My mom started dating a guy named Robert Lloyd. He was a great guy. He died two days before Thanksgiving. A week or so before he died he told my mom that he was sick and that he had liver cancer. He didn't know how long he had. He said the doctor said he had six months, but he wasn't sure. He told Mom that he would make it through Thanksgiving, but wasn't sure about Christmas. Well he lied; he didn't even make it to Thanksgiving. The day before he died he was throwing up all day. It was nonstop. He wouldn't go to the hospital or the doctor, and he wouldn't quit drinking. Mom called the doctor and told him what was going on, and he said to give him ice chips. He couldn't keep the ice chips down either.

The next day Mom went to work having a bad feeling about something. She called Robert's phone and it was off, so she text and ask me to go to his place and check on him. When she asked me, I thought maybe he was sleeping since he was getting sick the day before. I went down to his place and heard water running. I thought he was taking a shower. I text and let Mom know that I thought he was in the shower. I had an appointment at the hospital that day. I got out about noon and mom said his phone was still off and asked me to go check on him again. So I went down there. I opened the door a little bit and saw him laying on the couch. I thought he was sleeping so I didn't say anything.

Mom got off work at two, and she always goes and see Robert before going home. She went down to his place and she sees him laying on the floor not moving or breathing. Since mom works at a nursing home, she knows that if the persons eyes are open and they are not doing anything then they are dead. Well Robert's eyes were open. Mom calls me screaming and crying saying, “He Gone.” I was still at my mother-in-laws place because they were watching James earlier and Grandpa was making fried chicken. I leave James there again and go over to Robert's place to be with Mom.

I go down there and I see him laying on the floor with black stuff coming out of his mouth and nose, and then I see black stuff on the floor. His right arm was up by his head and his left arm was by his back, it looked like he tried getting up. When I saw him laying on the floor, I felt like a part of me was gone. I wish mom wouldn't have found him and for some reason I had a feeling that I should have been the one to find him, but I didn't. I called my boyfriend who was at work and told him. He came right over to help me calm down Mom and make sure I was okay.

We waited for the police to get there. I told the police when I was there to check on him. One cop who doesn't really like me said that I needed to come down to the police station to talk to him about when I was there to check on him because the coroner says he was dead longer than what I say. I go and talk to him. I told him my story. He says he believed me, but I don't think he did, because he said he wasn't going to add the part when I checked on him at noon, so that it would match what the coroner was saying.

Roger Robert's youngest brother met us at Robert's place to take care of everything. He didn't want to see his brother that way. He wanted to remember how he was. Roger told Mom that he thought about stopping by the day Robert was getting sick but he changed his mind because it was getting close to a holiday and they always argue when it is close to a holiday. But he says if he would have, then he might have still been here today.

While Mom and Roger are talking, Dad calls and asks what's going on because he got a call from my mother-in-law. I told him that Robert had died, and even though Mom and Dad are not together anymore, he still felt bad and asked me who found him. I told him Mom did and he was hoping I would have said someone else.

Mom had to go home and find a way to tell the girls about Robert. It wasn't a very easy thing to do since they got attached to him. Mom didn't know what to do so I talked her into going to
Grandpa's house early. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go or not because her and Robert made plans to go to Arkansas. He was going to ride with us until we got to Marshall, Missouri. We were going to drop him off at his mom and pick him back up on our way home. So she wasn't so sure about leaving.

I talked her into leaving. We left at four in the morning on Thanksgiving Day. It was a long drive, but we had my grandpa meet us half way. We met grandpa in Sedalia, Missouri. He filled up mom's and his vehicle with gas then he was going to find a place that might be open for breakfast. Grandpa heard a lady say that Mc Donald’s might be open. So we decided to go there. Mom and two of my sisters rode with Grandpa while I drove Mom's car and had my boyfriend, James, and my littlest sister. We get to Mc Donald's and we wait in line, grandpa drives up to the window while we pull up to order, and while we are waiting mom calls and says they are closed and to follow them. When I get to the highway, grandpa is already gone. I get on the highway and start going the right way, but I can't find them. I call Mom up and ask where they are and they are about two or three mile ahead of us. I'm thinking that I’m going to get lost since I have never driven to grandpa's by myself.

Grandpa pulls over at a gas station in a town right before we get to Springfield, where mom took over driving, and I was glad because when we got into Springfield, we got hit with a winter mix of snow and rain. We finally get through Springfield and into Branson and they are getting the same thing. About an hour and a half later we get out of that stuff, and we hit Harrison, Arkansas. They were getting rain and it wasn't as cold as Springfield or Branson.



We finally get to Grandpa's house that evening and Grandpa fixed chili for supper. We watched some movies and relaxed after a long drive. The next day mom and i get up early to go shopping at Wal-mart for black Friday. I helped Mom pick out Christmas gifts for my sister, grandpa, James, and my boyfriend, and she even got mine while we were there too. We got done shopping and headed back to Grandpa's for breakfast. We just get home and Mom gets a text message from Roger letting her know when Robert's funeral was. His funeral was on Monday, November 23, 2011, which meant we had to leave on Sunday.

Mom tried to enjoy herself. We had our Thanksgiving on Saturday. Mom got to see all the family and talk to them. I think it was hard for my little sister, because she kept bringing up Robert's name. We had to tell her that she had to quit talking about him for a little while. The next morning Grandpa asked us to go to church with him before we left. After church grandpa asked me to make some lunch so we wouldn't be hungry. Everyone else was putting our bags in grandpa's vehicle. He told mom to take his vehicle so there would be more room. The two little ones rode in back with our bags so they would have more room. We were driving an explorer so the girl were in the trunk space. The girls was moving around a lot and a cop was behind us. Mom got pulled over. The cop asked mom for her driver's license, and she realized that she didn't have her license it was at home. The cop didn't give her a ticket for no driver's license. He only gave her a ticket for the girls sitting in the back, and told mom she couldn't leave till Grandpa came and helped her out. He meant what he said because he sat on the highway watching us.

Grandpa shows up and I don't think the cop saw him. He takes the little one and tells Mom to go ahead and go and see if the cop follows. Sure enough the cop pulls us over again and asks mom if she was in a hurry that she couldn't wait. She tells the cop that the girls are not in the back and that’s when Grandpa pulls up with the girls. He gets out and talks to the officer. We start driving again and Grandpa calls and says pull over, so the girls can get back in. I ask grandpa how he was going to get home since the cop will probably be watching. He said he knew a different way going home. We start driving again. We get to Branson and it was clear so that meant Springfield had to be clear. We get home about midnight.

Monday morning, and we are getting ready for Robert's funeral. We get to Smith's place and help Robert's family with the visitation and then the funeral. Robert's Mom told mom that she is still part of the family and she has heard a lot about Mom. That was the first time they had ever met, which is a bad time to meet someone.

Roger's mom came up to her and gave her a hug and asked if she was doing okay. He told Mom that they know how Robert died. He tells Mom that he didn't have liver cancer as he said. He didn't have a liver at all, and that his appendix exploded. So even if Mom got him to the hospital, there was still a chance he wouldn't have made it.

After the funeral is over we get in the car and see that it's snowing. When I see the snow, I’m thinking that it's snowing because Robert liked the snow, but I don't know if he did or not. We drive to Green City, Missouri, to bury him. I thought it was sad that Robert’s dad didn't show up just because he didn't want to believe it. Nobody wants to believe it, but to this day I'm not sure if he believes or not.