THE FACES BEHIND COVID-19 LOSING MY GRANDPA Written by Margarita Sipaque Illustrated by Kendal Foreman
M
y mom went inside the hospital and I waited in the car. My two aunts met us there hoping they would let them in to see my grandpa once more. I thought mom would come back with some good news about my grandpa. She didn’t.
My mom and aunts decided there was nothing more they could do after weeks of trying everything they could to save him. While anxiously waiting, my stepdad came to the car with tears streaming down his face and told me that my grandpa died. He died from COVID-19 complications.
I was in shock and my eyes instantly filled with tears. I began to have an anxiety attack and was trembling uncontrollably. It felt like a nightmare. 26 Warrior Life
My mom came out of the hospital and comforted me. She held me as I was trembling. She thought I was just cold because it was windy outside. I just stayed quiet and let her believe I was cold. After I was able to calm down, I got out of the car and waited outside with the rest of my family. I sat down on a bench that faced the entrance of the hospital alone. “Why my grandpa?”
As I was trying to calm down, I began receiving phone calls and texts from my closest friends and a few family members that wanted to give their condolences. It seemed that the word got out fast and many of our family and friends found out.
Everything felt so overwhelming and when people were trying to call me, it frustrated me even more. I hated how some people who called me
