"Grandma" by Vanessa L

            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.