Nicholas DiMarco
Monologue
January 31st, 2012… a day my family and I will never forget. 11 a.m starts the surgery. 11:30 a.m comes and it’s over. Confusion. Why did they stop? Diagnosis… cancer. The one word no one wants to hear.
A procedure to remove a tumor reveals a cancerous growth that would change her life. Shock. Fear. Anger. All these emotions were running through my mind. Why her? Why cancer? What is going to happen?
I had never felt so scared, so upset. My aunt was like a second mother to me… my best friend. When the doctor told her she had three months to live, I couldn’t speak. My family got together and thought of the only thing we could do for her… help.
The next day she was sent to Sloan Kettering in NYC to be with the best doctors. Test after test to find possible treatments to help her. The following week she was allowed home and would have to go to the doctors for her treatments: chemotherapy, radiation, any treatment to try and save her. I had never seen her look so strong, as if she was not afraid.
July 2012, three months past her life expectancy. The cancer was starting to really affect her. She was now sent to Sloan again. She would spend the following month and a half there. I spent so many days at Sloan that it began to almost feel like my second home. My family and I spent hours by her bedside keeping her in good spirits.
Towards the middle of August, she was sent home. She was going strong and doing well until the end of November. I remember her always complaining about pain she was feeling. Once December hit, it was a downward spiral. We all knew what was inevitably going to come, but didn’t want to believe it just yet. I remember going to her house to in the beginning of December to help her set up Christmas decorations like we always did each year. I always treasured her decorations because they were so classy and elegant. “You know when I am gone, these are all going to be yours right” she said. Hearing her say those words made my heart stop. “Lets hope thats not for a long, long time.” I replied.
January 22nd, 2013… another date my family and I will never forget. This was the day my aunt lost her battle to Stage 4 Uterine Cancer. I will never forget my mom’s facial expression or the tone of her voice that morning when she woke me to tell me the news. A sense of relief rushed through my mind knowing that she was finally out of pain, followed by a sense of anger and sadness knowing she was gone and never coming back.I have learned to deal with this tremendous loss by reminiscing on the good times she and I shared rather than dwelling on the year of sickness.
I now look back at this experience as a life lesson to me. Her life expectancy taught me how precious life is and to always enjoy every second of it. It also showed me how quickly life can change at any given moment. Even though the last year of her life was full of sickness, it will be a year I will always hold close to my heart for all the time I got to spend with her before she passed. As I start the next chapter in my life here at Baruch, I know that she will be with me every step of the way.
