Losing a loved one.

Few days back, my sister told me about a guy who died last week and how he died. He was brutally murdered. The news weighed me down and I began to ponder on a lot of things. Things like: "How heartless can people get?" Cause he was shot. Twice. On his head and arm. He committed no offence. "How weird can life get?" "How's his family members taking the news?" So many questions, no answers. Life's weird and unpredictable. I mean, isn't it weird how a person would come to earth, grow, learn, struggle, have plans, have goals, strive.. and in the blink of an eye, those things won't matter anymore. In the blink of an eye, death shows up.. unannounced. It's scary. May his soul rest in peace. I hope and pray his friends and family get the comfort they need. Losing a loved one is heartbreaking. Adapting to their absence is difficult. I know almost everyone can relate to the pain.

Nine years ago, I almost lost my sister to appendicitis. Appendicitis is a painful swelling of the appendix that can be very serious. In other words, it's very critical. She fell ill from time to time and she used to have migraines all the time. She had so many sleepless nights and walking became very difficult. Consuming food and water became a very hard task for her and it got to a point where I started to think she was aging. She looked like she had no life left in her. She could barely even speak. She was in so much pain and it scared me to death. I was so young and seeing my sister in that condition made me so terrified. I started to wish it had happened to me instead cause I badly wanted to ease her pain. Her condition got that bad because the first doctor we took her to gave her a very wrong diagnosis. So definitely, the drugs he administered to her didn't work. Her condition got worse and we decided to visit another hospital. We did and we were told that she had appendicitis. Apparently, her appendix had gotten really large cause it wasn't treated on time so it needed to be taken out immediately. The news was shocking and devastating cause we really didn't see it coming. The doctor told us that a surgery would be carried out on her. I was so scared. My sister was about to undergo a surgery, I feared I'd lose her. I was really trying my best to be positive but the negative thoughts would creep in at intervals, they were so disturbing.

Well, an appendectomy was carried out and it was successful. My joy knew no bounds. My sister was out of harm's way. Pure bliss was what I felt. I later got to find out that if the appendix had remained in her body for one more day, it would have ruptured. Whoa. Dumbfounded again. I was having mixed emotions. I wouldn't have been able to bear the pain of losing another loved one. My sister was on the verge of losing her life but she survived. I will forever be grateful for that. And that experience will remain evergreen in my memory.

I know the pain of losing and almost losing someone dear to you. It's rough. Sometimes, a part of us goes with the person. At first, we're in denial and when we start to accept it, we feel like we're being crushed over and over again. It's one of the worst feelings ever.

So today, I'm sending so much love to anyone out there who has lost someone dear to them. You are not alone. You are a warrior and with time, you'll get through this. Adapting to their absence wouldn't be easy, it never is but.. you've got this. Please don't carry the weight all by yourself. Lean on someone. You'll be okay love. Your breakthrough is on its way.

©the_northstar