The world came to a screeching halt for all of us in 2020. For me, 2020 slammed on the breaks about two weeks early. It was 4:15pm on Tuesday February 25th, when I was sitting at my desk, and the phone rang. 

I knew something was wrong as soon as I heard my grandmother’s voice. She hated doctors, but she was in a lot of pain and wanted me to take her to the ER. Over the next few days I learned she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and lung cancer. She didn't have much time and opted for home hospice care. I rounded up the family, set up a rotating schedule to care for her, and started working remotely so I could be around as much as possible. Then, the whole world shut down. I was the only one that could work remotely, and Covid was really scary then, especially when spending so much time around such a vulnerable person, so for the next three months it was just her and I (and the awesome team from VNA Care).

Over the course of the next few months, I learned that the "proper" way to make mashed potatoes is with one stick of butter per potato and watched far too much of The Great British Bake Off. She told me the same stories I had already rolled my eyes at a thousand times, and I listened like it was the first time.

After a few months we learned more about the pandemic and were able to unseal our bubble a little. Friends and family were able to visit. It was around then that she really started to rally. On the good days we would all forget she was even sick.

Then the good days became rarer, and the bad days got worse. Caring for her got harder, the nursing visits became more frequent, and she stopped asking if I put enough butter in her mashed potatoes. I would give up almost anything to hear her tell the same stories over and over again.

You already know how these kinds of stories end. About a year later cancer took her dearest friend and de facto sister, my Aunt Kathy. Every day we lose 1,600 lives to cancer in the US alone. We’ve all lost loved ones. Hopefully one day that will change. 

And that's why I fight.