Sad stories from my diary

(Dor de bunici)

When We First Arrived To Canada
When we first arrived to Canada, we started unpacking in our new home. We just installed our phone. Then it started ringing. My dad answered. It was his dad calling from Romania. He said he had some bad news. My dad asked what the bad news was. My grandpa said that my dad's brother (my uncle) just died of kidney disease. I was only 3 years old and I didn't really know what the talk was about. My dad started crying. All I understood was that my dad's brother died.

Lots of Problems
My uncle has brain damage. I remember when I was about 3 or 4 years old I went to visit him in the hospital. He had a big white band around his head. You can still see the place on his head where he got stitches.

My grandpa has kidney disease. Every second day he goes to the hospital to get a dialysis. He has to lie there with a whole bunch of needles stuck in his body, getting his blood taken out of him and put back in. During my last visit in Romania (in the spring of 2002) I went to visit him in the hospital a few times.

Celebrating my Birthday in Romania May 14, 2002
In 2002 I celebrated my birthday in Romania. The presents I got for my Birthday were a gold ring, a bar of soap and about 4 Romanian books (so I could learn to read Romanian). These weren't too many presents but they were special to me and I liked them. My birthday was celebrated at the same time as my baby cousin's. Our birthday cake had a picture of me holding my baby cousin, Mihaela (Ella), in my lap, in front of the house. There was a big sunroof to keep the sun out of our eyes.

When I Heard About the Bad News
We came back from our visit to Romania in the summer of 2002. When we left Romania, my uncle and grandpa were still sick. Then my mom received a phone call. It was her mom. She said that my mom's brother (my uncle who has brain damage) could not get out of bed anymore. Before we left, he could walk to the living room with help. Now all he does (and always will do) is to stay in bed the rest of his life. At first I thought it was cool. Then I thought more about it. Then I realized that he can't do crafts because he cant hold things properly, he can't even feed himself with a spoon, he can't do sports like I can, he can't meet new people or make new friends  because he stays in bed all the time.

Then, a few months after that, my grandma called again. My mom answered. More bad news! What could it be now? My grandpa? In the hospital? I had enough bad news to last me a life time! Then, another phone call! I knew it was more bad news. I was just sitting at the table having a talk with my mom and brother asking why I couldn't go to Romania with her. Then she told me the bad news. My grandpa had heart surgery on Friday January 9^th, 2003. He couldn't stand being in the hospital (he was there every second day for two years) anymore so he got out (took his life in his own hands) two days later!

Sad Stuff
I remember when my uncle (with brain damage) phoned me and was so excited because he thought that I was going to Romania. He thought that I will leave on Wednesday and would arrive on Thursday, on a school night. He doesn't know it takes three days to get there. He was so disappointed when he heard that I wasn't going to come afterwards. And when I had to leave after my visit in 2002, he was so sad. Even if he couldn't walk he packed his bags and said he was coming with me. I hope that my uncle and my grandpa don't die before I get to see them again. I think that I won't be able to visit them anytime soon. The trip to Romania is so expensive for my family! For my whole family the cost would probably be around $6,550! And I my parents can't afford that so I don't think I'll ever see them again.  

(The end?)