Some people, some great people deserve to live forever, or at least die in a worthy or in a fulfilling way. I just got the short end of the bargain, I just got one of the worst things on this earth, cancer. Anyone can get the disease, but the way I see it, it seems unfair and unruly that pure souls could end up with a painful and undeserving demise. Unfortunately, I was one of those pure souls. I deserved nothing of what was coming to me. As I remember, I never gave into the temptations of the world and was always kind-hearted. Although I had the traits of someone extraordinary, the only thing I was proud of was my family, not money or being well known, just my family. My son Gary was special out of my other two children. He spent all …show more content…
71 years with me while I was alive and he spent every second he could with me. Even though I may not seem so important to the world, I was the world to some people. Everyone who came across me always remarked my kindness, caringness, and faithfulness in some way. Unfortunately, good and wonderful things, even people come to an end, sometimes it’s a peaceful journey or a sudden and terrifying journey. My father was basically the only male in my life, until he became ill with leukemia on his foot and left the earth when I was only 10 years old.
Ever since then I had to grow up with an unhealthy relationship with my mother and I couldn’t have a relationship with my siblings since I didn’t have any. The responsibility fell on me to provide for her, family, and friends. When you’re that young with so much responsibility you think serious thoughts. I promised myself that whenever I had kids I would take them everywhere, do everything with them, be together, and give them everything I never had. When I was merely 17 years old, I fell in love with my wife, Susan. For 54 years we were together in Millersburg and Elizabethville and I couldn’t ask for anyone better. After that we had our first son, Gary. He was my first son and that alone gave me so much joy. Later came Tina and Don Jr., They were my pride and joy too and I kept my promise that I made to myself when I was young, but their interests changed. Gary was the only child who fulfilled my promise completely. He wanted to be exactly like me, and frankly, the world needed more Donalds …show more content…
Carns’. I introduced him to all of my trades, beekeeping, carpentry, scuba diving, and plane flying, just to name a few. He took what I loved and he began to love them equally as I. He took beekeeping as a profession and it’s still alive today. We were a father son business and I honestly couldn’t ask any more out of him for that time I had with him. We would work everyday on something new, like entering our product in the Pennsylvania Farm Show and the Pennsylvania Gratz fair. We would always win some kind of award, but I didn’t care about that, I was just proud of my son and his children that would help out with the shows and fairs. Everyday was an adventure with the family, but I soon realized that my life was being taken away from me. A couple years before my death I had surgery to take off cancer on the bottom of my foot. I soon developed a bump on my leg, they told me it was from the surgery and that I just had to go to physical therapy. That’s what I did for many months, but the bump never seemed to go away. Later, I went to the doctor’s and they said that my bump was actually cancer in October of 2014. At first I wasn’t hurt or discouraged by it, I already concurred cancer once in my life and I can do it again. I went about my life normally and did everything I usually did. When they put me on treatments that’s when I started to leave my normal life behind and go into a sick solitude. I would say my biggest set back in my condition was when Gary and I went down to South Carolina for a business trip. Susan packed everything I could possibly need for my condition, my medicine, health powers, protein drinks, and vitamins, basically all of major health and immune boosting supplements were all with me on that trip. About halfway to our destination, I could not feel my legs, it wasn’t a “it’s so cold I can’t feel my legs” this was a you could whack a baseball bat to my legs and I wouldn’t be able to feel them. I was then taken to a nearby hospital where it was determined that I was internally bleeding (partially because I had my throat stretched so I can eat better that they cut the inside of my stomach and throat), losing fluids. I had more cancer that was now in my brain, lungs, and well, basically everywhere. we quickly found out that whatever treatment I was on, wasn’t working whatsoever. I guess you could say I wasn’t in the best shape of my life to say the least. From that point on, my life was hospital trips, radiation, and in my mind, unnecessary pills that I had to take constantly.
I was skin and bones, I was unable to do anything on my own. I was bed bound with intense pain every minute I was alive. The pills only made me hallucinate and I didn’t feel like I was on the earth but in a terrible world and I couldn’t live like that, knowing I was drugged out of my mind when I passed. My family took care of me, they did everything for me. I was basically a baby with no clue what was going on and helpless. I couldn’t imagine how heartbreaking it must of been for them to see me like that, I never intended for them to see what they saw in their once healthy and happy
grandpa/father. On May 20, 2015 I took my final breath on earth and passed away to one of my favorite records. In a way it was peaceful, I had no pain and I was finally free. Also in a way it was painful because I was in the most pain someone could imagine. You see, when people are in pain they usually clench their teeth, I did that so much and so hard that my back molars broke off. As you could tell, my pain was pretty bad, but I was finally at peace. In my lifetime, I learned that you have to take pride in what is yours. I took pride with Gary, my business and in everything. I couldn’t have been happier with my life because I made the best of it, even though it was cut short, in many ways. My pride for my wife, children, grandchildren, and so forth, never ended. I still live among them in spirit and in memories and they know I’m in a much better place and dancing with angels. I have lived, I have hurt and I have become great. I never really wanted to be great, but you give what you get.
When I was a child I thought everybody’s family would be the same, just your average family like mine and yours. My life as a child was a carefree life, I didn’t care for much, except stuff like doctors or dentist, I’ve done pretty much what an average kid did, I thought we had a good life going. When I went to my classmate’s house or meet their family they seemed like they were average to me. I never thought about how us as a family would have any trouble in the world, I was wrong.
No one thought I’d survive it. I did. A crazy amount of opiates mixed with barbiturates; I planned and planned. Waking up in a daze, unable to talk, unable to walk, everything shaking. Blood pressure too low to take a sample, drifting in and out of consciousness. On breathing machines, ready to be intubated at any minute, mother and father watching their child die; I remember none of it.
My new level of maturity sparked within me from the very beginning. Being the oldest of my siblings, I played a very significant role in their lives. Influencing their lives by being a positive role model was a crucial factor through the divorce. While my parents were out working, I became a parent figure in my siblings lives by cooking them dinner and by driving them to the places they needed to go. I’ve
Death is inevitable, caused by nature that one cannot avoid.
Growing up in Mobile, Alabama as a young girl I had to grow up fast.Taking lots of responsibilities. I always been the middle child on both my mother and father side. Its very difficult dealing with your younger siblings making sure their ok. As I grew older my parents always expected more from me than the rest of my siblings. I always had more to do around the house than the others, I thought it was unfair. One day I went to my parents and asked them why do they put so much pressure on me? Why am I doing everything around the house? They then said back because baby you work well under a lot of pressure in this world its going to be people pressuring you everyday.
Growing up in a big family has taught me so many things... One, to never take things for granted and two, you always have someone to rely on and always have fun with. Being the youngest sibling and youngest cousin, i’ve gotten to hear so many of their life changing experiences, and the one that has had the biggest impact is TWB. My older cousin Whitney Miller went on TWB in 2001 where she met her husband John Miller. My other cousin Zach went in 2008, and my uncle John Ellington was counselor for 2 years. Getting to hear the different stories and perspectives of their journey on TWB has made me wish to have the life changing experiences they still continue to talk about. I go to school at Community School of Davidson and I have since kindergarten.
Growing up as an only child I made out pretty well. You almost can’t help but be spoiled by your parents in some way. And I must admit that I enjoyed it; my own room, T.V., computer, stereo, all the material possessions that I had. But there was one event in my life that would change the way that I looked at these things and realized that you can’t take these things for granted and that’s not what life is about.
Next week is the five year anniversary of my dads passing. He went to be with the Lord on June 14th. Seven days shy of his birthday. [Dad did everything in seven’s, it was his favorite number.] When this popped up in my Facebook Memories this morning, I started thinking about the many different examples my parents sat for me growing up. Especially the ones my father sat. I spent far more time with my mom, but the time I spent with dad was always special. Dad really did teach by example. I can remember shopping as a family. Kids want to touch everything. Dad always told me to put my hands in my pockets. If I didn’t have pockets, I was to put my arms behind my back and hold my wrist. He made sure he did whatever it was I had to do. He also told
I never would have imagined feeling like an outsider in my own home. Unfortunately I wouldn’t even go as far as considering my current home as “my home.” I live in a house with eight people and two dogs and for some, that might not even be slightly overwhelming, but for me it is. I try to keep my heart open about the situation, but I always end up feeling like I don’t belong. Given the circumstances of my situation, I would say life definitely turned out better than what I initially expected, but I was left feeling like a “stranger in a village” having to live with a family that is nothing like my own.
In the past couple years, I faced emotions of loneliness, worthlessness and even depression. I spent those years trying to figure out what was the cause of these serious emotions and one of the answers that I stumbled upon was when I finally talked to a therapist about dealing with my depression. The simple answer was the relationship with my family and the environment I was in; Figuring out what to do about it was the next giant leap. Throughout history, America has been known as an immigrant country that uses the phrase “The American Dream” over and over, but what is it really? “That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” (James Truslow
While growing up, the external social cues were that women needed to be taken care of and that while a job was nice, the family should be the highest of importance in a woman’s life. That was not the dominant theme in my family narrative. A prevalent theme throughout the generations in my family is that women are independent to the point of being ruthless. In addition, marriage is not always forever is another theme that accompanies women are independent. Additionally, women were not always the primary caregiver for the family; men often contributed as caregivers to the children.
Although I am only sixteen years old and in the eleventh grade of high school, many things have influenced me and caused me to be the person that I am today. I hope that these things will continue to help me be a better person and influence me as my life continues. Some of the things that have influenced me have been church, my family, my friends, and school.
There were many days that passed when I felt as though I wasn’t going to make it and I felt as though I didn’t deserve to be alive, but who is really ready to take care of a child anyhow? I wasn’t. Then one day I woke up and realized that my life would go on, and that I just had to do the best I could and learn from my mistakes.
As I was wondering about what to write about, I realized that the debilitation of the family unit is what causes so many of the problems today. Drugs, sex, and violence are all prompted by a lack of respect for bodies and other people. Children need to be loved, encouraged, and taught. Without proper guidance a child will not have the confidence or knowledge to make good, morally sound decisions.
Would you want to live forever ? My position on this topic is equal upon