Personal Loss Research Paper

Every individual experiences an incident that will shake them to their core and leave them filled with regret. For me, that event occurred at age ten. My grandma was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Like everyone else, I had heard about “death”, but I had never experienced the hollow emptiness that comes with personal loss. Unbeknownst to me, my grandma, who had lived with our family since my birth and was my biggest supporter, was being slowly dragged away by sickness. She had been sick for a little while, but everyone had thought it was just a stomach virus. However, as time went on, it became clear something was wrong and she went to the doctor. There, she was diagnosed with cancer.
While the rest of my family panicked, trying to find her best treatment options, my grandma simply picked up
That was the time I had with her. But, instead of taking every opportunity I had to spend with her, I avoided her. At the time, I justified my actions by saying that it was just because I couldn’t bare to see her like this. After all, who could watch someone who had been the most dependable presence in your life suffer without feeling helpless? As this strong, independent woman who had given me piggy back rides to bed when I was too tired to drag myself off her lap, cooked food for me every day so I never got hungry, and comforted me when I was down, became confined to a cardboard-like bed in our family room, I hid and made excuses to avoid her. However selfish, she continued to smile whenever she saw me and ask how I was doing. In hindsight, I realized these conversations weren’t for her, but for me, as it became her way of trying to comfort me and tell me it was okay, but I couldn’t recognize it at the time.
She continued to stress the importance of family, and there was nothing more evident than her last hour. Despite excruciating pain, she refused to give up until she was ready, which came on October 5, 2010. She was waiting until her family was by her