It was a normal February day spending time with my family. My grandmother called me and said, “We need to have a family meeting this weekend at our house. ” I didn’t think anything was wrong since our family always got together for events. I told her I would attend the meeting and went on about my day without a doubt in my mind everything was okay. The weekend came up and our family got together in the living room of my grandparents’ house laughing and talking, so I still assumed everything will be ok. Soon to find out this will be one of the hardest days of my life.
When I heard the words, “I believe I may have cancer. ” February 28, 2008 seemed to be the day everyone was dreading although we wanted and needed to know the facts of my grandmothers’ condition. The day finally around the whole family surrounding the waiting room in Augusta, GA hospital. The doctor had the test results in his hand, and we all a big gulp of air and waited to hear the outcome. “I am sorry, I have bad news. The spot on Mrs. Lynda’s colon is cancerous. ” We all let our breath that we all held in until those words came out of the doctors’ mouth.
I began to cry. I felt so helpless, my grandmother is my world and I didn’t know what I would do if I lost her. I asked the doctor what the choices were and he said we needed to have surgery to remove part of the colon that was cancerous. March 8, 2008 came fast although the day felt very long. My grandmother was in surgery, everyone waiting, pacing the hospital hallway. The surgery lasted two very long heart wrenching hours. The whole family feeling lifeless no one could stop the tears from flowing down our faces.
The doctor tried to assure us that this was the best chance my grandmother had although we still had our doubts. I tried to be hopeful for my family although it seemed at times to be the hardest thing I could do. At other times I felt that our prayers might have been answered. Our family still had questions about the procedure and the outcome. “Doctor, how much did you have to take out? ” Asked my granddad. “Well, I took out 18 inches of colon to make sure every part containing cancer was removed. ” Replied the doctor.
“What are the chances that the cancer may not be completely gone? ” Asked everyone in the family. “She will have to go through chemotherapy for a year, as a preventative measure. ” Replied the doctor. My grandmother went into remission for around two years. As of August 26, 2010 the cancer was back and had returned to her lungs. My hope was gone and our worst fear became true. My grandmother looked at me when we were sitting in her living room and said, “April no matter what happens to me you mean the world to me. I don’t want to see you so said and we need to fix that.
I will always watch over you if I don’t survive this cancer. ” I broke down along with the rest of my family. We knew that she could not overcome the situation that we found ourselves in. But knowing she would watch over me somehow made me feel better. As a few months went on her breath got shorter, her words weren’t as clear, and she began to sleep more. We knew she was about to be called to her new home. February 27, 2011 at 4:15 p. m. we lost a very special person. I know she is watching over me every day and watching her grandkids grow and her family coming together.
Cancer is a very rough disease that my family went through and it is the hardest time of my life. As a granddaughter it is painful to see someone you love go through pain and suffering. All you want is everything to get better but as I seen throughout everything we don’t always receive the things we want. My grandmother never gave up hope and fought through it all and that gave me the hope I needed to deal with the situation we were handed. My grandmother did not let cancer get her down and for that I am thankful.