Gaviria Caicedo Ana Sofía, 15 Th Of March, A Day To Remember

15 TH OF MARCH

A Day To Remember

Written By Ana Sofía Gaviria Caicedo

My grandfather was a proud man, well respected in his community, Full of love, disciplined, and high principal. He was the kind man who would do anything in the world for his family. He was a hero, a keeper, the one who gives his cuddles just to keep you safe. From my memories of him, I can recollect his leathery skin; it had seen more happiness than distress as if he had been celebrating life, all his life.

On the 15 th of March of 2018, my life completely changed. It was going great, all the same, my house, my family, my friends, my routine, everything was pretty well. Little did I know that my happiness will later turn into a 360 degrees storm...

February 28 th , 2018, the weekend arrived and I went to my grandparent’s house, and there he was, a true sight for sore eyes, he was sitting on the sofa, waiting for me with his arms open for a big and lovely hug. We were both there, the air was silent and the apartment was full of love. Suddenly, he broke the silence and said;

“Hey Teresa, do you want to dance some tango with your grandpa?” He asked cheerfully.

“Sure... But you have to remember that I am not as good as you, so you need to teach me”

“Hahaha” He laughed amusedly.

We enjoyed each step of the song, each movement, each laugh, and at every moment that I would step on him, we laughed at the same time and I realized how much I loved him and how special I was for having this incredible person as part of my family. The time passed and we did so much together, we watched some black and white movies, ate some popcorns, drunk coffee and of course talked about different things, as the story of how he met my grandma, that was my favorite one.

After a while, I left their house and head back home, I arrived shortly after and organized some stuff of some wonderful kids, I work within my social labor group, I reorganized

some games for them until when I was so tired that I put my head in the pillow and suddenly I fell asleep. The next day, my mom woke me up. I had never seen her so worried about anything, she said;

“Teresa, Teresa, wake up, your grandpa is sick, he is on the way to the hospital, he is feeling really bad”

I did not know why she was so worried, but I told her “Mom it must be flu, there is nothing to worry about,” I said tried to calm her down and then I added; “He will get better, my grandfather is the strongest guy I ever met, and please I don’t want you to be like this, do not stress yourself.”

Five nights had passed, and my grandpa was still in the hospital, now I was worried. I did not want to go to school, I woke up every morning, take a shower, ate some pancakes and run as fast as I could to the hospital to help my family and see if they needed anything. I had my lunch but if my grandma was hungry I gave it to her, I wanted them to be safe as a cozy blanket.

The following day, the doctors came in and out, I didn’t know what was happening until my mom told me that my grandfather had pneumonia, he was so sick he couldn’t stand up alone, he needed us in every step he wanted to take. I remembered that I was thinking of ideas, of what he might like to make him feel better, and then I started singing and dancing his favorite song that he used to sing to me;

“See the line where the sky meets the sea? It calls me And no one knows, how far it goes If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me One day I’ll know if I go there’s just no telling how far I’ll go...” ...And there was his beautiful in his face, he smiled so openly that I could see through his soul. His lips came from one corner to another full of love and tenderness, so much love that it brightened up the room.

The time passed and I was home alone with my cousin who was staying with me because my mother was at the hospital. We were watching twilight, when the phone interrupted us, “ring, ring.” It was my mom, again with her anguished voice.

She said; “Teresa, Teresa, you need to come right now to the hospital, the doctor has just told me that your grandpa will not make it through the night, you need to say goodbye” “COME RIGHT NOW” She added.

At that moment, my mind was so blurry that I had no words to respond that, they were telling me that my grandfather was going to die and that I would never see him again. My cousin drove me to the hospital, I entered the room number 16, run into his arms and told him how much I loved him, I just repeated and repeated, I love you, more often, I lost the counts, the only thing I know was that I didn’t want him to go, I wanted him to stay. Tears raced down my cheeks. We did not have more time, the doctor gave us that night and that’s it. My grandma could not talk she was so sad, she looked hopelessly lost.

The next day arrived, and I had no faith I was drenched in tears. I walked into that room, number 16. The room just made me sick and lost in a dark hole. Then I turned my face and I saw him… my grandpa was sleeping and dreaming, he was still alive. The oxygen was flowing through his veins, his heart was beating. He made it through the night. The doctors could not explain to us what had happened, they didn’t have a scientific explanation. It was an unexpected gift from god.

I hugged him so strongly, that I believe he could feel it. In my mind, I just thanked God, I was in shock, so happy that I couldn’t say a word. All my family was praying, he had gotten better God only knows how. Belatedly after, we were there close to him, waiting for him to open his eyes… At 5:00 pm, he finally opened his eyes as fast as a snail, we were all there

looking at him without distraction. My grandma took his arm and told him,

“Oh honey, I thought I was staying alone, please don’t go.”

He did not answer, he was sleepy because of the medicines. At that time the room was different, our hearts were blue now, we had faith, we believed he was going to get better. My grandpa’s bed perfectly organized, the blankets were perfectly made, they were very clean and white, the multiparameter motor was functioning, we could see how fast his heart was beating. We all felt relieved.

At 8:00 pm, I left the hospital with my mom, we were going to rest. I needed to sleep because the next morning I had to go to the hospital and then go to a Cancer kid’s foundation where I had already committed to meet up with a colleague that I was going to visit her. I did not have a mind for anything else, but I could not cancel that lovely little girl. So then, I made my backpack with everything that I needed for the next day, I hugged my mom and then slept tightly all night.

It was 7:00 am, I woke up happy and optimistic as I always do. I was ready to go, so I took a taxi and arrived at the hospital, once again. I entered the room, said Hallo to my grandma and checked on my grandfather, he was sleeping but my grandma told me that he had passed a good night, that he was feeling better. While my grandpa woke up, I was talking with my grandma, about how she was feeling, of how tired she was and how strong she had to be in this difficult situation. My mother also arrived and brought us some breakfast, so we ate together and relax a little bit.

One hour, two hours, three hours had passed and my grandpa did not wake up, it was strange…. At 3 pm we heard a sound “pee...pee” the machine has stopped, my grandma started screaming with all her strength looking for a doctor, I entered into a panic attack and my mom was with my

grandma trying to calm her, I did not know what to do, I did not understand what was happening, Why that sound if he was getting better? I put my ear in his chest I didn’t hear anything, I started crying intensely, the doctor came into the room saw the machine and told us he had passed away.

Those words entered through my heart, my chest was bleeding, they had broken my heart into pieces, I looked around and everything was grey, full of pain. The only thing I made at that moment was hugging my family, but now my nightmare was real, someone that I hold dear to my heart had gone forever, now I didn’t have hope my heart was full of sadness, I needed my family more than in any other moment... I finally learned that life is worth to be lived when you enjoy each moment of your life-giving love and caring about others.