I will never forget the day when my Grandma called and told my family she had cancer. She said, “well today is my grieving day and tomorrow I start to fight this disease” and fighting is what she did. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer on May 7, 2003 which eventually spread. She was in and out of the hospital for treatment but unfortunately lost her battle on October 28, 2004 at the age of sixty-eight.

My Grandma lived about seven hours away from me so I did not get to see her as much as I wished I could have. But when we did get to see each other, it was extremely special.

When we would arrive at Grandma’s she would be standing in the doorway with tears of joy and a huge, warm smile on her face. It was as if she waited patiently all day long for our arrival.

Grandma always seemed to spoil us. She always seemed to cook the best meals, whether it was breakfast, lunch or dinner; Grandma’s cooking always tasted so much better then anything else I had ever tasted. Grandma always went out of her way to make us happy and everything she did was so much more special. I will never forget when she came to our house for Christmas. It was like a toy shop in her car, packed with toys for all of her Grandchildren. She took great joy in seeing others happiness and this seemed to motivate her in everyday life. We use to have so much fun together, whether it was playing toys when I was younger or as I grew older talking about boys, Grandma was always there for me.

Grandma always had time for us, be it to go shopping or take us to her favourite Chinese restaurant. Grandma was always there to talk with, give advice and inspire us. She was a loving, caring woman who never missed sending a birthday card even when she was very ill.

Grandma had very strong views on the political world and loved to debate on certain topics. She was also very sports minded especially when it came to the Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Pacers.

My Grandma was such an inspiration and such a strong woman. She had gone through so much, losing her husband of forty-four years in October 1997, who passed away at the age of sixty-four from complications after surgery. She also has three beautiful daughters, but unfortunately one had a reaction to one of the mandatory needles and suffers partial brain damage. Grandma dedicated her whole life to this daughters care. No matter what obstacle life threw at my Grandma she would always put others first and this is so inspiring to me.

Although I tried to stay strong in front of her, the first visit after she was diagnosed with cancer was very hard to take. She lost all her hair from chemo treatment and was very weak. What amazed me though was that she always seemed to have a smile on her face and was always in good spirits even when the times were tough. Leaving to go home was very emotional and difficult. As I looked into my Grandma’s eyes and felt her arms around me, I realized how much she meant to me and how much she had taught me throughout my life. I knew that Grandma’s cancer was not getting any better and when I was hugging my goodbye’s we did not want to let go. We had thoughts that this might be the last time we see each other, and unfortunately it was.

Her life and the way she lived has inspired me and my family to get involved in the fight against cancer. I have been a volunteer with the Canadian Cancer Society for four years now.

There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of her.

Grandma, I miss and love you so much!
XO

The Typically Canadian Group is riding with Lindsey's Grandma...

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