My cousin was only 19 when he got diagnosed with Stomach Cancer. I was only in my second year of high school, but things did not got as bad until my junior year. During that time, all he had was me. Both of his parents worked all the time to be able to pay all the medical bills and surgeries he has had done. I have missed various days in school and have been tardy lots of days because I was always in the hospital or at home with him. Nothing is worse in life than seeing a loved one slowly beginning to die and there is nothing you can do about it, but be there with them every step of the way. Throughout his whole sickness, I used to pray all the time and have so much faith that he will get better, yet he never did. Everyone in my surroundings doubted him and I was his only supporter. My cousin was more than a cousin to me; he was practically a brother to me. One day, I fed him after him throwing up his food for weeks, and he didn’t throw up. He did so well, and he thanked me all the time. That day gave me so much hope that he will get better, but the next day, I was on my way to visit him and as soon as I got there, I see his father outside. Enthusiastically, I asked how was his son doing and he looked at me and told me that he passed away 10 minutes ago. He passed away on January 20th, 2015. It had been the hardest thing I have ever had to deal with in life. After, I didn’t pay no…
I am sure each and every one of you here today has something special to share about how my grandpa touched your life. I have a story I would like to share. Right after Grandpa got sick and was told he had…
My grandma's condition wasn't anything but hard for me and my family to deal with. Everyday with her was a roller coaster that held many twists and turns and couldn't stay on the track. If you didn't hold on tight, you’d thrown off. You never knew what she would remember each morning that she woke. Some days she would know the date and she was aware of her surroundings, while other days (which weren’t so great), she'd be back in time when her husband was alive and she’d call for him. Then she’d be puzzled as to why he wouldn't call her name back. When my mom would bear her the bad news he has been gone for years, my great grandma turned as silent as a mouse for the remainder of the day, wallowing in her sorrow. Yet, as her memory faded, mine…
These past few years have been very difficult but we are still managing to get through this. Family and friends are always there for me and they always will be. My Papa has impacted my life in such a powerful way. He is my favorite person in the whole world, nobody compares to him. The past few years since he was diagnosed with alzheimer's has been the life changing moment in time that has shaped me into who I am today. I follow everything he has told me he has so many memorable stories that I will never forget; he has taught me everything I need to know and I could not be thankful enough for…
That was the day that my grandpa passed away. Every single part of that date is engrained in my memory. My parents had driven up to Wisconsin, and my older sister Lauren drove home for college to stay with me. It wasn’t out of the normal for my parents to quickly leave, so I didn’t think much of it. I remember going to hang out with Tatum, my best friend of the time. It was a nice day outside, so of course we were outside playing on the trampoline and doing all our weird routines like we always did. Her family, who was like a second family to me, decided to go out to eat so they brought me along. We went to La Charitas. I remember how Mrs. Teeple pulled out a funny card game for us to play, and I remember Tatum cutting out faces in her tortilla, making us all laugh. When we got back to the house we saw that my sister called, so I said bye to the Teeples and walked one minute down the road to my house. Lauren, who is one of the most emotional in the family, was left with the task of telling me that my grandpa had passed away. I had just grabbed a snack of chocolate cheerios as she started to tell me the news. I didn’t know how to react, so I ran into the basement directly to the furthest corner I could find. Lauren tried talking to me, but I wanted to be by myself. One of the hardest things I have ever done was talking to my dad on the phone after finding out. He called to tell me the plans, that he was coming home to get us, and…
2011 was a rough year. It was the full of firsts, but not good firsts. It was the first year without my grandfather; Christmas, birthdays, Easter, concerts, games, everything. In February we found out Uncle Dickey was terminal; the doctors said they’d give him six months to live, max. Then eight months later we sat in my grandmothers garage, talking and playing cards as it is a Stull family tradition, with Uncle Dickey. My cousins who live in Rehoboth even came down that year; I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen them, before that. We all knew it was probably the last time we were all going to be together with Uncle Dickey. When I got bored of watching them play cards- which didn’t take very long, I went inside to watch Thanksgiving Day football. Once I was inside, I was surprised to see Uncle Dickey sitting on the couch by himself watching the Cowboys and the Dolphins pregame. Even though he had an oxygen tank and couldn’t walk without a cane, his mental state had not declined. I asked if…
I remember before we left for vacation, my mom’s eyelashes started to grow back and she was so excited to go out and be able to buy mascara again. My mom fought her way through cancer and now she was able to start living her life normally again and that made me more happy than I had been that past year. My mom deserved that vacation more than anything, she was finally able to relax, be spoiled, and know that everything from there on out was going to be okay. Fast forward to the summer of 2014, my mom received her five years clear of cancer and strolled out of her doctor’s office to a round of applause by all the nurses who helped her win her fight. I remember that day smelled like the sunflowers my sisters and I had set on our dining room table for our mom to come home to. It was then that I realized I was given the best role model possible. I could not be more thankful to have a mother who is strong enough to beat cancer and a family who is there for each other no matter what. My family’s happiness and health will always come before anything else for me. My family values have been instilled in me ever since sixth grade, the year my life changed, and as long as I have the support of my family I will be able to take on anything that comes my…
He used to take my cousin and I Nate to the farm everyday and do things with us. It didn’t matter what it was we made things from birdhouses to helping build the garage to cartoon cut outs. I loved it. I still remember the day like it was yesterday that I got the call from my dad on my way back from the mall with my mom asking me to go to little falls hospital. I didn’t know what was really going on so I told my mom to drop me off when I walked in I saw him there laying in the bed and I lost it. I felt so bad for my grandmother. It has to be hard being with someone sense you were 14 and losing them when you’re 72. It was around 1 in the morning and my grandfathers breathing started to slow down again. My dad and I walked in together, I heard the words from my grandmas mouth, I thought I would’ve never heard they were “I’m ready Bill.” As soon as she said that she made us all grab hands while she said a prayer. After the prayer it was the last time I’ve seen my grandfather. Although my grandfather couldn’t speak, he tried. I remember him trying to tell my grandma he loved her. And till this day 3 ½ years later I can’t get that image out of my head no matter how hard I…
My grandpa has been my Michigan hero my entire life. My grandpa is more that Superman or Batman to me, because he can do almost anything. Sadly, my grandpa should be dead right now. My grandpa was hospitalized in January 2003, and I was born in January 2003. My grandpa was in the hospital because he had stage 4 cancer. The Hospital told him he would not live 30 more days, So he told them he wanted to go home if he had no chance at living. Surprisingly, I got out of the hospital that same week my grandpa got released. So my grandpa that never thought he would get to see me or hold me, might have a chance to before he would die.…
I still remember the day like it was yesterday, when I got the news about my mom being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. Back then when I was in the seventh grade, there was not really much to know about it but that when someone had cancer they would die. My mom being the closest person to me and her being the only parent that was by my side, thinking that she no longer would be. When this time came there was nothing else for me to do but step into my mother's shoes of becoming the most responsible one in the house. This was the most difficult obstacle that has ever come my way due to the fact that I was only 12 or 13 around the time and I had to take care of a newborn baby while my mom was away getting treatment. She was gone for two…
I remember being asked if I wanted to go to his funeral or not. At first I didn’t want to deal with it and just wanted to hide away from all of it. Then I found out my mom was going and I thought it would be nice to be with her out of a facility. My grandfather died of kidney cancer, but since 9/11 was going on while he was in the hospital, they said he woke up thinking he was in it. This probably happen because everyone that visited him watched the coverage while they were in the room. Even though he had died, that week wasn’t so bad because I got to spend it with my mom. Although, the week coming home was unbearable because with her I was able to forget about all of our problems and pretend everything was back to normal. The events of 9/11 and my grandfather passing made me realize that even though my family was going through a lot, with the kindness of those around us, we were going to survive. I didn’t live with my mom again until I was 20 and she needed help with my brother, but I kept moving forward in my…
The story I am about to share with you is one of the hardest and saddest time I have ever been through. Even though it sad, it’s a memory I can remember all my feelings and exactly how I felt. well before I tell you my memory, I would like to give you some background information about my grandfather, mike. He was one of the most loving guy you could ever meet. He was always known of putting people before him, and he is my hero, he has all the traits of a hero and when I am older I wish I could be like him, unfortunately almost two years ago he passed away, and that brings me to my story.…
Four years ago when I was 13, my grandpa passed away. I couldn’t bear the thought of him actually being gone. Just the other day I said something about my grandpa to my mom, that it had only been four years, she looked at me confused and said it again “it has been almost four years.” I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I just felt so empty inside, how could I not realize how long he had been gone already. Right after my grandpa passed away I terrible feeling that I didn’t get to say goodbye like I wanted to it happened so fast. I thought to myself why didn’t I do more with my grandpa? Why didn’t I spend the night with him more? Why did I sometimes put off not going with him to do the little things like fishing and shooting where we would have made the best memories when he asked me to, because I thought I had better things to do or other plans? All these things played over and over through my head, when I finally realized he had passed away. His death haunted me and family like a bad dream. Still to this day I find myself constantly thinking about him. My grandpa was an amazing, kind, strong man. I looked up to him, he was my role model. Even though he is gone now I still look up to him and I want to be like him and I always know there is room to improve to become a better person.…
It was October, 2012, when my uncle Dan was diagnosed with stage four cancer. Everyone was devastated, cancer is bad, but stage four is the worst. Mom was crushed, Dan was like a dad to her. So she went up to Batesville, Indiana for as long as it took for him to get better. Sadly, he passed two months into his treatments. The family and I suspected mom would be coming home soon, but that didn't happen the way we suspected. Mom was leaving and she wasn't coming back. I couldn't believe it, her and Dad had been married for twenty years and she was leaving. I was more than confused, upset, and angry all together. I felt betrayed, my mom was my only friend growing up and she was walking out. A month down the road, she came back, grabbed her stuff and my ten year old sister, Jade, and left. Down the road, we moved into a smaller house fit for three. Montana, my dad, and I, and when we moved. All Hell broke lose.…
The year was 1995, a year I will never forget, the year I first heard nature speak to me. Every August we had our annual family reunion at a park in Milwaukee. Our reunions were always lots of fun, there would be games, swimming, and tons of food to eat. We would always celebrate the August birthdays at those reunions in Greenfield Park, too. The reunion was just one day long, but what a day it was! This year though Grandpa was too sick to travel from the cancer that was ravaging his body which he had been diagnosed with six years earlier. My Mom told us kids “Your Grandpa isn’t feeling himself lately and won’t be able to make the trip to Milwaukee, so we are going to take our annual family reunion to him in Post Lake for a three day weekend this year. The reunion will be in the end of July instead of August.” Now for the first time that I could ever remember we were going to have a long weekend at Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Post Lake. How exciting!…