Narrative Essay Sample about Grandmother's Stroke

We don’t appreciate things until they’re taken away from us. This essay is about my grandmother on my mother’s side. My grandma lives in Washington so we don’t see her as much. Through my 18 years of living, I’ve only visited her three times and she visited us once. My mom would talk to grandma occasionally. Maybe once every few months. They spoke kmer to each other whenever they called. I couldn't understand what they said to each other, but when it was my turn to talk to her, she spoke English. I appreciated when she spoke English but it made me want to get better at speaking Kmer. My mother sort of kept a distance from her family since she moved to California to be with my dad.  My grandmother is a healthy woman; however, when we found out she had a stroke. It shocked all of us. 

The incident happened on February 28th of this year. Around 9 am, I was laying down on my bed when I heard light, yet quick footsteps running up our creaky staircase. Just from hearing the footsteps I immediately recognized they were my mothers. She was a petite woman, so she didn’t make that much noise coming up. At first, I wasn’t sure why she was running up the stairs until I heard sobbing. Both my sister and I came out of our rooms to check what was going on. Right as I opened my door she was already there. I looked at my mother’s face and I was shocked. She was teary-eyed and her cheeks were bright red. This was the first time I ever saw her cry in front of me. She was mumbling words, but I couldn’t understand what she was trying to say. My mom took a deep breath and said, “Alani, grandma had a stroke.” At the moment I wasn't able to react at all. Until I heard small gasps coming from my sister. I glanced in her direction and she was already crying. Tears were pouring out of her eyes. Soon after witnessing that, my eyes began to sting. My vision was beginning to get blurry. I didn’t even realize tears were coming out of my eyes. I was more worried about my mom. Both my sister and I tried comforting her but it was useless. All three of us were on the ground, crying in the hallway upstairs. We couldn’t even get out a sentence. From all the sobbing, we woke up my baby sister. She came up the stairs and saw all three of us. She didn’t understand what was going on but, saw how sad we all looked. My mom picked up her phone and called my dad. About 45 minutes later my dad came from work. When my mom told my dad the news, they immediately booked a flight to Washington to visit her.  

From the stories I’ve heard my mom tell me, she was a strong, independent woman. She wouldn’t let anyone do things for her, so it was heartbreaking hearing how she’s bedridden and unable to function properly. The nurses had to feed her through a tube, which she constantly took out. They were going to put her in hospice, but my mom’s side of the family convinced them not to. She ended up being transferred to one of my uncle’s houses and they’ve been taking care of her since. But while she was there no one would watch over her so my aunt decided to take her in. Every day my aunt has to clean her, give her medication, as well as work. Apparently, there was something that happened, which caused half her brain to bleed out. She was immediately sent to the ER. Luckily, my auntie was there to call them. My aunt said she heard a thud coming from the upstairs of the bathroom and that’s when she found out our grandma had passed out.  

I don’t know what the future holds for my family and me but I do know that time is precious. After the incident, I started thinking about how I could spend more time with my family. Since I don’t know when it could be the last time, I’d like to cherish the moment I have with them. I don’t want to regret things and tell myself why I didn’t do this with them or why I couldn’t say ‘I love you’ more. I’d rather have happy moments with them, and without regrets. Every now and then, my mom would tell me how much she regretted not visiting her as much and how she wished she talked to her mom more. I know she worries about grandma all the time but she doesn’t show it. When someone mentions our grandmother, a sense of sadness washes over her eyes while she talks about her.  Since the incident, she calls her sister almost every day to check up on grandma and to see how she’s doing. I think this is her way of making up for the time she’s lost not spending time with them. We facetime my aunt and grandma, but it’s not the same as being with them.  

My grandmother is slowly getting better. She probably thinks we’re random strangers calling her ‘grandma’ through a screen since she still doesn’t remember us. Honestly, it wasn’t until that miserable day did, I decide to cherish each family member. Experiencing that also made me not take life for granted. I know there are things in this world we can’t control, but we can control the people we hang out with.  We’re planning to make a visit to Washington during Thanksgiving. This is going to be my fifth time seeing her in person.