so now Dad's in the hospital
He's been having stomach pain for the last week. It might be his ulcerative colitis flaring up, or it could be something worse. And now Mom's scared that...given the family history and what Grandma Cozie ended up dying of...it might be stomach cancer. I'm scared that it could very well be cancer as well, because there is a family history of it, after all.
Now Mom's worked herself into a tizzy over the "family curse." I, personally, do not believe in this curse. I mean, it's unfortunate just how much of Dad's immediate family has passed away in the last 20 years, but I don't think it's really a curse.
Angela--died in 1988, barely a year old, had spinal meningitis.
Paw-Paw--died in 1991, had prostate cancer. He was 59.
Aunt Pam and Amber--died in 1993. Now that was a freak accident.
Uncle Ken--died in 1996. Let's be honest, he was overweight, depressed, and a drug abuser; he died of a drug-induced heart attack. But if that hadn't killed him, the HIV would've eventually turned into full-blown AIDS.
J.R.--died in 2004. I don't think it's tragic, but I think it's rather remarkable he survived as long as he did with as serious of a case of cystic fibrosis that he had. Doctors had been telling him and Aunt Pam he "wouldn't live another two years" since he was about two years old. Well, he died a few weeks shy of turning 24; it's a miracle he lived as long as he did.
Grandma Cozie--died last year. And once again, it's remarkable she survived three previous bouts of cancer before the last one. I don't consider that a curse at all.
Mom dug up all the obits from when they all died, convinced they all died around this time of year. No, not really. Paw-Paw died in October. Aunt Pam and Amber died in November. Tomorrow will be the anniversary of Uncle Ken's death. However, Angela, J.R. and Grandma Cozie all died in April.
I honestly don't believe in curses, but here's how I feel about this. We're born, we live a little while, and then we die. When it's your time to go, then it's just your time. And there's really no way of arguing it. I'm trying to explain this the best I can without being too blunt. But I've been dealing with family deaths for 20+ years now. I've dealt with my share of unexpected deaths as well. Kevin and I had a talk about this a couple of weeks ago. I kind of felt I didn't cry as much over Fester as I probably should have, because he was such a good friend. But I don't know. Maybe I've just dealt with it as much as I have to the point where I know how to deal with it. But then again, people have different ways of grieving.
In any event, I'm praying that it's just another UC flare-up for Dad and not cancer. I just wish Dad knew to take better care of himself, despite all of Mom's nagging.
And I bet Mom's regretting bringing up all of that divorce-talk now.
Now Mom's worked herself into a tizzy over the "family curse." I, personally, do not believe in this curse. I mean, it's unfortunate just how much of Dad's immediate family has passed away in the last 20 years, but I don't think it's really a curse.
Angela--died in 1988, barely a year old, had spinal meningitis.
Paw-Paw--died in 1991, had prostate cancer. He was 59.
Aunt Pam and Amber--died in 1993. Now that was a freak accident.
Uncle Ken--died in 1996. Let's be honest, he was overweight, depressed, and a drug abuser; he died of a drug-induced heart attack. But if that hadn't killed him, the HIV would've eventually turned into full-blown AIDS.
J.R.--died in 2004. I don't think it's tragic, but I think it's rather remarkable he survived as long as he did with as serious of a case of cystic fibrosis that he had. Doctors had been telling him and Aunt Pam he "wouldn't live another two years" since he was about two years old. Well, he died a few weeks shy of turning 24; it's a miracle he lived as long as he did.
Grandma Cozie--died last year. And once again, it's remarkable she survived three previous bouts of cancer before the last one. I don't consider that a curse at all.
Mom dug up all the obits from when they all died, convinced they all died around this time of year. No, not really. Paw-Paw died in October. Aunt Pam and Amber died in November. Tomorrow will be the anniversary of Uncle Ken's death. However, Angela, J.R. and Grandma Cozie all died in April.
I honestly don't believe in curses, but here's how I feel about this. We're born, we live a little while, and then we die. When it's your time to go, then it's just your time. And there's really no way of arguing it. I'm trying to explain this the best I can without being too blunt. But I've been dealing with family deaths for 20+ years now. I've dealt with my share of unexpected deaths as well. Kevin and I had a talk about this a couple of weeks ago. I kind of felt I didn't cry as much over Fester as I probably should have, because he was such a good friend. But I don't know. Maybe I've just dealt with it as much as I have to the point where I know how to deal with it. But then again, people have different ways of grieving.
In any event, I'm praying that it's just another UC flare-up for Dad and not cancer. I just wish Dad knew to take better care of himself, despite all of Mom's nagging.
And I bet Mom's regretting bringing up all of that divorce-talk now.