Grandma,
I want to start off by saying that you are one of my biggest role models. You are so strong, willful, and the most spiritual person I've met. I know very well that the past four years haven't been so kind to you.
It all started with your dad, my great-grandpa. He got sick in 2013, and around mid-December of that year, he passed away. I know what it's like to lose someone close (as you know), but I have the slightest idea what it's like to lose a Dad. I didn't really know my great-grandpa that much, but I am learning about him more and more each day. I know that he was a big farmer, having cattle and chickens and hogs and such. I know he LOVED chocolate frosty's, and he liked to have an occasional Mountain Dew. He owned a lot of land if I'm right.
Next, it was your mother. My great-grandma was a sweet woman, who loved church. She stopped going when great-grandpa died, and I know she was super sad when he did pass. You guys went out a lot and did your hair and took pedicures, and spent a lot of time together. She felt comfort knowing Aunt Kristy was there next door, as were you and pappy (my grandpa), and also Aunt Tammy and Uncle Dale just a mile or so away, and us at least ten miles. Great-grandma passed in April of this year after her battle with cancer, and you once more lost someone close. I was sad, and that made me depressed (losing both my great-grandparents, and also bullying was a factor). But you held on tight.
Then, a few months after grandma, was pappy. Your husband. I remember we were down at the lake house, and pappy wasn't really that well. He would sit in his recliner and watch TV or be on his tablet (if I remember right he brought it). He helped me with a Harry Potter puzzle (which he said he'd make me a frame for it; he never got around to it, which I understand that), and also tried fishing with Kylie (my sister) and Dad. Mom and I were doing the puzzle, even, when he got up and put the last piece in. I wish I remembered what piece that was, but that doesn't matter. We had steak one night, and pappy had said that was the best meal he'd had in quite some time. He wasn't eating right. We got home, and a little while later he found out he had cancer in the adrenal gland,the side where he did have his kidney cancer. Previous that he had his lung cancer (as I stated) and also lung cancer from smoking. They wore him out, but he fought it. When I think of pappy, I think of a fighter. A pretty darn good one at that! The mass of cancer grew gradually, and in a few weeks it went from a size 2 to around a size 8 or 10. It might've been bigger. We were so excited when he could finally be able to have surgery, but found out some news: the cancer had grown into his back, and when the doctor tried removing it, the mass shook his whole body when the surgeon lifted the mass. They said what no one wanted to hear; pappy's cancer was, indeed, terminal. I cried. You cried. Everyone cried. He died a week after being home.
You're still going on strong. You're the strongest woman I know. I look up to you. Yes, you've broken down, but heck, we all do. If I were in your shoes, I probably would be an emotional wreck. But you aren't. I love you, Grandma, and I know you're going through a lot with pappy and Grandma's death, but it'll get better. It has to.
Love your granddaughter, with all her heart...
-Ella <3
