Remembering my Grandpa

  When my cousin Cecil passed away on March 11, and we were gathered around for final arrangements, his two grandsons, 11 year old Eric and his 12 year old brother Dylan of Drayton Valley, wished to have the compositions they had prepared for another occasion, read at the service.  We felt that this material was worthy to be shared further abroad, and hereby wish to share the writings with you, the reader.  I can assure you that there was a close relationship between these boys and their Grandpa, and all of the youngsters in the family line.  Grandpa knew these guys were special, and we can surely see why. – Roy H.

REMEMBER MY GRANDPA

  My grandpa quit smoking five years ago.  He smoked for 50 years – he started smoking because it was the “cool” thing to do – all his friends smoked, and so did his dad!  It was acceptable and the “popular” thing to do.  He quit because he was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx – that’s your voice box.  He had surgery and they cut his throat from ear to ear to remove his voice box and that left him with a nice little hole in his throat.  He learned to talk again pretty good, but he could never swim again.  They gave my grandpa radiation to kill the cancer and he almost died from the treatment, but slowly he got better …

  Larynx cancer is caused by smoking.

  A couple of years later, grandpa was not feeling well again, a battery of tests confirmed that the cancer was back – this time in his oesophagus, they actually had to remove a piece of the windpipe and put an artificial one in.  Now my grandpa cannot lie down to sleep anymore – he has to sleep sitting up, or his food will come out of his stomach, through the pipe and cause him to choke …

Oesophagus cancer is caused by smoking.

  A couple of weeks ago my grandpa found out that he now has cancer for the third time, but this time in his lungs.  He is in the hospital right now – I went to see him and I was horrified that they have a tube in each lung draining the fluid that has built up from the cancer.  His “roommate” Murray in the bed next to him had his leg amputated just below the knee because smoking had hardened the arteries in it and no blood could circulate to his foot.  The doctor has told my grandpa that this time they can’t fix him – they can’t operate and they can’t treat it.  He is going to die from lung cancer.

  Lung cancer is caused by smoking.

  I hope that by sharing my story with you, you will remember my Grandpa and what he went through, and when someone offers you your first drag of a cigarette I hope you will remember my grandpa then too, and say “No thanks I will never smoke!”

  I love you grandpa.

  - by Dylan, 12 years old

DON’T SMOKE

  Honourable judges, madam chairperson, fellow speakers and ladies and gentlemen of the audience, my speech is about how smoking is bad for your health.  Here are some reason:

  Number one, smoking can cause many diseases like cancer, heart disease or stroke.

  Another good reason not to smoke is that it will increase the chance of your children smoking and that will make them more likely to get one of these deadly diseases.

  It is expensive (just think it’s like a thief stealing $10 a day from your wallet).

It makes you smell horrible, and causes gum disease.

  Smoking also causes asthma, emphysema and other chronic lung diseases.

  On a visit to the hospital to see my grandpa who is in there because he has lung cancer caused by smoking, he had three other “roommates”.  Murray in the first bed had his leg amputated just below the knee because smoking had hardened the artery in his leg and cut off the circulation to his foot.  Heinz had emphysema and had problems breathing and was hooked up to an oxygen bottle, and Walter had pneumonia.

  Most of the time people start smoking at a young age because of peer pressure, they become addicted and it is really hard to quit.

  Another reason why people start smoking is because they think they are strong enough to quit anytime, and it helps cope with stress.

  Some people continue to smoke because they think if they quit they will gain weight.

  Now think there are around three reasons why smoking is good, but thousands of reasons why smoking is bad, so, what’s the better choice?

 - by Eric, 11 years old