Every Sunday, my family gathers at my grandparents’ house
for a good meal and hearty laughs. All of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and their
kids would be together doing anything, whether it be playing outside or
watching TV or telling stories or more often than not, discussing food. I am
blessed to live so close to my family and throughout my life I was influenced
by the best people. My grandpa was a charismatic, compassionate man with the
most radiant of smiles. My family is big and loud and a little crazy, as many
families are, so my grandpa’s soothing nature was enough to keep us calm when
we needed to be. And he was the most hip grandpa ever. He had the best sense of
style with his love for bright colors and classy, cool looks.
He had that wise man aura because of all that he had been
through but we all know that he had a young spirit and soul. When we went to
Mexico with him and my grandma, they were always the ones who stayed up the
latest and woke up earliest, wanting to get the most out of the vacation. We
ate like kings, got nice and tan, and my grandpa agreed to go into the crystal
blue water—the first time that he had been in an ocean in over 60 years. Great
memories were made on this last vacation that we took with him. Below is a
picture of him and my grandma during the trip. My wish for everyone is that
they find love like the two of them did.
In September 2011, my grandpa was diagnosed with gastric
cancer. My family was shocked as this was the first time someone so close to us
had been diagnosed. It was tough for us handle it, but we had all of us there
and wonderful friends as support. We already spent a lot of time together but
everyone started spending even more with him and we learned to truly cherish
every moment we spent as a family. My grandpa was very strong and didn’t like
to show pain, so when it started becoming noticeable that he was suffering, it
was hard on all of us. He stopped asking so frequently for high-fives and
picking up the babies to tickle their feet with the stubble on his chin. The
little amount of hair that he loved to meticulously comb was buzzed off one
day. Eventually he became too weak to wave hi or talk much, but the way his
eyes lit up when we came to spend time with him said it all. I always felt bad
when he could sense my stress and worry even when I tried to hide it, but that
was always one of his powers. Throughout my life he would tell me that I
shouldn’t worry, that I was going to do great things. He always believed in me.
My grandpa passed away on January 25th, 2013 right
around his birthday and Chinese New Year. He battled cancer for almost a year
and a half, which was much longer than the doctors had predicted. Many people
tell us that he was with us longer because of all of the love that he was
surrounded by. We miss him dearly but we know that he is still supporting all
of us, watching over us, protecting us.
But I am not only participating in Relay for Life for my
grandpa. I am Relaying for everyone because we have all been impacted by cancer
in some way. I want people to have hope that our posterity will live in a world
without cancer. People often don’t believe in a cure for cancer, thinking that
only a miracle would create one; however, I know that there are great minds at
work, miracles in the making.
I like the quote "There isn't enough room in your mind
for both worry and faith. You must decide which will live there." I know
it's hard not to worry about loved ones, and I find myself guilty of it as
well, but the most important thing is to really believe that things will get
better and to commit to the fight.
With RelayLove,
Logistics Committee
