Mrs. Braverman's Case Study

My maternal aunt gathered us together and we all sat on the couch. She turned to my mother and told us she had cancer. I looked at my aunt and I did not know what to say or how to respond. Three months later, my father received a phone call from his sister telling him that my pregnant cousin, Elizabeth, was diagnosed with leukemia and had to give birth to her premature baby. She and I grew up in the same house in Arizona and what hurt me the most was not being able to be with her during this difficult time. When we went to visit her in Arizona, my dad told us before entering the hospital room that he did not want us to cry in front of her. I was scared to enter. I did not know what to say to her but I knew I had to be strong. We stayed there for the holiday season but we never celebrated the holidays, that was too

My grandmother, who is the mother of my mom, passed away due to heart failure at the age of 87. Since I was 6 or 7 she had been living in our house. The reason for that was, my grandfather, that I was named after passed away a year before I was born, so she was alone, and she was starting to get old. Since she lived with us for so many years, she had been a very important figure in my life. I can honestly say that she was like a 3rd parent for me, and losing her, made me fell horrible and helpless. I witnessed how real death is because of her passing. Combined with puberty, my grief caused me to become depressed for a long time. As I’m looking back it sounds really extreme, but there were some days that I did not even leave the bed thinking that there was no point to our existence. Thanks to some psychological counselling however, I was able to overcome that mental

When my dad came home that evening he sat me down and asked me if I knew what cancer was. I had an idea so I just nodded my head, he went on to tried to explain to me how bad the cancer was that my mom had been diagnosed with. Seeing my dad so afraid scared me. The fear I felt then led me to realize that I needed to try and hide it because it would only hurt my dad more to see his children so upset. I did my best to help, I tucked my little sisters into bed while my mom was away at the hospital, read them stories and did the best I could at preparing snacks to comfort them. After my mom arrived home and she recovered from the surgery she started chemotherapy. The miserable treatment that attacks the cancer also makes her very ill. Every other week she was sick. Before every bad week I wanted to cry, but that wouldn’t help anyone. Lane and Kenna already were crying, if I cried it could only hurt my parents

For the people that lost their parents or any loved ones, I am truly sorry. Hearing all this stuff is already super hard for me, but

Finally, a personal struggle that happened in my life was what happened with my mother’s friend, Lynzee. Lynzee had six children, four girls and two boys. She really wanted to have another addition to her family. So, when she found out that she was pregnant with a baby girl she was filled with joy. Sadly, her baby was born too early and was fighting for her survival. Her first name was Violet and her middle name was Hope. Violet fought hard and long for her life, but her body was just too weak. She ended up passing away two years after her birth. Lynzee and her family were devastated at the loss of their family member. She overcame this difficult struggle by being with her family and looking on the

Losing someone who is close to you, usually happens to everyone. The difference between people when this situation occurs is how you live after it has happen. My six word memoir was “looking up and hoping you’re there”. My aunt unexpectedly passed away last year in April. No one really understood and to be honest, I still don’t understand why this would happen. I got called up to the office, and my mom picked up my brother and I. She was taking us to the hospital to see her. I didn’t know what state she was in. Then we were brought to the Critical care unit, my heart sunk because I knew this wasn’t good. I prayed and prayed to God that it this wasn't true. By the time we got there, she was considered brain dead. A little background with my

Every thing seemed unfair that it was happening to my family. When we went to the hospital I saw Clay, my cousin who was the closest person to him it's an understatement to say they were like brothers. They were much more than that. I saw Trent and Ben, Kyle’s brothers. Brian and Angie, Kyle's parents. All of my family there at the hospital and a look that was much more than just sadness. The world was collapsing and nothing could help us now. The funeral was a couple of weeks later and I don't think I have ever been in a sadder place in my life where people have lost hope. I remember that I was thinking why would God do this to us, why such MALICE was upon us and what we did to deserve it. Christmas, a time of joy and happiness suddenly saddened with news of death and sorrow.

Early October 2016 to January 2017, was the hardest time ever in my life. In October we found out that my Grandpa had a very aggressive form of stage four brain cancer. We knew that there was something wrong but we never thought it would be that bad. For the next month, the doctors ran tests, decided on a game plan, and gave results. My grandpa was in severe pain and confusions. We got the results that he would need to go through surgery on his brain to remove the tumor. This was around November 15. That was probably the scariest day of my life. His surgery and I will never forget, was at 12:10 pm. I remember sitting at the kitchen counter and I just prayed for half an hour. After that, I remember going on my computer and searching on Google

This was a great start after losing my parents and my brother but I still cry about it every night.

I never expected anyone to be this heartbroken over my death. Here I was 15 year old boy named Andy Hollows. My death was tragic, Leukemia is never easy to deal with. I was currently watching my mom wrap Christmas presents for my younger sibling. This is their first Christmas without me and I wasn’t too happy with my dad acting like a Grinch this time of the year in this exact situation. Lord knows my mom did not need it, nobody did in fact they were depressed, heartbroken, lost, and dull. I was always the one to cheer them up when they were sad, help Mom decorate for christmas, and help my younger sister, Ann pick out a ugly Christmas sweater to wear. I was interrupted out of my dark and useless thoughts by the door bell ringing.

My mom was spending lots of her time over at a friends house in 2013, because one of her best friends Jenyi, was diagnosed with cancer. This was tough for me. Not being able to see my mom as much and knowing that Jenyi was struggling. This helped me grow spiritually and emotionally. I learned to put my trust in God, and as a family we spent many nights in prayer, hoping God would heal her. He didn’t. Instead, he chose to take her home to heaven. We didn’t understand, we had lots of grief and pain. I miss Jenyi, but I learned that everything was going to be okay. That good things came from bad, and that God can use these things to change people. After Jenyi died, we had to continue life, so we did. Not much later, in Des Moines for Labor day, we went boating with my mom's side of the family.

Between 2008 and 2009, not even a year apart, I lost my husband and my job. My emotions were all over the place, but I needed to keep it together for the sake of my children. At times, I felt that my family was insensitive because all I would hear is “you will be alright” or “you are strong” but I was not feeling strong at that moment. My family was use to me being the bread winner and being there for everyone. Who was going to be there for me? I lost a lot of support from family and friends since I was unable to provide for them any longer. No one asked me if I needed anything, such as are bills paid, did I need anything or just how was I dealing with all this trauma in my life. I still needed to survive for my children and the few people that remained in my corner kept me encouraged; it did not include my family but my church family.

On January 22, 2016 my mom , Tara Nicole Coughlin passed away in Ormond Beach Florida. My mom was 34 when she passed away. It was a lot to handle. It felt sorta like I had lost the other part of me, the part that I thought I would never loose, the part that I thought would always be with me . It had felt like just yesterday I was on the phone with her and she was telling me the jobs she was going to apply for.

When I was 11 years old, my father died. Not knowing what to do with that reality and the emotions that came with it, I turned to my mother. My mother has always been my rock, so I was confident that she would put this entire situation into perspective. She explained to me how my dad had been sick for a while, and how god did not want to see him suffer any longer, so he called my father home. When I attended the funeral, it occurred to me that this would be the last time I would see my father. As the time of grieving progressed, I grew unmotivated, uninterested, and depressed. In middle school, I joined an after school program called Teen Hype. Teen Hypes's goal was to empower youth to be their very best self. After joining this program, my

There is one loss in my life that affected many aspects of my life for many years, the divorce of my parents. I was in barley entering the first grade and the tender age of five, soon to turn six, when my parents spent their last night as a married couple. I do not have many memories of my parents as a couple but I do remember the day my Daddy left. He was a policeman and I watched as his cruiser drove away from our family home. I remember my mom crying and not being willing to console me or explain to me what was happening. All I knew is there was a fight, my dad left, it seemed different than other times when he left, and my mom was crying. Everything about my life changed in the blink of a five year old’s eyes which is what makes this loss so significant in my life.