When It All Happened - Assessment 2
It was 6 a.m. on a Tuesday in late winter 2019. Ryan’s body sprang up from his bed at the sound of his wife screaming in pain. He scrambled for the light even though he knew the darkness was cloaking his fear. His wife, Emily, laid on the floor choking in between her cries for help. He panickily asked what happened while trying to soothe her. However, Emily’s pain was too much for her to focus on a reply. Ryan sprang into action, carrying his wife to the car and ringing his trusted neighbour to go watch his kids for him.
He was a dad to two beautiful daughters, Sofia (oldest) and Amy (youngest), only aged a few years apart. When his wife told him she was pregnant for the first time, their world became very different. Ryan struggled to learn how to change a nappy, and how to assemble a cot even with instructions. But it was a different story for Emily, motherhood came to her very easily. It was almost like she was born to be an amazing mother. So, when they found out Emily was pregnant for a second time, they became even happier. Sofia was even happier that she was going to be an older sister and that the new baby was a girl. Ryan could not help but admit he really wanted a boy, but he would change Amy for the world.
Pulling up to Leeds General Infirmary safely, he ran in shouting for help. He was shaking so much he thought he would drop her if he carried her, a nurse quickly arrived with a wheelchair. They took her in, and he explained to another nurse what had happened. He waited for hours in the waiting room to see his wife. Only getting small updates from nurses about her condition and all he knew was she was being tested. While he waited, he rang his brother-in-law, Tom, explaining what was going on and asked him to come to the hospital. By the time Tom arrived, it was about 9 a.m. and Ryan still hadn’t seen or heard anything else from the nurses or doctors about Emily. Tom told Ryan to get changed in the toilets as he brought a spare pair of clothes for him and Emily. He sensed that Emily might be staying in the hospital for a while.
It was just after lunchtime both of them were able to see Emily, however, she was not awake as Ryan hoped. A female doctor explained that Emily was on strong pain medication and that they had made her very drowsy. Ryan asked about the results of the tests and the doctor replied, “We’re still waiting for the results, I’m sorry.” It was another tortuous hour before the doctor returned explaining that they were going to conduct a biopsy and that the results would take about two days. However, for the time being, they wanted to keep Emily in the hospital to keep her under observation. The biopsy was conducted and over the two days, Ryan noticed Emily was getting weaker and his greatest worry grew.
A friendly female doctor sat Ryan down in a private room away from peering eyes. She took out some papers and scanned through them, it was time for the results. It was then Ryan’s whole world shattered; Emily had been diagnosed with an extremely aggressive metastatic cancer. This is when cancer cells begin to break away from where they first developed, later spreading through the bloodstream. Ryan sobbed into his hands as the doctor continued to explain that Emily could only have a few days left to live, giving him a depressing estimate. He gasped heavily for air.
Ryan spends most of his days in the hospital with Emily, bringing a few of her favourite things. Her necklace being her favourite. She spent most of her time sleeping in her last few days, only waking at random times before sleeping again. Three days after being diagnosed Emily had peacefully passed away in her sleep with Ryan by her side.
He could not bring himself to plan a funeral, he could not believe he had to bury his beloved wife. Tom saw his brother-in-law was struggling so he stepped up and planned the funeral for him. It took place only two weeks after her death, Ryan did not bring Sofia or Amy to the funeral. He hadn’t yet brought himself to tell his daughters their mum had passed away so suddenly. Emily’s favourite flowers, lilies, were scattered around the funeral hall along with her favourite song playing, Sia’s Angel by The Wings. Emily’s friends and family all came to say goodbye to her, even though it was hard. Memories of her still existed.
A few days after the funeral, Ryan sat his daughters down. The atmosphere coated with thick cloud depression. A tear slipped down his cheek as he spoke the words “Mummy won’t be coming home.” The girls immediately hugged their dad knowing they were all going to be grieving for some time and will all need to support each other. Sadly, Amy did not fully understand what her dad meant due to her age.
As the year went on, Ryan had to learn how to be a mother and father doing the daily tasks Emily would normally do. He was not the greatest of cooks, a burnt cheese pizza was the best he could do. But Sofia luckily had a love for cooking and baking always coming to the rescue when needed, which was most days. Amy grew to understand more that her mum passed away and not having her around the house was a huge struggle for her. Her behaviour became very unpredictable at times which led to Amy saying some hurtful things, but Ryan knew she did not mean it. She was still grieving and the loss of the only real mother figure she had in her life was difficult for her. Ryan could only do so much to fill that hole while trying to do his best.
Since the passing of Emily, Ryan has been taking his daughter on regular trips out and abroad to make memories with them. He always found it so cruel they did not have the chance to do that with their mum, so he wanted to do that with them. His daughters would also regularly stay with their uncle Tom while he worked night shifts in a warehouse, however, Tom always loved being around them. Throughout this harsh lesson, Ryan learnt an important lesson to never to take things for granted and love what he has.
