Uncle Scott

I think it was this past March when I found out my Uncle Scott was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. This is my Dad's brother. My Dad's family is pretty close. There are 7 of them, ranging in age from 52-70. When I heard the news of his diagnosis, I was sad, I became aware of his mortality, but it's still hard to believe.

My Uncle's had his ups and downs in life. I remember him being around my house a lot as a kid. Him and my Dad always had some kind of project they were working on. It seemed like mostly cars. I knew he drank, seemed like he always wanted to have a good time. I remember him chasing me around my house. He was a handy guy, knew a lot about carpentry and mechanics, just like my Dad and Grandfather. He married his true love, I remember their wedding day. I think I was about 14 years old. They had 2 kids, Tyler and Kelsey. I was in my late teens so it was kind of fun having 2 younger cousins. My parents and I often babysat them. It was fun.

My aunt and uncle never really had it easy. They've both struggled with alcohol addiction (I think drugs too, don't really know for sure), Tyler had brain surgery when he was 3 and Kelsey was born pre-maturely. They live in the house my Grandfather built, in Westmont. Kelsey and Tyler both graduated high school, Kelsey got pregnant before she finished and had a son, Brayden. They both started using heroin before the age of 21. Tyler is now in jail and Kelsey is trying to stay clean.

This week there was an update on Uncle Scott's condition. He's nearing the end of his battle with cancer. At this point his passing would be a blessing. He has a lot of pain. I was going to stop by yesterday after work, but I just couldn't do it. I called my sister instead and told her about my struggles. I want to see him because this will likely be the last time I see him alive, but on the other hand I don't want to see him like this. I know he doesn't look well, he looks like a person dying of cancer. He probably wouldn't know I am there because he's heavily medicated, he will likely be sleeping. I think I should see him before he's gone. I don't want to regret it if I don't. My sister is going to go with me tonight. I don't think I can do this alone.