April 2003. I was 12 years old. My Grandpa Morris was very ill with pancreatic cancer. At the time I had no idea what was going on, all I knew was that my grandpa was sick and so we were going to visit him in Arizona. Little did I know, that this trip was made because my grandpa only had a little longer to live. This was a good bye trip. I remember like it was yesterday. The hospital smell. The gloomy paint on the walls. The yellow sign at the front door. It told visitors that were under the age of 12 that they could not come into the hospital because of some virus that was going on. We ignored the sign and visited my grandpa anyways. After all, my grandpa was dying. I remember going into his room and seeing all these wires hooked up to him. He looked frail and weak. But yet he greeted us with the biggest and warmest smile.
The second day that I came to see my grandpa we were only in his room for 15 minutes when I heard my dad out in the hall arguing with a nurse. She told my dad that anyone under 12 needed to leave because of the virus. She was rude and very cold about it. She started yelling for security and soon my brother sister and I were escorted out of the room into the elevator. I remember my dad telling us that we had to wait in the car. I remember the elevator doors shutting, the security guard apologizing over and over to my dad. Even he knew what the outcome of my grandpa was to be.
The next day my grandpa died. I never got to say good bye to him. I never got to hug him. I never got to squeeze his hand. I never got to hear his laugh one last time. I never go to tell him how much I loved him. I had the opportunity to do all these things. All of it was taken away though because of one persons careless actions.
Sure, the nurse isn't perfect and I certainly am not either. But next time you go to do or say something think twice. I don't think we realize how deeply we impact other people's lives. Something that could mean very little to you, could mean a heck of a lot more to another person.
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."
-Plato
-Plato
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