Nothing is more devastating for any parent than the loss of their child. It is the worst nightmare of any mother or father. The pain of losing a child is so excruciating that many take years to recover from this unbearable loss.
But, sometimes life doesn’t give you the luxury of time to overcome grief. In those tough moments, life expects you to forget your grief and gather your courage to be strong for the ones left behind.
And, one such inspiring story of this mother. She shared with HOB, how she and her husband supported their grandchildren after losing their young daughter to a brain tumor.
When this mom lost her young daughter to Brain Tumor, she had to step up and make sure the family and kids don’t fall apart. She shared her life story with HoB:
“I was one of the few women in my generation, who had the chance to study and even work.
There was even a point in my life when even father and brother were jobless, while I was a senior inspector at a rationing office. So when the time came for me to get married, I was hesitant. But my parents assured me that I wouldn’t have to stop working.
I was lucky enough to find an amazing man, who was supportive of all that I wanted to do.
He was so kind, and he encouraged me to work harder every step of the way. So within a year of meeting, we got married, and soon we even gave birth to our daughter.
From day one, it was my dream to make her as capable, if not more, than I was. She was so hardworking, and smart. She’d topped both in her 10th and 12th! She’d keep talking about being independent at a young age, and I wanted all her dreams to come true.
She was doing very well for herself, and after she reached a certain height in her career she decided to get married. Soon after, she gave birth to two amazing kids.
Our family had just begun to look complete, when my daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumour, and passed away shortly.
We hadn’t even recovered from that, when we lost our son-in-law to a terrible road accident.
Overnight our world turned upside down, we were in shock. But we couldn’t let the grief swallow us — our grandchildren needed us. We took them in and looked after them, until they grew up, and were settled. Eventually my husband and I moved to Delhi, to retire. But I wanted to continue working, so I joined a senior citizens welfare association — and actively helped those in need.
Once, during a medical camp I’d organised, I was diagnosed with breast cancer myself.
I was taken aback, but I knew I’d get better. But my husband was scared — he had a feeling that our journey was going to come to an end. I reassured him that I’d be fine. But I didn’t realise that it wasn’t me he was talking about, because in a few days, he passed away — because of liver failure.
I was 81, and I’d lost everyone I loved. I was broken from within.
But with time, I realised that no one had control over life, or death. So I picked myself up, and went back to work. I devoted all my time to people without families, without amenities, and anyone who needed help. Today I not only head the senior citizens association, but even run a school for special needs children.
I miss my husband and my daughter more every single day.
But with every single person who thanks me for doing something for them, I can feel the two of them around me — holding my hand, patting me on the back and being proud that I’m not holding myself back, but using my capability to help others, even though I couldn’t help them.”
This story makes us believe that courage knows no age. We hope her story will inspire millions of others, who are struggling with their life challenges.
