Sitting at home one evening, I received an unexpected phone call from my boyfriend. When I first heard his voice, I could tell something was wrong by the tone of his voice. It was a sad sounding voice, so I asked, “What’s wrong?” He replied softly, “My mom found out that she had breast cancer today.
” Well, when he told me that, it just tore my heart apart. All at once I began to cry. It felt like someone had just stabbed me in my heart. I knew at that point that it was just going to be a matter of time before she made her journey up to the good Lord and Savior. I knew soon that is was going to be her homecoming.
That same night, I found out that I was pregnant. Having to tell him such good news on such a bad day was just going to be too much for him to handle, so I waited until the next day. When I told him that we were going to have a baby, he went into shock. He couldn’t believe it. He was so happy and full of joy but at the same time was very sad. He told me that he was so happy because he knew that his mother was at least going to be able to see her first grandchild.
On a cold, snowy day in December, Lisa saw my son for the first time. Her eyes were filled with tears and I saw a shine on her face that would light up any room. She got to spend three years with him until she just got too sick. I can remember the day that the whole family went to Busch Gardens, Williamsburg.
Logan, my son, was two years old at the time and Lisa and Logan couldn’t be separated. Everywhere Lisa walked, Logan was right behind her. He loved Lisa so much. Every night before we went to bed, he told her that he loved her.
Although the whole family knew that she was dying slowly, Lisa never gave up the fight. She never let her cancer get into the way. She kept getting up every Sunday to make it there. Even though she sometimes went to church with her slippers on, she still fought the battle to make it to church. Lisa never let anyone tell her that she was dying of cancer. I her eyes, she was living with cancer, not dying of cancer.
She never wanted any help, when taking a bath or using the bathroom. Feeling sorry for her just made her mad. Shannon, her son, tried to help her to the bathroom, and she started yelling at him, telling him that she didn’t need any help. But that was Lisa.
She never wanted any help with anything, until one morning when I came over to see her, she couldn’t make it out of the bed. She had to be waited on hand and foot. She looked like death. Finally the night came when Lisa was sitting in her chair just as still, as she should be. Her mouth was dry and she could not talk. The only way she communicated with us was by the squeeze of her hand.
Her body was very cold and she hadn’t used the bathroom for days. She had a bald head and black rings around her eyes. Her organs were slowly shutting down. All she could do was moan, and groan. At this point and time we knew that her life was ending. At 5:50 a.
m. Sunday, November 30, 1998, Lisa lost her battle with cancer. It was a sad, sad, day when the Lord took her up into his arms, but it was the best thing for her. I know that she is better off now, but it is really hard having to explain death to a three-year old. He is always asking, ” Where is Nanny?” All I can say to him is, “Nanny is up in the sky. ” He still really doesn’t understand what is going on, but the situation with him understanding the concept is getting better.
He is not asking for her as much and when we ask him where nanny is, he replies, “Up in the sky with Jesus. ” I know that Lisa is looking over us, but we, as a family will all be there soon to reunite with our loving sister, mother, daughter, and grandmother. She will be missed dearly.
