My Dad - Original Writing

My grandfather was diagnosed with bone cancer about a year and a half ago. When I found out, it was hard to comprehend that I was going to have to see my grandfather become weak and small because of the lack of appetite from the chemotherapy. Days and weeks would pass and there was a bit of hope that led me to think he was fighting this cancer, but I was wrong. September of 2015 my grandfather passed

One night in January, I couldn't sleep and it was 4am and then out of the blue I got a call from my sister.. At first all I had was questions, “What do you mean his organs are shutting down?” And then she said it-- grandpa’s dying. She called telling me that our grandpa, who was battling cancer on and off for eight years,

Seven years earlier, I migrated to Hawaii when I was twenty-three. I had flown away from my mother and my life in the Philippines. Like young adults and being rebellious, I wanted to live on my own away from my mother 's roof. I left the city life I grew up with in the Philippines in hope of a better life in another country.

It has been almost 3 years since he has passed and there is not a day that goes by in which I do not think of him. This really hit me hard and it took a while for me accept the fact that I will never get to see him again. From going through the experience of a loss I have learned that life can take you in a blink of an eye and that you need to make the most of it because you never know what is going to happen

My father lost his nearly year long battle to Stage IV colorectal cancer and passed away on that date. After his death, my whole world slipped away from me. Yes, it was tough when I had to watch him struggle with his disease, but I knew that he was there for me if I needed it. To know that no matter how hard I tried, I would never see or hear him again was simply just too much for me to bear. I became less interested in everything that previously occupied my time, but especially school. My grades did not become gradually worse; they simply fell off of the proverbial

His death made me realize the value of life because once he was gone, there has always been something special missing and I hope and pray I have the same effect on the world as he did. I saw my Grandpa the other day more than I have ever seen him before. I was in a wreak and these two gentlemen pulled over and provided me with comfort and I felt his presence with us as we all three stood on the side of the road. In the end, they were some of my Grandpa’s good friends and they shared their memories with me about all the good he did. I call them my heroes, and every time I see them we all cannot help but cry because we all have a simple connection of love and realize how blessed we have become out of something so horrible. I have learned that just because a life has ended, does not mean its meaning has ended too. I realized the true value in life is more than a heartbeat and my Grandpa’s spirit will never die.

My Grandfather died on December 5th, 2015. I was 15 at the time and I had only just started highschool as a junior a few months prior. I didn’t get to see him recently before his death, nor was I able to say goodbye to him before his passing. Instead, I got to wait patiently while the man I respected for so long took his last breath. I watched as he passed away, right in front of my eyes.

Continually, my father would come home from work weaker and disable sometimes he could barely stand up. He started getting blurry purple spots on him and that's when I figured something wasn't the same about my father. He used to always carry himself with energy and laughter but, now he couldn’t get out of bed. We took him to the hospital and they told us he had stage 2 cancer. This experience has not only changed me as a person but changed the way I had to live for a while. When my father had to be on around the clock care at the hospital me and my older sister had to help out around the house. While most 4th graders were outside playing with their friends, I was inside everyday helping my mom cook, clean, and feed the dogs. I had to step up a lot and do more thing that i'm not used to because my dad wasn't around to help us out. We would go up to the hospital about every other night and stay up there and spend the night watching over my dad at night. My dad’s cancer taught me that life is too short to be wasting my time on the little things that aren't even important! I’ve realized l I need to make every minute and every moment

His friend said he had nothing to worry about, most likely it was just a fatty tumor. As days went on he grew more and more exhausted and was not acting himself. After deciding to look into another doctor he found out the news, terminal stage 4 lung cancer had filled his whole chest cavity. The doctors seemed urgent and wanted to get a biopsy to look into the tumor more closely. He was rushed to the Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne and they told him immediately that the outcome was not going to be a positive one. With that news the whole family was crushed. Questions began to fill all of our heads. “How did this happen?” “What could I have done to prevent this?” These were all questions that we had, but couldn’t be

After time, my family had gotten use to seeing him with his pale skin, drooped face, and the inability to be active. My family and I were use to caregiving at this time in his life. Such as, helping him to the bathroom, changing the bandages on the cancer sites, and eventually feeding him. Looking back on it now, I didn’t realize how much suffering he went through until I think about all the things he could not do on his own. Eventually, we had to hire a professional caregiver. Good Samaritan Hospice was such a big help to my family and treated my grandpa with the proper care. Hospice care was with him from April to October of 2016. The last two weeks of my grandpa’s life was the hardest thing I have had to go through so far. In his last days I miss sharing “ I love you’s” with him. This was such a special thing for me to hear from him because he was always the type of person to hide his emotions. He had always believed that love was shown through actions rather than words. Hearing it for the first times from him felt overwhelming because through my childhood I never heard him express affection with his

The day that my Grandpa passed away started out like any other day. My mom and I went to visit him daily, just because we wanted to spend time with him. It was August 11th so, summer was coming to an end. My mom, Grandma and I were sitting and waiting for him, in his hospital room, to get back from the tests that he had that day. Everything seemed fine. He looked great. My mom and I were only able to talk to him for a few minutes, sadly, before they had to take him away again for more tests. We said our good-byes, not knowing that they would be our last, and we left. When we were at the stop light at 75th and Washington, we got a call.

About a year after being diagnosed, his doctor told him that he was cancer free. He was so happy; his face was all smiles. I had never seen him so happy in his entire life. It was such a beautiful sight seeing my old mans face that lit up, he told everyone that he was cancer free. I was so proud of my father for being that strong, cancer couldn't even bring him down.

He has fought for his life, and came close to losing it many times. My whole family has been affected by this adversity, including him. I’ve cried myself to sleep thinking about losing him. I’m not really sure what we would do without him. He picks me up if i’m sick, or he gives me a ride home from church, or to soccer practice. He takes me fishing, hunting, and when it snows he sits out back behind his shop and watches his grandchildren sled. He offers to let us spend the night, we stay up half the night watching movies and eating popcorn. My grandpa can’t come to all the outdoor activities. He’s limited to his outside time and ability. He’s limited to the amount of farm time or sitting on the beach watching us play in the sand. If someone is sick in the family they can’t go around him because he has a weak immune system. He also has to cope with his mother’s health getting worse and there's nothing he can do about it. He has to live with her barely remembering his name, or always telling him that she wants to go home. He has to live with her falling and injuring herself. There are a few things cancer hasn't changed in his life. He goes fishing every Wednesday and Friday. He goes and see his mother every Sunday, and Thursday. He comes to almost all of his grandchildrens games. He cooks, stays up with us, helps us with our homework, teaches us how to play golf, makes cheesy jokes even if he feels sick. I hope my grandpa makes it through all four grandkids graduation. I hope he’s able to see us seeceed in life. I hope he beats cancer and lives to tell his story to his great grandchildren(if any of us have any). I hope he continues to fight his hardest, and be brave and always put on a happy face. I hope he lives to prove that if you have God nothing is against you. Life may be rough but with strength, family, and God you can get through adversity. I teared up writing this and i’m sure anyone who had to write about something

He went downhill fast after that. Everyone in our family was scared for him. The only grandpa I ever knew was fading fast. I loved him a lot and I was always at his side. The doctors thought it would be better if they put him in a medicine induced coma. We agreed and I saw my grandpa slip slowly into a coma. It was the hardest thing I had ever seen in my life. For weeks we came and all we could do was look at him and tell him how much we loved him knowing that he would never respond. Eventually, we got so sad just staring at him that we were ready to let go. We told the doctors that he would not want to live like this and that they should go ahead and let him die. They let a couple of us stay in and watch him take his final breath. I kind of felt relieved, knowing he was in a better place and that I would not have to watch him suffer.

It was late fall in 2009 when I quietly sat on the plane looking after my youngest brother who was restlessly sitting besides me. We were heading back to my hometown, Kotzebue, Alaska, for a reason I did not know about. Sitting without any worry at all, I over heard my mom quietly speaking to a friend in the aisle in front of us. My mom gravely explained to her that my father and brother are lost in a bitterly cold and extremely windy snowstorm outside of town. On that frigid October night, our hearts were colder than ever before.