It all started when my Grandfather was getting very sick and we did not know why. He went to the hospital but then they sent him to another place to get some tests done. We were all so confused. The doctor said he/she thought that is was melanoma. A few days later he went to another doctor to check for any marks so that the doctors would know how and where the melanoma started. There were no marks which meant the melanoma started in his body which means his case of melanoma was very bad already. Only 1% of all the cases start inside the body, it is really rare.
He kept getting worse very fast and we did not know why everything was happening so fast. So he went back to the hospital and the offered him chemo, he took it. He had to go to the hospital so he could get the chemo. He needed more the chemo was not helping very much so he had to go to Texas to get a stronger chemo. When he came back he was doing a little better but he could not stand on his own very well he almost fell every time he tried to stand up. He had gotten so skinny I could not believe how much weight he lost. My grandpa had to get a wheelchair. He could only stay on the first floor because you had to go up some stairs to get on to the next floor. So my parents and I had to bring him some fold out tables so he could eat in the living room.
He soon went to hospital that helps people with cancer and rehabilitation to get stronger called Gaylord. He was doing really well there. He was in a wheelchair, so they were teaching him how to get in and out of a car. He was getting very good at it. He was doing so much better than he was before. Once my mom took my sister and I to see him at Gaylord hospital. He was so skinny he lost so much more weight than before; I did not think it was possible to get that skinny. I was afraid to hug him I thought he would break he was so frail. We went for a walk around the hospital. It was a nice day out. I remember my Uncle was there too. I was so sad when we had to go I thought I was going to cry just giving him a hug goodbye.

A few days later my dad had a talk with my sister and me. He said that he was not doing very well and we might not see him anymore. He also said that nothing was really helping so hope that everything turns out alright but I do not think that hoping for something will always work. He was saying that we should pray for him every night and I did. I said about how much I loved him that I really hoped he would turn out ok. I used to keep a picture of him on my dresser and looked at it every night before I went to sleep.
One day after my brother and sister both left for school the phone rang. My mom answered it because my dad was still half asleep. She said hello and I heard crying in the phone and my aunt saying it is happening. My mom left the room and she was whispering into the phone. I think she did that so I could not hear what she was saying. I left for school, I was miserable all day. I remember my class was in the media center when I heard on the speaker that I was getting dismissed. Then I knew what happened.
I remember that night my sister and I made cards for my parents to bring to the wake. I wrote a note to him in it. I remember I wrote that I missed him so much and that I loved him. My aunt was pregnant with my cousin at the time so she put his ultrasound of him to the wake too. I still continue to pray for him, we were so close. On Sundays we have dinner at my grandparents’ house I used to sit next to him sometimes. My little cousin calls him poppy. Sometimes he comes out of nowhere and says I miss poppy. He even goes to the cemetery almost every Friday with my grandmother to visit where grandfather is I miss him so much.
My Grandfather taught me that it was easy to be nice and caring. My grandpa was so friendly and loved. He had so many friends that were at his funeral; even people from his work missed him and went to his funeral. Even some people that did not know him came.