The Awakening from Childhood

by H.Carr
revised by ME

It's an illness that can have a massive, gigantic impact on everyone. It's a
condition to which many people spend their lives, whether they're fighting it or trying
to find a treatment. Although it is a treatable condition, many unlucky folks lose their
lives fighting it.

Cancer is the cause. In the summer of 2011, cancer had taken up residence in my
father's tonsil. We all assumed the protruding mass on the side of his neck was simply a
swollen gland at first. Throughout the summer, it became larger and began to cause
discomfort. Daddy, being the obstinate man that he is, refused to see a doctor. He
finally went to the doctor for a check-up in March. Antibiotics were given to him. For a
few months, he was on the medication. However, it was ineffective. He was then
directed to an ENT, who performed a needle biopsy and an X-ray, both of which came
out negative for malignancy. It was a congenital cyst, according to this doctor. We were
given the life-changing news after a series of testing. "I'm sorry to have to break the
news to you. "You have cancer of the tonsils."

The body's germ-fighting immune system is made up of two oval-shaped pads

in the back of the mouth. Tonsil cancer frequently causes difficulty swallowing as well
as the sense that something is stuck in one's throat. The damaged tonsil was removed
by the doctor as the first course of action. Tonsillectomy is the medical term for this
treatment. At the age of 49, undergoing such treatment was incredibly challenging.
Daddy's throat collapsed during the operation. The afflicted tonsil had been removed,
but he still had one tonsil in his throat that needed to be removed. The physicians used
medical paralysis to persuade Daddy's muscles to relax so they could intubate him after
his throat collapsed. They would not, however, accept the chance of losing his
remaining tonsil.

Source: Microsoft Word - Best Essays 2014-2015final5.docx (volstate.edu)

 Chemotherapy and radiation were the next steps. I saw my father lose his hair,
weight, the muscular mass, strength, and even himself during the treatments. Daddy
was "chair-ridden" for three months, unable to lie back in a bed due to excessive
pressure on his throat, so he had to sit up in his recliner. Aside from excursions to and
from the doctors, he spent his days in that chair. Daddy couldn't eat through his throat
due to the chemo and radiation treatments harshness. He needed a feeding tube
inserted into his stomach. As a result, the meal went straight into the stomach. A liquid
substance was the only thing that could go into this feeding tube. Eight times a day, my
mother, sister, and I took turns inserting the substance into his feeding tube. Daddy, on
the other hand, had to do it when we were at school or work. He would say he filled his
feeding tube, but he didn't, and he lost a hundred pounds as a result.

They placed a power port in his chest after placing the feeding tube in his
stomach. This port was where he received his chemotherapy treatments. Two life-
changing surgeries occurred during the same doctor's visit. Daddy was in excruciating
discomfort throughout the sessions. Cancer itself, but primarily the radiation, caused
the anguish; the raw flesh around his neck burned. Daddy took a lot of pain medicine,
especially Oxycontin and Morphine, because he was in so much pain. Daddy would be
knocked out for days due to the agony and the drugs. Sleep was the only way to try to
get away from the anguish.

For a year, cancer encircled my family like a chain. It's been a year of suffering.
Cancer not only took my father's life, but it also had an impact on me. At a young age, I
realized that life isn't all rainbows and butterflies, but rather misery and suffering.
Witnessing such a heinous crime for such a long time can drive a person nuts. I needed
to get away from everything. I didn't want to witness the strong, daring man I admired
deteriorate so much. I, on the other hand, had nowhere to go. She felt like she had
nowhere to go, just like the young girl in Annie Dillard's autobiographical essay "The
Chase," when she ran for her life: "Mikey and I had nowhere to go, in our neighborhood

Source: Microsoft Word - Best Essays 2014-2015final5.docx (volstate.edu)

or out of it." The angry man kept after her. He would always be behind her, gaining on
her, no matter where she went. Cancer was the enraged man pursuing me and closing
in on me. It would always be with me, no matter where I went. It was always with me
for a whole year.

Source: Microsoft Word - Best Essays 2014-2015final5.docx (volstate.edu)