Case Study: A Stressful Situation As a Child

To: Mrs. Dupuis-Neal
For: Family Studies 30S
From: Kacey Beach
Date: December 12, 1999

I think my most stressful situation as a child was when my grandpa got cancer and died. Grandpa Beach was the grandpa that I was closest to. We would go and visit him almost every Sunday, and he always had some sort of candy or treat waiting for us. He always took time to sit us on his lap and play with us. Then one day I remember overhearing my mom talking on the phone, and that's when I heard that he fell down the stairs. He just lost his balance, and fell down. It was in the hospital when he was being checked out that they discovered that he had cancer.

It had run in the family, and now he had been diagnosed with it. Mom just explained that he wasn't feeling well, and that he would be better soon. He was okay for a while, but then the cancer got worse and he had to go back to the hospital. He didn't get to leave this time.

I vividly remember that one Sunday I really didn't want to visit grandpa in the hospital because I hated seeing him in there. It was scary seeing all those tubes running from his arms and face. My sister really wanted to go that day, but for some reason I just couldn't get myself to go. So mom made Kelly stay home with me while dad and her visited him. It turns out that it was our last chance to visit him, because after that day he got much worse and he didn't want Kelly and I to see him in that condition.

I felt so guilty for making my sister miss our last visit with him. I made my mom tell him I was sorry and that I missed him and loved him lots. When he died I wrote him a little note that was left in his breast pocket when he was buried. I put it there when I went up to pay my respects to him with my mom. I still miss him lots sometimes, but I got over it quickly enough when I was a child. But there were still some days that I would forget and ask mom when we could go visit grandpa again.

Maybe I hoped that the answer change and that we could go see him soon.