An Elect Lady

My grandma passed away this morning. We knew it was coming but didn’t make it any easier. I’ve been pretty numb all day. My grandma and grandpa used to babysit us every day while my mom was at work until my dad got home. Most of my after-school playtimes involved them. To be honest, I used to be terrified of my grandma. Then one day I decided that she wasn’t that scary and we became the best of friends. I feel so lucky that she only lived five minutes away and saw her on a very regular basis.

She suffered from colon cancer more than 30 years ago. She was the last known survivor of cobalt radiation – which should have killed her 30 years ago. She was nothing short of a fighter and stubborn. It’s almost as if she fought death until the last moment when she decided it on her time. I almost thought death was afraid of her, she’s stared it in the face so many times and told it to “GO AWAY.” My grandma was the boss until the very end. Even at 69 pounds…

Being out of the country for two weeks, I was so glad that I was able to make it home in time. The bones in her back and ribs started crumbling from the Osteoporosis. I have never seen anyone suffer such physical pain as she did her whole life. The after-effects of the cancer made her life miserable for years where she wouldn’t eat for days, just so she could leave the house and come to my wedding. And for it to be awful like that, and go to worse with your bones crumbling – it was heartbreaking.

I’ll always be grateful that I got to say goodbye. I got to tell her I loved her so many times and have her stroke my hair or touch my cheek. We had such tender moments the last two weeks. I almost feel guilty that it took for her to be on death’s door for me to spend more time with her but we all do the best we can. It’s been heart-wrentching to watch my grandpa watch his sweetheart die. They’ve been married 65 years. I’ve never seen him cry like that. Such precious memories I’ll never forget.

She taught me a lot. She's left a big void but promised to be there when I pass to the other side. One thing is for sure - she fought the good fight, she finished her course, she kept the faith.