mountain_tiger
Smash Champion
Link to original post: [drupal=1967]Why must people around me suffer?[/drupal]
My name is Matt. For the most part, I have enjoyed a happy life so far. I'm just under 16 years old, and I have two sisters, a brother, my mum and dad. I have most of the things someone of my age would want, and school is normally fine as well. But a number of past events in my life have left a mark on me, perhaps for the best in the long run. Few bad things have happened to me directly; it's the people close to me that seem to suffer.
It first began in 1999, when I was a little boy of six, though at the time we didn't know it. My dad had gotten some pains in his wrist, and consulted the doctor about it. However, the doctor told him that nothing seemed out of the ordinary. For the next few years, the incident was forgotten about. However, in late 2002, my dad began to suffer from slurring of his speech and problems with certain muscles. After going to the GP about it, in early 2003 he was eventually diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease. Motor Neuron Disease is a disorder that targets the person's motor neurones over time, leading to problems swallowing, breathing, walking, talking and many other basic functions, and eventually leading to death. He had a very rare form of the disease, called ALS, which progresses slower than usual, menaing that rather than living 2-5 years, he could expect to live much longer. At first, nothing much seemed to be a problem, but slowly over the years, he lost his bility to swallow and talk easily, and he is now unable to walk without help from a rollator. It must be so horrible, to be trapped inside a body that cannot function correctly, while your mind stays intact.
But that was not the only grievance to befall someone close to me. Slightly before my dad was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease, my cousin contracted cancer. For a while, he did OK, fighting the disease to his best ability. But eventually, it got the better of him, and he died in 2004. He was aged just 23 at the time. Perhaps the saddest part of all was that I don't remember much about him, and now I can never resolve that. I never even got to attend the funeral.
Finally, there was my nan. She had been widowed 50 years previously during a car accident, and therefore she lived on her own. For many years, she was perfectly healthy, but then, in 2003, around the same time my dad was diagnosed with MND, something terrible happened. She suffered from a stroke and collapsed in the hall, and was not discovered until over ten hours later. She was left unable to move and speak, and was transported to a hospice. For the next two years, she slowly began to improve her speaking skills, and regained some movement in her arms. However, she died in August 2005. It seemed that she had not been getting better after all. Painfully, my last words to her were, 'See you soon.'
Those three events have been a major factor in making me the person what I am today. But it's not all bad. I don't believe in any gods, spirits, or anything spiritual for that matter, but I do try and look on the bright side of these things. Although my nan had died, she was 82 years old at the time, and had lived a good and full life up until that point, so there were no regrets in that sense. As for my dad, he's still with us now, and he has new equipment to help make life easier, such as a wheelchair and reclining chair. He' still kept his kindness and peronsality, and he'll always be someone to look up to.
From seeing the suffering of people around me, I have learnt an important lesson: life is far too precious to waste. You need to make every minute count, because one day we'll be dead, and gone forever, with no idea of when that day will come. I hope that, when I'm older, I'll look back on my life, and have no regrets about any decisions I may have made in life. I encourage anyone reading this to try and do the same.
My name is Matt. For the most part, I have enjoyed a happy life so far. I'm just under 16 years old, and I have two sisters, a brother, my mum and dad. I have most of the things someone of my age would want, and school is normally fine as well. But a number of past events in my life have left a mark on me, perhaps for the best in the long run. Few bad things have happened to me directly; it's the people close to me that seem to suffer.
It first began in 1999, when I was a little boy of six, though at the time we didn't know it. My dad had gotten some pains in his wrist, and consulted the doctor about it. However, the doctor told him that nothing seemed out of the ordinary. For the next few years, the incident was forgotten about. However, in late 2002, my dad began to suffer from slurring of his speech and problems with certain muscles. After going to the GP about it, in early 2003 he was eventually diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease. Motor Neuron Disease is a disorder that targets the person's motor neurones over time, leading to problems swallowing, breathing, walking, talking and many other basic functions, and eventually leading to death. He had a very rare form of the disease, called ALS, which progresses slower than usual, menaing that rather than living 2-5 years, he could expect to live much longer. At first, nothing much seemed to be a problem, but slowly over the years, he lost his bility to swallow and talk easily, and he is now unable to walk without help from a rollator. It must be so horrible, to be trapped inside a body that cannot function correctly, while your mind stays intact.
But that was not the only grievance to befall someone close to me. Slightly before my dad was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease, my cousin contracted cancer. For a while, he did OK, fighting the disease to his best ability. But eventually, it got the better of him, and he died in 2004. He was aged just 23 at the time. Perhaps the saddest part of all was that I don't remember much about him, and now I can never resolve that. I never even got to attend the funeral.
Finally, there was my nan. She had been widowed 50 years previously during a car accident, and therefore she lived on her own. For many years, she was perfectly healthy, but then, in 2003, around the same time my dad was diagnosed with MND, something terrible happened. She suffered from a stroke and collapsed in the hall, and was not discovered until over ten hours later. She was left unable to move and speak, and was transported to a hospice. For the next two years, she slowly began to improve her speaking skills, and regained some movement in her arms. However, she died in August 2005. It seemed that she had not been getting better after all. Painfully, my last words to her were, 'See you soon.'
Those three events have been a major factor in making me the person what I am today. But it's not all bad. I don't believe in any gods, spirits, or anything spiritual for that matter, but I do try and look on the bright side of these things. Although my nan had died, she was 82 years old at the time, and had lived a good and full life up until that point, so there were no regrets in that sense. As for my dad, he's still with us now, and he has new equipment to help make life easier, such as a wheelchair and reclining chair. He' still kept his kindness and peronsality, and he'll always be someone to look up to.
From seeing the suffering of people around me, I have learnt an important lesson: life is far too precious to waste. You need to make every minute count, because one day we'll be dead, and gone forever, with no idea of when that day will come. I hope that, when I'm older, I'll look back on my life, and have no regrets about any decisions I may have made in life. I encourage anyone reading this to try and do the same.
