I never thought I’d ever watch someone die. I had all these misconceptions of death until May 9, 2012. This is the day my grandfather died.
I remember it all perfectly. Walking into my grandparent’s house and seeing him there lying there. He had chosen hospice care so that he could stay home with all of his family. This is a choice of his I will forever be thankful for.
He was very weak for a few days. My whole family was in and out of the house all day, but there was always someone there with him and my grandma to keep company. Then things got worse. He had this awful cough. Still to this day, I cringe at the sound of someone clearing their throat.
On his last day, the whole family was gathered in the living room by his bedside. We were all telling stories of the past, something we hadn't done in a while. I remember feeling guilty for feeling such happiness in a time where I thought I should be devastated. I couldn’t help it, though. It was an amazing feeling having my whole family together like that.
As we were telling stories, we noticed that my grandfather hadn’t taken a breath in awhile. No one was obvious about it, but we all had kept an eye on him throughout the conversations. The room fell silent. We all waited for the blankets to lift up as he took another breath. They didn’t.
I used to fear death. I would sit up late at night and cry because I was so afraid of it. However, watching my grandfather die changed all of that.
He went so peacefully, surrounded in a room of people who loved him most. We all imagine death to be this horrible thing, but at that moment, I finally understood why people say that death can take one out of their misery.
This horrible time brought my family back together. Before this, as with every family, communication started to fade and family members weren’t seen for a while. With the news of my grandfather, everyone was right there with him. It showed me that no matter what, a family has each other’s backs, and I couldn't be more thankful for the family I was blessed with.
The funeral was extremely hard for everyone. No one could believe such an influential and loved man could be gone. He had graced the world for 90 years, and everyone who knew him loved him and his kind heart. I heard about a side of my grandfather I never knew. Even after death, everyone was finding new ways to admire this man.
Although it's been awhile since my grandfather passed, I'm still taking the lessons I learned from that experience. It sounds so gruesome, doesn’t it? I watched my grandfather die. However, in watching the life leave his body, I felt his spirit live on in all of us forever.
