fast,” Jasmine said.

Kenny urged her to go back to school. “But she wouldn’t do it,” he said. “She knew I was struggling and needed help. She’s my strong side.”

Jasmine returned to school a few years later once her family was in a more stable place. She’s since gotten married, moved into her first house, and now lives in Indiana with her husband and two dogs, Hope and Halo.

“It’s been really tough,” said Jasmine, who will pay tribute to her mother by participating in the American Heart Association Heart Walk in Indianapolis on Saturday, Sept. 20. “There are so many moments that you look forward to with your mom and I’m always thinking, ‘She would have loved this,’ or ‘I wish I could show this to her.’”

When she looks back on her 21st birthday, Jasmine recognizes how much strength she found to keep going through her grief.

“In those quiet moments before anyone else arrived after my mom died, it was just me, my mom and God,” she said. “I remember sitting on the floor beside her, overwhelmed and wondering what my life would look like moving forward.

“If you had told me then that I’d be where I am today, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

Stories From the Heart chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates.