The year she was needed most

Hi,

It was 6 months today that my family and I lost my dear Nan to bile duct cancer.

This woman was not just a Nan; a best friend, a second mum and a part of my heart. Losing her has really tested me emotionally and mentally. There are no words to describe how big this loss was, not just to my family or myself but also to all the lives she touched.

Her cancer battle was short but hard work; she was diagnosed 19th November 2015 and died 14th march 2016. The thing that i will never forget about her is that during her battle she would always take the time to text me, seeing how school was or congratulating me on any good grades i had just achieved. In fact the day she was diagnosed, was the day i got my results from my mock exams (these were our last practice exams before our real GCSEs, so i was really nervous about it) and I text her the results and she was so chuffed with them despite them being mostly grade C, when i was capable of achieving grade Bs and As, but to her that didn’t matter. My mum recently told me that she got that text just after the diagnosis, which proves that nothing could distract her from what mattered to her.

Recently i have been struggling quite badly. After her sudden passing, there was a lot going on for me. My sixteenth birthday was three weeks after her death so I had to be positive and happy for that. I also had my GCSEs staring soon, so revision was my main priority when i could, then in July i had my prom and soon i will be facing results day. Having these distractions have helped slightly because there’s always been a next milestone for me to reach (despite her not being there to celebrate with me), but since i officially broke up from school on the 22nd of June, I’ve started to have more spare time... thinking time. I like to think that my brain lately has been semi-permeable. It will only let certain things sink in. It will let the fact that i should be going to college soon, sink in... And it has let the fact that my Nan has died sink in... but it hasn’t let the actual fact that i will never. Ever. See my Nan, sat on the sofa in the corner of the sitting room, shouting at the football on the radio. :love: and to be honest, it sends a tear down my face every time i think of it in that way.

It feels at the moment that its all starting to hit my - like punches. Not just her death, but also that during one of the biggest and most important year of my life, i wont have that very special, supportive woman, giving me one of her looks which doesn’t need to be explained to me; i would just know she was proud.

Next week, we will finally be burring her with my uncle, where she now belongs.

I’m so sorry this is so long and on going! :) i was just wondering, it is just me who is struggling to deal with reality? Is it ok for me to not accept what’s happened? xxx

Thank you -

chloe x

 

UPDATE: we buried my nan of friday 19th august - it was a lovely final send off for her however during the evening of that day my grandad had a heart attack. thankfully he is in hospital doing well.

  • Hello chloe.2000,

    Your nan was obviously very special and close to you and it must be really hard for you not to be able to share with her the big events in your life like your prom or your GCSE results but there is no doubt your nan would have been very proud of you.

    Our page on Coping with Grief will help you understand the complex range of emotions you are feeling. It will be an emotional week for you as your nan will be buried with your uncle and I hope you have support around you and someone to talk to when you need it the most. You will also meet so many people on this forum who feel exactly like you, who are struggling to deal with reality and feel they can't accept what happened. I hope you will get chatting here soon with others who are dealing with the same difficulties at the moment and struggling to cope after the loss of a loved one.

    I hope you are enjoying the summer and the break from school and that you are also taking some time to do fun things or to relax reading some books for example. When do you get your GCSE results? We are keeping fingers and toes crossed for you!

    Best wishes,

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

  • thank you very much! I will have a look at the page ASAP!

    I get my results on the 25th August, but thank you so much - means a lot x

  • You're very welcome Chloe! Only a week to go then before your results... I hope the wait isn't too difficult. We'll be thinking of you on the 25th.

    Lucie

  • Im dreading it but theres nothing i can do now - whats done has been done! xxx

  • Hi Chloe, 

    I'm so sorry to hear about your nan! She sounded like a lovely lady! 

    Me and my sister are in a similar sitation to you. I'm 20 and my sister is 16, and 3 months ago our dad passed away from cancer after a short 9 week battle. I was finishing my second year at uni and my sister was in the middle of doing her GCSE's at the time. My sister reacted in a very similar way to you - with her GCSE's, I feel like it didn't really sink in and it only began to recently. It's perfectly normal for it to feel unreal, I still feel like it now. 

    But please remember you aren't alone! I'm sure you will have lots of people to celebrate your results day with! And I wish you all the best with your results :) 

    Georgia x 

  • Hi chloe

    im so sorry your struggling with the loss of your nan I lost my husband 6 weeks ago and if it wasn't for my grandchildren I don't know how I would cope it each day, they keep me going and I know they love me like you love your nan, all I can say is as a nan I would want my grandchildren to enjoy their lives as much as they can, it sounds like your nan loved you very much and I'm sure she is watching over you as I would my grandchildren and want you to be happy, be happy for her make her proud and think of all the happy times you shared with her as a nan that's what I would wish for and I'm sure she would to godbless Chloe Maria xx

  • hello, I'm so sorry for your loss! it must e hard to lose a parent, especially during speical moments in both of you and your younger sister were going through! xx i hate the thought of it sinking in ever, but im sure i will at some point and when it does, i think i will feel like a giant weight would be lifted off my shoulders, as im sure you and your family will too xx Thank you very much, fingers crossed with my results :) xxx thank you though xxx really appreciate it
  • hello maria,

    thank you so much for those lovely words! xxx its lovely to be able to hear a response from a 'nan's persepective' xxx

    i hope that everything i do from now on will make her proud and there is not one day where myslef and my family will not think of her! xxx we always think about what she would be saying right now or what she would be doing whcih i think does provide comfort to us (and a few laughs ;) )

    im so very sorry to her about your loss, and as a grandchild myself, the thoguht of losing my granda would break my heart! so i send all my love not only to you, but to your family aswell! :)

    we finally (6 months and 5 days after her death) buried her on friday, which was hard in itself, but to top the day off, in the evening of that night my granddad had a heart attack :( :shocked: but thankfully he is currently in hospital and doing fine at the moment. we went to visit him tonight and we spent a good hour talking about nan and good times with her, which i know she would love xxx

    thank you again and i send my love to you and your family xxx

  • Hi chloe

    was thinking about you and wondering how your grand dad was doing , it must have been awful that he wasn't well on what must have been a most difficult day, I hope he is okay now and that you are okay try and let me know how you both are love to you both godbless Maria xx

  • hello maria thank you for the support, it was hard because it was like finally closing one chapter and then another whole new different capture opens up straight after! it was also hard to watch my mum have to cope with all of this. He is currently in hospital but tomorrow he is making his way up to the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham and there he will soon have a triple bypass on his heart xxx thank you again (hope you're coping alright as well, always a message away) xxx