Its 3 am, and I’m standing dumbfounded in the hospital surrounded by my crying family. The harsh pain of my father’s death hadn’t quite hit me. In every person’s life, there comes a point when they are faced with a hardship that changes their life in a profound way, and for me it was my father’s diagnosis and eventual death from brain cancer. I was only eleven when he was first diagnosed, I didn’t have any idea of the seriousness of the situation until he started getting worse. The first six months post diagnosis he was fairly normal. We would go longboarding around my neighborhood, walk my dog, and go for car rides. He seemed fine, the cancer was something in the back of my mind. After a year had passed, my father’s condition had deteriorated greatly. He could no longer walk up the stairs in my home, he could no longer complete many of the basic functions of life that many take for granted. Before this, I was hopeful that he would beat the cancer and my family could continue life normally. Now I knew he was going to die and there was nothing I could do about it. I remember asking my mom, would he beat the cancer? …show more content…
Would he regain his strength and become normal? My mom, holding back tears, responded saying that it was impossible. The last day I spent with my father is something that will forever stay in my memory.
He had been plagued with intense stomach pains stemming from the decline of his bodies strength for weeks, but this day was different. I could tell that something wasn’t right, he had never showed much of his pain throughout the ordeal but that day he did. As the day progressed my parents decided it would be best for an ambulance to come and take him to the hospital. The last words my father ever said to my sister and I was “I love you both so much, be good,” as he was being taken away by the paramedics. I watched teary eyed as he was driven away. After a few hours of passing the time with my grandparents we get a call from my mom saying we need to come to the hospital and say good bye. At 3am on August 9th 2013 my father died from complications in his brain
cancer. Looking back on the experience I’ve learned so much. Watching my father’s deterioration in health completely changed my views on a lot of things. One way the experience changed me was learning of the fragility of life. Almost every person sees themselves as untouchable, nothing or no one can hurt them. This experience showed me that was not the case. It showed me that life is not guaranteed, but rather it is a privilege. If you take what you have for granted you will die unfulfilled. During his diagnosis, my father made sure to live in the moment and do the things he loved, we went on a vacation, he met with old friends, and he had his favorite childhood foods. In his life, my father was a neurologist. Even though he had months to live he still worked at the job. This showed me that I needed to find something in my life that gave me a satisfaction that could not be taken away by any circumstance. Now that I know that my life can be taken at any moment has caused me to appreciate what I have so much more. The fact that I have a good education and a loving family is all I need for now.
Although some individuals may believe that it was a miracle that my father survived cancer, it was much more than that. The optimism of my family, friends, and loved ones enabled my dad to relieve his stress and focus on his cancer treatment. This situation has changed my mindset in life and it has provoked me to stay hopeful even when the odds are not in my favor. I’ve began to use positive thinking to help guide myself to my ambitions. This made my transition into adulthood much easier because I was prepared to deal with difficult situations. I began to cherish my loved ones even more than before. I realized all the luxuries that I had received and took for granted. I learned that the most important people in life is your family and without them, it’s near impossible to be successful. If my father had lost his fight, I would have had to become more independent as I would become the man of the house. Going into adulthood, I’ve learned that I should take situations into my owns hands rathering that relying on others. Some people that may be there for you today, may not be there
I was 10 when my mother was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer. Naturally, I was scared and the thought of losing my mother was something I couldn’t fathom. My mom’s strength throughout her treatment was almost unbelievable. She drove
It was during this time that I received the news that my papa was diagnosed with brain cancer.. I remember how we had to be strong as a family to help my each other go through a battle. This made my view about my family change. Thanks to this event, I became closer than ever with my family. Three months before he died, he told me he wouldn’t be around much longer. At first I was miserable. I remember just think it was all a dream and I believing that he wouldn 't die. I cried when I learned that he didn’t have long to live. The idea of him dying and what it would actually mean to not have him around. Dearing this time I experienced a few behavior
One fateful day at the end of June in 1998 when I was spending some time at home; my mother came to me with the bad news: my parent's best friend, Tommy, had been diagnosed with brain cancer. He had been sick for some time and we all had anxiously been awaiting a prognosis. But none of us were ready for the bumpy roads that lay ahead: testing, surgery, chemotherapy, nausea, headaches, and fatigue. Even loud music would induce vomiting. He just felt all around lousy.
In the process of reading chapter two, I immediately thought back two years ago. I had the worst Stressor. I've had in my only 16 years of living. My great grandmother, who I lived with along with my mother, my whole life. She passed from stomach cancer. September 14 2013, I remember getting out of the shower with a smile on my face, and my grandmother casually walking in and said "Granny died at 2:34 this morning. I'm going to Chicago and I'll come back the day before the funeral. " My family works in the funeral industry but we do not own a funeral home and we have never buried such a close family member of ours. With my Step father and my mother losing their minds, and my little sister not knowing how to process this and my aunt just down right disappearing, I had to handle this. I was 14 at the time and I was calling on older friends to take me to the bank, finishing arrangements, picking clothes, doing the memorial video and the catering because none of my family offered to cook. I was panicking and literally running from place to place because I was trying to get things done. I was eating more and sleeping less, and from
Imagine having to wake up each day wondering if that day will be the last time you see or speak to your father. Individuals should really find a way to recognize that nothing in life is guaranteed and that they should live every day like it could be there last. This is the story of my father’s battle with cancer and the toll it took on himself and everyone close to him. My father was very young when he was first diagnosed with cancer. Lately, his current health situation is much different than what it was just a few months ago. Nobody was ready for what was about to happen to my dad, and I was not ready to take on so many new responsibilities at such an adolescent age. I quickly learned to look at life much differently than I had. Your roles change when you have a parent who is sick. You suddenly become the caregiver to them, not the other way around.
Today was such a hard day, because I have to see my mother married my father’s brother only a month after he died. It is very depressive having to go through this, I don’t hate them though, of course they are my family but I don’t agree with them. They could have wait, they could stayed alone or marry somebody else but that was disrespect toward my father who was always carrying and loving. I am really upset with my uncle for killing my father he was an amazing man, his own wife and brother dishonored him with such thing they have
“Do you think it’s time to wake her up?” “Maybe we can let her sleep for ten more minutes…” My parents thought they were being sneaky and quiet by talking in whispers, as if sharing a secret message that nobody else could hear, but I was already awake and alert. “Let’s go in.” I heard my mother’s voice coo as I braced my seven-year-old body for the terrible phenomenon about to occur. I curled up in a ball under my covers like an armadillo in the smoldering desert, as a warm tear slid down my cheek and a burst of light flooded the room. My parents walked in and shook my shoulder. I instantly started sobbing as I knew that this was something I did not want to go to at all. “This will be the worst day of my life,” I thought to myself, “...the day where I get rid of my benign tumor, the day I have knee surgery.”
I was squatting down surrounded by white walls, white floors, and bleached fluorescent lights. I was told that white bright colors represented safety, purity, and goodness but I only felt empty. Feeling empty was something that I have never felt before, being in the hospital only made it worse. This was the first time that I had been to the hospital in a month.
Losing a loved one is a traumatic event in everyone's life. It is the most painful and emotional experience one can go through. Unfortunately, it happened to me when I was only fourteen. I lost my father on July 14, 2012. That was by far the worst day of my life.
It took me and the rest of my family awhile for it to all sink in. My mom was gone every day with all her sisters for different amounts of time visiting him, taking care of him. He lived in Turlock also so it was not that hard for our family to go visit him. Although he lived near we had to cope with my mother being gone all the time. But it was necessary for all of us to try to help him the best way we could even though the cancer was
There are many obstacles that I have faced in my lifetime. The biggest one that I have ever faced, however, was being diagnosed with cancer at eight years old. This was a huge setback for an ambitious, outgoing, eight-year-old kid. I didn’t truly know how to handle the news at first. I was stuck in a hospital room, wires and needles poking out of me from all directions, very confused.
On the day my father died, I remember walking home from school with my cousin on a November fall day, feeling the falling leaves dropping off the trees, hitting my cold bare face. Walking into the house, I could feel the tension and knew that something had happened by the look on my grandmother’s face. As I started to head to the refrigerator, my mother told me to come, and she said that we were going to take a trip to the hospital.
It was Friday night, I took a shower, and one of my aunts came into the bathroom and told me that my dad was sick but he was going to be ok. She told me that so I did not worry. I finished taking a bath, and I immediately went to my daddy’s house to see what was going on. My dad was throwing-up blood, and he could not breath very well. One of my aunts cried and prayed at the same time. I felt worried because she only does that when something bad is going to happen. More people were trying to help my dad until the doctor came. Everybody cried, and I was confused because I thought it was just a stomachache. I asked one of my older brothers if my dad was going to be ok, but he did not answer my question and push me away. My body shock to see him dying, and I took his hand and told him not to give up. The only thing that I heard from him was, “Daughters go to auntie...
my Dad passed away from hemorrhaging. My dad was on a curative path there was no cancer in his body when he died. I believe that my Dad having cancer changed his life in more ways than one. My Dad gained his faith, something he had struggled with since he was younger. I believe everything happens for a reason, we do not always know these reasons but that is the whole point of life. It taught me to see the light in the darkness, the good in the bad. I know my dad is in an amazing place now, there is no doubt in my mind.