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| My cute grandma on her baptism day. |
My grandma, Sybil Gibson Higley, passed away on July 24, 2010 after a short, yet very intense battle with cancer. It all started back in February when my grandma was visiting my parents in Colorado. She bumped her leg and started experiencing extreme pain. The doctors told her that she had irritated her Sciatic nerve and that she would have to wait until it was better. Fast forward to April. After going to the doctor yet again, the doctor discovered that reason why her sciatic nerve was bothering her, there was a tumor sitting on it. There was five cancerous tumors in my grandma's spine, the largest one being the size of a quarter.
So they began radiation while trying to figure out where the cancer was coming. After numerous body scans, blood tests, and poking around, they finally decided it was coming from her uterus. Apparently this is very rare for uterine cancer to spread. So, my grandma had a hysterectomy, all the while being in extreme pain from the tumors sitting on her sciatic nerve. After the surgery, the doctors explained to my family that her prognosis was not good. Her uterus had gone from being walnut to the size of a cantaloupe in a matter of weeks. The cancer was in her blood and was spreading all over her body. The diagnosis was stage 4B uterine sarcoma. The failure rate is 100%.
Three weeks later, my grandmother passed away; three months and three days after being diagnosed with cancer. She was in a lot of pain; an extreme amount of pain. My mom was with her when she passed and had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with her this summer taking care of her. My mom was an absolute superstar. She did everything for my grandma.
The funeral was a few days later and was a fantastic service. My grandma was a genealogy SUPERSTAR and the talks were focused on the importance of genealogy and the importance of the temple. My grandma worked in the temple and she loved it. I will always look up to her. It was good to see family. I haven't seen a lot of my cousins for many, many years. It is interesting to see how people deal with death, especially those who do not have a complete understanding of the gospel and eternal families.
I love my grandma and she will be missed.
