my hero

I went to see my grandmother last Wednesday. At the hospital.
My grandmother just might be my hero. I've always looked up to her. She's just an amazing woman. For as long as I can remember, she has been one of those people who is just always busy. She loves people so she joins as many groups and clubs as possible. She's been involved with countless social, service and church organizations. In addition to all that, she loves to travel. I'm pretty sure I inherited my traveling gene from her.
In April, my grandmother was diagnosed with Lymphoma. For the first time, she had no choice but to slow down. However, she wanted to still go on our family cruise. More than anything else, my grandmother loves the time she spends with family. And so, her doctor assured her that he would work out the chemotherapy treatments so that she would still be able to cruise with us the last week in July.
My grandmother began the chemo and did surprisingly well. She had good days and bad days, but not too terrible. Yes, there was the inevitable hair loss, but thank goodness for wigs and fantastic scarves. All seemed to be going well. Until the week before the cruise. Until the day she turned 75. On her birthday, my grandmother took a sudden turn for the worse. She was admitted to the hospital.
My grandmother did not go on the cruise with us. She remained in the hospital for 3 weeks. Slowly she began to improve. Until she was finally strong enough to return home. However, the time at home was short-lived. Last Tuesday I called to make arrangements to visit my grandparents the next day. Only a few hours after hanging up the phone with my grandmother, she had to be re-admitted to the hospital.
The next day I went to visit my grandparents. Though not at their house as I had planned. Instead, I went to the hospital where I saw my grandmother lying weakly in a hospital bed. For years, I've seen her the way I did when I was still little. Full of energy, strength and endurance. My grandmother is one of those lucky people who don't really seem to get old, just older.
When I walked into the room, my grandmother smiled at me and she never looked more beautiful to me. As I sat in the chair next to her, I realized that I wanted desperately to capture that time with her so that I could remember it- clearly and forever. She spoke with such insight. I watched as my grandfather took care of her. I thought of the Love Is... cartoons. And I was thinking of all the ways love existed in that room at that moment. He looks at her in a way that I believe he must have looked at her when he first fell in love with her.
My grandmother has had a lot of time for reflection as she has been in the hospital. She shared some of her thoughts with me. She realized just how blessed she is by our family. She and my grandfather have been married for 52 years. But according to her, their marriage has become even stronger and they have grown even closer as a result of her cancer. They have four children. All of them are still married, never divorced. Very rare these days. They have 9 grandchildren. And of course, all of us are wonderful, too. Then she continued to share some thoughts about faith. Someone recently asked her if she ever questioned God, asking "Why me?" My grandmother answered, "Never." She told me that she feels her cancer has been a blessing.
I have always known my grandmother to have a positive disposition, so I suppose her words at the hospital should not have been so surprising to me. She is someone who loves to serve others. She is fair and kind. Considerate and thoughtful. She has always been one of my biggest supporters in all of my endeavors. Since college she has encouraged me to pursue graduate school, knowing that I still have great things ahead of me. She was so excited when I announced I had been admitted to my dream grad school.
I love my grandmother. I hope I can live up to example she has set.