On a warm sunny afternoon, I visited my Grandma and Grandpa Flory’s house.  After I had spent some time with them, I decided that I would go down to my aunt’s house to visit with her for a while before my grandparents took me home.  I arrived at my aunt’s house, and she warmly welcomed me with a hug and a kiss and said, “Well, hello, Miss Miranda.”  After my grandma left to go back to her house to get some cleaning done before she took me home, I decided to play with my little cousin.  I played some games and relaxed at my aunt’s house for about two hours before my grandparents came back.  They told me, “Miranda, we have to go some where.  We can’t take you home right now, so is it okay if you just stay here tonight?”  At first I felt unsure and thought, I don’t have any clothes, but decided it was not a big deal. I told them that was not a problem.  After I thought about where they might have gone, I started to get worried.
The month before I went on vacation to New Jersey with my mom’s parents, my cousin, and sister.  Before and during our vacation, my mother was in and out of the doctor’s office because she was not feeling well.  Every time that she went to the doctor, they told her that it was just a virus and would give her more medicine to take. Then about a week later, she didn’t feel any better, so she went back to the doctor.
  After I thought about why I had to stay at my aunt’s house, I became scared and worried that something had happened to my mom.  As I thought about what might have happened, my hands became clammy, and my stomach started turning like in knots.  I didn’t get much sleep that night.
The next morning, my Grandma Flory came to my aunt’s house to pick me up.  I sat in the car and just felt weird because I didn’t know what to say.  I was still thinking about my mom and wondered if she was okay.  Grandma told me, “I am taking you to Grandma Steven’s house because Mom and Dad had to go somewhere.”  After she told me that, I became even more nervous.  “Okay, where did they go?” I asked with fear. Grandma responded, “Your mom had a doctor’s appointment.”  I went along with it, but I still didn’t quite believe her.
I reached Grandma Steven’s house, and my sister was there.  Grandma explained to me that mom had fainted last night and that the rescue squad took her to the hospital.  After Grandma told us that, I was shocked and figured out that I was right the whole time.  Grandma told me, “Your mom is going to be transported to the University of Toledo Medical Center to see if they can figure out the problem.”
That night, we went to the hospital to follow the squad to Toledo where they were taking my mom. On the way, I started to cry because I became scared as I thought to myself, ‘Why did this have to be my mom?  Why did all this have to happen to her?’  As we were getting closer to the hospital, the buildings grew tall, and I heard sirens and other car horns in the distance.  The sounds were very different from where I lived. We were in the city. The suffocating stench of smog filled my nose as we reached the Toledo Hospital. We went inside to find my mom.
When I went inside, my dad was already in the hospital room with my mom.  I walked in with my sister and two older brothers.  Terrified, I didn’t know what to think about Mom being there.  When I walked in, my mom was dressed in a hospital gown.  She was hooked up to an IV to give her the medication that she needed. My mom was pale and just didn’t look like herself.  My dad explained, “Mom has colon cancer, and this is the best place for her.”  Mom assured us, “I will be okay, and we will get through this as a family.”  At that moment, I grew speechless. I was told my mom has cancer!  I had never heard of that word before, and now I find out that my mom has this so-called cancer. My hands became clammy again, and I started to feel hot.  I didn’t know what to say.
I made it through that day.  I stuck by my mom’s side through the two years she fought cancer.  It seemed like such a short time before she passed away on May 5th, 2011. This year will mark four years from her passing.  The lesson I learned about this journey with my mom is to not take people for granted because within a matter of days, minutes, or seconds, they can be gone.  The day I found out that my mom had cancer, I never thought that I would be losing her in less than two years.  If I were to give advice, I would say this: “Tell the people close to you how much they mean to you and that you love them because they could be gone when you least expect it.”