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The Sun Will Always Rise
Present-Day
Thursday the 27th. That was the day that my life changed. Here is how it happened:
August 2013
It’s 11 a.m. in the morning. I saunter down the stairs and stifle a yawn. I hear my parents talking in hushed voices but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. “What’s going on?” I ask. The look of concern I received made me worry.
“Grandma had a stroke,” my mom replied. I couldn’t believe my ears. At first, I didn’t really know exactly what that meant until my dad explained it to me. Apparently, a stroke is when the blood flow to an area of the brain is cut off, and this could result in memory loss, unsteady balance, and in the most unfortunate circumstance, complete paralysis of the body
( Yes, I looked it up). This happened to my grandma while my uncle was driving her to visit my aunt in Massachusetts. While passing through Hartford, Connecticut, she suddenly didn’t feel well and my uncle rushed her to the nearest hospital.
The next day, my family and I arrived at the hospital to visit her. The hospital was a depressing place. Everything was white and sterile, but I knew there was sickness and disease everywhere. I heard a sick man from behind a closed door with a hacking cough so loud that I jumped. Doctors and nurses bustled about on a tight schedule and it made me wonder how stressful it must be to be responsible for so many lives on a daily basis.
“This is her room right here,” my mom declares. We all funnel into the room as quietly as possible. Nevertheless, grandma wakes up from her nap, alarmed of the sudden noise. “Hi grandma,” I say.
Her brow furrows and she has a deep look of concern upon her face. I can see in her eyes that she couldn’t remember my name.  Baffled, I reply, “Do you remember my name? I’m Kyle, your grandson”.
She stares at me while my mom interjects, “It’s Kyle, your favorite grandson”.  I glanced over at my brother to rub it in his face, but couldn’t stop thinking that she didn’t know my name.  And it was at that moment, that I knew that she may never be the same again.
April 2012
I am anxiously waiting to get picked up from Cross Country practice in third grade. I was feeling sick and I was in a bad mood for some reason. My grandma strolls over, signs me out, and we walk back to the car together. Opening the car door, I am greeted with the smell of donuts. “I got you this treat on my way here,” she says. “Shhh! Just don’t tell your mother!”
I try to smile, even though I’m not feeling great.  I gobble down the Boston Creme donut and my spirits are slowly lifted.  Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spot the brand new Star Wars clone trooper helmet in the back seat. “What’s that?” I exclaim.
“Oh...about that. You weren’t supposed to see that: it was meant to be a surprise.”
And just like that, I was the happiest kid in the world. I couldn’t wait to go home and play with my new toy. My Grandma was always there to cheer me up when I needed her the most. I didn’t even have to ask. She’s like the sun rising every morning.
May 2007
“Come on kids!” my grandma shouted out of the car window. My grandma was taking my siblings and I to the buffalo farm. Out of all places, the buffalo farm. However, as weird as it may sound, this was one of my favorite places to go. My grandma loved spending time with us and this was one of the many places she liked to take us. On the way there, I always ask her to play “Mamma Mia” by Abba. That was a tradition that made the ride fun. Another tradition we have is opening the sunroof while she was driving. I loved having the wind explode in my face and maneuver through my hair, giving me the “Don King hairdo”, as my grandma would say. My grandma was a fast driver, and that’s why we called her the “cowboy driver”. All in all, my grandma was independent and she was always out and about. Whether it was getting her hair or nails done, getting a massage, going shopping, or spending time with us kids, she was always a busy bee. 
September 2013
After a week, grandma was out of the hospital and transferred to a rehab center in Massachusetts where my aunt visited and cared for her.  After 2 months, she was transferred to the Kessler Rehabilitation Center here in New Jersey and I could finally visit her.
I soon found out that when she had the stroke, the whole left side of her body was paralyzed and she couldn’t speak or move any parts on the left side of her body. Now, she was able to speak and was slowly getting better at walking. Grandma’s recovery was going great.
After three months at Kessler, she finally returned home. Back at home, she had a successful year and my family and I thought she had almost fully recovered. She was almost at the point where she didn’t need a cane to walk and she could almost drive again. But as we would soon find out, things would begin to take a turn for the worse.
January 2015
She had her second stroke on New Year’s Day. However, this time, she would not recover like she did the last time. Although grandma’s second stroke was mild, the effects that two strokes can have on the body are very serious. Just like the first stroke, she began to lose her memory little by little. At first, names were a problem, but soon events and places began to slip from her memory. Eventually, she was unable to drive and get around easily. She became very forgetful and was losing the fun personality that made her who she was. My grandma was no longer the person I once knew.
November 2015
Today, grandma asked me where her bedroom was and what floor it was on. The worst part is that she has been living with us for about 15 years. She has to walk with a cane, and when we go places, we push her around in a wheelchair. She is no longer the young, playful grandma I once knew. However, I am lucky because she did not turn out to be a grumpy old lady who everyone is afraid of. I am blessed to have such a happy grandma, despite her current condition. Now that I think about it, my life would be so much harder if I had to live with a grumpy grandma. Instead, she still jokes around, even making jokes about her own memory!
Present-Day
My grandma still lives with us today. We take care of her and make sure she remembers to eat three meals a day and to take her medicine. We have to remind her when it’s time for bed, and when to brush her teeth. Oddly enough, there are still some days that are better than others. Some days she will wake up and pour herself a cup of coffee and do everything she needs to do without needing to be reminded. Her memory is great and she seems to be her normal self. These are her good days, and they are just like when the sun rises on a beautiful day. However, sometimes she will have days where she can’t remember what she said five minutes ago, and asks questions like: “Which way is the kitchen” or “Why is the dog barking” when a phone rings. These “off” days are like rainy days. You can’t see the sun, but it is still there, and it will continue to rise and be in the sky everyday, whether it is visible or not. My grandma experiences this, as some days she is bright and shining, while on others her mind is a little “cloudy”. But at the end of the day, all that matters is that I have a happy grandma that I love unconditionally.
Finally, one lesson that I have learned from this whole experience is to never take things for granted. I never would have guessed that my grandma would have a stroke that day: it was so sudden and unexpected. After all, you don’t realize exactly what you have, until you’ve lost it...just like that last ray of sunshine on a rainy day.