Personal Narrative : Personal Essay : The Funeral

On 09/12/2016, I Deputy Daniel Pruitt was dispatched to 52455 West Highway 16 for an unattended death compliant. I arrived on scene st 6:45pm and meet with Creek County EMS unit 40.

The parents came out of Grandma’s room by one by one, bags under their eyes, makeup running down their face, and bright red noses. By that time, I could almost predict what happened. As my mom and dad approached us with their heads down, I prepared myself to hear exactly what I never wanted to hear. “The doctors are turning off the life support machine. She isn’t suffering anymore, and she will be looking over every one of you guys. She said she loves you all so much,” Mom told us while my dad didn’t hide his tears back.

Witnessing death was something that came surprisingly easy for me. I didn’t scream, I didn’t become sick, I was oddly settled.

I had always assumed that my legs were strong and that I had decent muscle control, however, this thought was proven wrong at the beginning of my junior year in high school due to a detrimental injury. It was the first game of fall league for basketball, and within the first five minutes I had succumbed to an injury. Tearing my ACL and Meniscus has taught me to continue improving on my strength, not let this one injury keep me down, and to keep a positive mindset.

It’s August 28th, 2015 I had just moved to Grand Valley State University two days ago. Its 6:15am. My cell phone is ringing. It was my brother and I thought it was too early for him to be calling me, so I sent his call to voicemail, it rang again, I thought to myself, “Why on earth is he calling me at 6:15 in the morning it’s too early for this”, So I finally decided to answer the call and I got the news that my grandma passed away. It wasn’t totally unexpected, she was on hospice care an entire week before I left for college and I’ve watched her slowly deteriorate because of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia.

September 27th 2009. I was on my dad’s weekend and my mom was in the hospital for a weeks. I would visit her every day and sometimes bring her flowers. But on september 27th I woke up and walked into my living room and my dad was sitting on the couch looking sad. I asked what was wrong and then a knock was heard on the door it was my step dad and half brother. My step dad had puffy eyes he was crying. He told me to sit down and my brother came out and sat next to me. My dad looked at us and he spoke up your mother had just passed this morning. I was shocked I was hurt I was scared.I didn’t know if i should cry or run away. I’ve learned that losing someone you love is tough.

The leather feels cold under my fingertips as I sit on our living room couch. My feet are propped up on the small coffee table, banging together lightly in boredom. Mom sits with me, our shoulders barely touching. It's only been twelve hours since I found Laura in the alley and the police already want to put us into protective custody. I don't want to go, but there is nothing tying me here anymore. Laura's gone.

A true friend is someone who is always by your side and appreciates who you really are. I am Liesel Memminger and I was fortunate enough to have Rudy Stiener as my best friend. He was kind and compassionate yet a Saukerl at the same time, a mixture only Rudy could accomplish, and I am here to share my personal experiences with him.

It was difficult to see her in this way. I saw how small she had gotten, swallowed by the stark, white sheets. Even as I struggled with the sight of what was visible about my Grandma, I could sense she was at peace. Cautiously, I approached her bed and she looked up at me with a smile on her face. Grandma squeezed my hand and thanked me. A week later, I attended her funeral. Throughout the funeral process, I did not cry. I was handling death in a way I understood and could handle. A week later, everything finally sunk in and I sobbed with grief. I tried my best to adjust to school again as I battled with my own

“Molly, we have something to tell you,” my parents said, walking into the living room with saddened looks on their faces. I paused the movie and awaited their news. “Your grandma has been diagnosed with cancer.” I definitely was not expecting that to be the news, so it hit me like a brick wall; I was troubled and overwhelmed by the news to such an extent that I was speechless. She has been an important figure in my life for as long as I can remember and has always been there to listen and give me advice whenever I need it. Her insight into the important things in life has helped me and will continue to as I pursue my dreams for years to come.

It was the day of his funeral, my family's black van was stationed a few meters from his grave, my dad sitting in the driver's seat, me being on his lap with the window cracked halfway open. We stared at a distance at the crowd of my grandfathers family and friends surrounding his grave, dressed in somber colors. It was so quiet and I was clueless as to why everyone was so sad. My mom approached the car, clearly holding back tears unless she had just wiped them off. She asked me to give her the kleenex box sitting on the right side of the dashboard, which I remember was covered in a rose print, for my aunt who was standing behind her with her back turned to the car. My dad went to reach for it before I had the opportunity to since I was so concentrated on my mom's distressed face. That was the end of

Sometimes when you go through hardships you feel that you are alone and there is nobody there for you. Recently this past year I lost my grandfather I didn't really understand why it had to happen the way it did it was just a lot for me. When it all happened I just kind of boxed myself in this little corner. I didn't want to do anything I just wanted to be to myself. This really started to affect me in every way I just honestly went into a depression. Loss and Grief can be really depressing for a lot of people especially when it’s someone that you are very close to. I and my grandfather were very close he was somebody that I would see almost every day. For him to be gone where I can no longer be with him was very hard for me. It took me awhile

Grandpa’s cancer had gotten so bad that the entire family had gathered around him. Alone, I was sent for help. I was only fourteen and I remember thinking to myself, “God please don’t take him before I get to say goodbye!” I was running so quickly and it was so dark that I tripped and barely caught my balance. Even though we hurried back, he was gone. It was the worst thing that could have happened to me. All I remember is dropping to the ground in a puddle of tears; I didn’t think God would just take him from us like that. I didn’t even get to say goodbye or that I loved him. It was so unfair. He was gone from our lives, but not our hearts. Even so, I felt as though I failed because we didn’t make it back in time.

As a couple months went by, we started to get the feeling inside us that any day, we could get the phone call saying she was has passed. It was August, 8th 2006 my birthday, my one wish was to make my Grandma to feel better. Four days later my Uncle Dough calls and say’s “Mom (grandma) can’t move and cant’ get out of bed. She has been put on hospice, her health, has gone way south.”

A few days went by , me and Karen took shifts staying with dad , I did more job searching , with dad out of work for now someone has to provide. Dad was quiet the whole time , watching the TV and barely eating anything. My leg was better as the days passed , I can walk faster , Karen's poor back was pealing with scabs like crazy . It was dad's last day in the hospital , I tried conversations with him , but nothing , I could not resist anymore. “ Dad , are you sure you don't know who could have done this?” He stared into fear ness again not saying a word. “ I'll be back to bring you home tomorrow .” I was walking out the room when he stopped me . “Mark !” I stopped looking at him , in a serious tone voice he looked at me . “ There's something you need to know .” I