The Day My Father Was Diagnosed With Terminal Lung Cancer

It was three days after my eighteenth birthday. It was a day of many firsts. I drove a long distance to place I had never been by myself. First time being introduced to my boyfriend’s parents. Also realizing you should always unpack your car after a trip. Signing my own paper work legally as an adult. Biggest first of the day was being in my first car accident. Never thought being an adult could be so difficult.

December 17, I had to endure a long hard journey but it made me into the person I am

A miracle happened on May 29th 2001… It was the day I Alexandria Betty-Anne Parent was born. That is most likely the biggest accomplishment of my life so far….

On May 11, 2016, is a day that I will Always remember because that's the day my dad got a

“ YOU turned this on? YOU want to turn like your father? That little BRAT!!! YOUR father is a brat, that’s right he doesn’t care if HE hurts YOU, he only cares about himself!!!!” bellowed Grandpa scoffingly, I felt like I was about to cry, but I couldn’t, no I wouldn’t, grandpa doesn’t believe in crying, says it shows weakness (I think it show humanity, but that’s just my opinion),so holding back tears I walked back to the recliner and sat down, wishing that day would

2000: On December, 25, 2000 I was born, this is when I was introduced to the world and was the start of everything which I believe is really important.

I remember May 21st, 2011 like a Vietnam flashback because that's the night my life has changed forever. When I was 9 years I decided to go out camping with my grandparents in their huge Motorhome and all day I had a feeling of something is going to go wrong but I didn’t know what so I went on with my day. When it was time for bed I thought the feeling I had all day was just nothing so I let it go and feel asleep.

1995 in mid-January, a very tragic thing happened in my life. I got diagnosed with lung cancer. But i'm doing pretty well to be here to this day! About ten or eleven years later in 2006, one of my best friends, Edna Lewis passed away. That same year in November, my Aunt Anna Ford also passed away.

On this day, February 18, I got to meet the love of my life the person who changed my world forever

On October 30th 2008, my father died in my arms. He had succumbed to a short, but painful fight with lung cancer. It was the defining turning point in my life, Leading me down the path to become the man that I am today. It was the first, of many hard lessons. None of which I regret experiencing. Yes many of these moments have been incredibly painful, and seemingly unsurvivable at times. They have however made me a strong and diligent young man.

It was my birthday. Two things that I never thought would happen. One was me getting a chocolate lab I named Hazel,the second was losing a loved one.These two thing happened on one day that I will love and hate for the rest of my life.

“Beep! Beep! Beep! Beeeeeeep!” my alarm clock was piercing my eardrums. I got up slowly, my alarm clock still going off. It seemed as if the loudness was just getting louder and louder. Finally, I stumbled out of bed, turning my alarm off. After I got dressed, I went downstairs to pack my mother’s amazing cookies for school. Her secret is adding the right measure of mixing because mixing develops gluten in the sugar, making the cookies a chewy consistency, adding the right measure of shape because round dough balls take longer to bake, resulting in softer, thicker cookies, besides adding the correct amount of spacing because cookies baked at low temperatures spread more during baking and need approximately 2 inches between them. It also depends on the temperature, and the quantity of time you bake them for because a low temperature and longer baking time yield crisper, thinner cookies; a higher heat and shorter baking time makes softer, thicker cookies. My mom taught me these rules of cooking when I was around five. What can I say, I guess I just have a way of cooking.

It wasn’t until the morning of Saturday, May 21, 2016 that I realized what the true feeling of unconditional love was. The moment a parent looks into his or her child’s eyes there is just so much love it’s unbelievable. People think they know what love is when they love a significant other, family member, or a close friend; however, that love is nothing compared to the love a parent experiences the day his or her child is born. That is the love I felt the moment I placed my beautiful baby boy on my chest.

I remember it like it was yesterday, the day that changed my life forever. On March 9th of 2011, my mom was diagnosed with skin cancer in her lung. The doctor gave her about six months to live and this is how it went.

Throughout my life, there were many days that were significant; however there is only one day that stands from the rest. The most important day of my life is the day I graduated high school. Graduating high school was an emotional day because I felt prepared to exit one stage of my life and optimistic for the next step in my life.