This
day was very different. It was almost as if I knew something was going to go
wrong from the second I woke up in the morning. I was in the seventh grade and
I got dropped off at school by my neighbors, just as I did every morning. The
school day seemed fairly normal, however I knew something was different from
the second my mom picked me up. I didn’t get the usual “How was school?”
question, and she couldn’t even look in my direction. I noticed that her eyes
seemed swollen as if she had been crying for hours, and this was unusual for my
mom. She wasn’t the type to cry so I asked her right away what was wrong. I
asked her several times, but got no response. This told me that something serious
had happened while I was at school, and I just remained quiet the rest of the
way home.
As
we reached our neighborhood, my mom pulled into our driveway and she just
grabbed my hand. I asked her again what was wrong, and all I remember hearing
was, “your Grandma was diagnosed with Cancer today and she has been given two
months to live,” before my whole entire world went silent. I could see in my
peripheral my mom break into tears, but I couldn’t hear anything. It felt as if
I was paralyzed. I wanted to cry but no tears were forming. I wanted to talk
but no words were coming out of my mouth. I was in complete shock. I wanted to
comfort my mother, but I was just in too much disbelief. I got out of the car,
went straight upstairs and locked myself in the bathroom. I remember sitting
down on the floor and just thinking about everything I did and didn’t do with
my grandma. Depressing thoughts ran wild through my head and I continued to
beat myself down for how much I took her presence in my life for granted. I
could name millions of things she did for me, but what did I do for her? Why
didn’t I visit her more often? Why didn’t I tell her how much I appreciated her
more often? These were the types of questions I kept asking myself. Of course I
had always treated her with love and respect but I knew that I did not make her
feel as special as I could have.
As the weeks went on and my grandma started
her chemotherapy, I remember going through a stage of pure anger. I was so mad
at the world. Why my grandma? What did she do wrong to deserve this? What made
me the most angry was that everybody’s lives around me continued on normally. I
know this was so selfish of me, but I can remember looking around in my classes
and thinking, “Wow, all of these kids are happy while my family is completely
suffering.” Nobody knew I was sad and I didn’t want to put a burden on anybody
else around me by sharing my situation. I felt helpless.
After about three long years of
harsh treatments, invasive surgeries, and a ton of medication, my grandma had
an appointment that had the possibility of being life changing. This
appointment was going to include a full body scan to see if her cancer was
continuing to spread or if it was slowing down. All of my cousins and I missed
school and all of our family united in the waiting room to receive the news
together. The scan only took about an hour but after each minute passed it felt
like another has been added. The waiting room was completely quiet and we all
had tears streaming down our cheeks. Finally, we saw a nurse coming around the
corner and we all sat up in our seats. She introduced herself to us and
proceeded to give us the big news. I couldn’t stand the anticipation so I laid
my head into my lap while she talked. She went on for a couple of minutes about
the scan that my grandma had just underwent and then I heard her
say,”Congratulations, not only did her cancer stop spreading, it disappeared
completely.” As a family we all stood up and began embracing each other while
our tears of sadness turned into tears of utter joy.
Although
this event was one of the hardest things my family and I have had to endure
together, nothing has taught me more than my grandma being diagnosed with
breast cancer. I learned that life can be turned upside down in the snap of a
finger, and most importantly not to take anybody in life for granted. I also
learned, even though this may seem cliché, to make the most out of every single
day with my loved ones. As teenagers it’s so easy to get caught up in the little
things and we often forget about the bigger picture. We forget to go visit our
grandparents, family members, and friends because we are “too busy.” The sad
part is, one day the realization will occur that precious time with our loved
ones has been wasted. Normally the day we realize this is when it's too late.
So, my advice to you is to hug everybody that is important to you and let them
know how much you appreciate them. Not just once but all the time. You truly
never know when your life can make a turn for the worst.
It was a really cool idea to share this story. It was not hard for me to become involved in this piece, as a reader, because I know what those feelings are like. And they are terrible, but your message is louder than all those other feelings of pain and confusion. I loved how this story really ended in the best way, and you learned something important.
ReplyDeleteThis piece made me cry, but I cried with joy towards the end. A true life lesson that can be learned from your excellent piece. There was a few punctuation errors, yet your piece felt continuous and flowed with ease. It is hard to be able to accept such horrid news and you are very strong to share this with us. Great piece!
ReplyDeleteI understand and relate to your piece so much. It is nice knowing that there is someone who is potentially going through the same thing as me and it gives me a sense of comfort. Reading this made me go on an emotional rollercoaster and I was anticipating a happy ending. There was a sense of suspense which made me want to continue reading. I'm was so happy when I got to the last few paragraphs and felt relieved after hearing the good news. Your story had few errors, and a great structure. It showed the importance of not taking anyone for granted and cherishing all the times you have with loved ones. I loved this piece!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing such a personal experience, it is something that I can also unfortunately relate to as well. I was so nervous to read the ending, but I am so glad that everything ended up okay for you and your family. The detail that you used to recount what had happened made it simple to comprehend what was going on. I also think it was important that you stressed appreciating those around you. Great piece!
ReplyDeleteVanessa this is such a personal and emotional moment in your lifetime and thank you for sharing first of all. I really enjoyed reading this because there was so much emotion raging throughout the poem and I remember going through this with you as your friend in this period of your life. I was relieved that there was a happy ending but the ending is even better because you teach all of us what appreciation and gratefulness really is and you teach us through your experience.
ReplyDeleteVanessa, this was incredibly strong of you to share such a personal story. Not only did you convey such an import message in your post, you may have given people ill family members hope to not give up and your loved ones. Cancer is tricky and I am glad your grandma is doing better!!
ReplyDeleteI really respect that you published such a personal piece, the emotions and the feelings you expressed are so strong and it teaches a valuable lesson at the end. Everyone deals with problems but it is how you approach and act towards it, I will pray for your grandmother.
ReplyDeleteI respect you so much for sharing this personal and emotional story. It placed a unique outlook on clichés, but reading this, the process you endured, the plethora of emotions that you felt, made it seem special, but in the most impacting way. As teenagers, we do take a majority of the things and people surrounding us for granted, and you emphasized the importance of focusing on more important matters in life rather than the ridiculous things. Beautiful message!
ReplyDeleteI respect you for publishing your personal experience because I have to imagine that it was difficult talking about this. This made me emotional since I have had family members that had cancer. Its as if it happens to good people but stuff like that happens. I'm happy that your grandma is ok and cancer free! You just have to enjoy every moment you have with your family and not take it for granted. This was a good piece that I really enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteI commend you for sharing such a personal and emotional piece that recounts events that unfortunately many people have experienced. I was anxious the whole time reading your piece as the story became more intense, but you wrapped it up nicely with a resolution that made me happy to hear that your grandmother is okay! I appreciate you sharing your story and I enjoyed this piece. Great job Vanessa!
ReplyDeleteThe emotion you show is truly raw. The way you so exquisitely wrote how that moment in your life played made it intense. It was well written, personal, and intimate which is hard to write about and even harder to get your audience to feel the same. You did well.
ReplyDeleteI was captivated from the moment i started reading your piece. Although I could never truly experience what you and your family went through, it was as though I saw what you saw and felt what you felt. You made it feel as though I was in that waiting room waiting for a response too. Great piece overall and thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing such a personal moment of your life on here. I enjoyed the message you gave and your writing style. The story was clear and written very smoothly. I'm glad to hear she is cancer free! Wish her and the rest of your family the best, much love!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a beautiful piece hands down. The emotion that was expressed so explicitly allowed the reader to feel exactly how you were. The descriptions caught my attention and it is very brave of you to share such a personal piece of writing. I am glad that everything is okay! Great job Vanessa!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing such a touching story. I am glad that all is well with you and your family now. I love the message that you conveyed to the reader in the last paragraph. As teenagers we do often times take our loved ones for granted which needs to stop. This was a beautiful piece!
ReplyDeleteI found that your story was truly inspiring. We may never know when an important person in our life will be leaving us, and so it really is important to bond with them and make them happy as much as possible before their time stops. We don't have control over time, but we do have control of moments. And with these moments, we can take them and turn them into a lesson to help us carry on and fight towards the future.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to know that she recovered and that you shared this story. I agree that we tend to not realize how fast something or someone can be taken from our lives, but that we are all fortunate enough to have our loved ones with us, alive and well. I think family is very important and that every minute spent with the people we care about is precious. Thank you for sharing your heartwarming story.
ReplyDeleteGood thing she recovered I was scared for a second. I love the message behind this piece, you never know when someone is going to go. Time is so valuable and people take it for granted. I'm glad you wrote this, so everyone can realize appreciate the people in your life while they're still here.
ReplyDeleteYou send a very powerful message to everyone reading this story. Not many of us truly appreciate our loved ones as much as we should. All it takes is one moment and they can be torn out of our lives forever. The scary part is never knowing when that may happen. I agree with you that we should spend more time with our families and show them love and compassion each and everyday. I am glad you didn't lose your Grandma and have had time to show her the love she deserves. Great story Vanessa!
ReplyDeleteThis was so brave of you to share something so personal. This was very well written and I really enjoyed the happy ending. This was so inspirational. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis story made me, and I am sure all the other readers, very sad. Even if we haven't had an experience like this, we all know how we would feel if this happened to one of our loved ones. An exquisitely written piece.
ReplyDelete