Downfall

 Everything goes really well for a while, but then there's a bumpy road that's to be faced again. It's a non stop cycle and unfortunately it's something we can't stop this time, not even his daughters. 

 He's been having sharp abdominal pains and something really odd happened. All the weight he had gained was lost. Additionally, his level of depression has been getting worse. There's times at night when he gets up and walks outside. Not only that, but the stomach pains have come to a point where he can't stand them and cries. His condition got out of control, so we had to pay the doctor a visit. We weren't sure as to how to describe what was going on since he was getting better, or at least we thought he was. The doctor himself was surprised by the symptoms hence to why he suggested my uncle had some examinations done. 

 Like suggested to do so, he got his examinations and the results came in about a day later. We weren't expecting anything severe, but the moment of truth was to be told as soon as we read the final results. 

 The results read, pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer begins in the tissues of your pancreas — an organ in your abdomen that lies horizontally behind the lower part of your stomach. Your pancreas secretes enzymes that aid digestion and hormones that help regulate the metabolism of sugars.

 My uncle was speechless after knowing his examination results. He wasn't sure how to react to this, but he believed it was his fate. 

                     Works cited 

 "What Is Pancreatic Cancer." Diseases and Conditions. 13 Aug. 2011. Web. 22 Nov. 2014. <http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pancreatic-cancer/basics/definition/con-20028153>.

Brighter days

 After his birthday, everything's been going well, so let's hope it stays like that.

 He's constantly full of smiles and is a lot more productive. He often goes for walks, those of which are about 30-45 minutes. He does chores around the house, really rare, and he goes to the store to buy things he sees we might need. He doesn't spend as much time watching tv either, which is extremely well! I noticed he's also more talkative and actually keeps conversations going with people. 

 He recently did something out of the extraordinary, it was quite pleasant to watch. He got out a piece of paper, a pencil, and some colored ones then began drawing. It seems like his perspective on life changed and he's a happy human being. His daughters appearance helped him find a motivation for bettering himself. 

 Through him I can see that the love for a family member can be a motivation to get better. It's the push you need to go the extra mile and my uncle seems to want to go through that process. 

 

Reconciliation

 Here we are, a few days later and still no phone call, sadly. He seems to be getting better, but who knows what's really going on in his mind. I did notice something new though. He's been eating an excessive amount of food and also gaining a lot of weight. Perhaps he does it as a way to keep himself busy and entertained, who knows. 

 What I do know is that it's his birthday today, which means he's a year older, 40! No one was aware of this, not even himself. He was beyond clueless when I sang happy birthday to him, it was so funny. We took him out to dinner later that afternoon and the joy in his eyes was inexplicable. It seemed like he was talking more than he ever has and kept smiling non stop. Seeing him like that, with no worries was amazing, but I had a little surprise under my sleeve.

 I was able to get a hold of one of his daughters the night before. I wasn't demanding her to show up to his birthday dinner, but I let her know what we were doing and gave her the option to show up or not. Surprisingly she agreed to come, and a few minutes later there she was, walking towards our table. As my uncle turned to face her, his mouth dropped and the look in his face was heartwarming. He immediately got up from his seat and approached to hug his daughter. He was sobbing tears, but this time of real and pure joy. His daughter filled him up with kisses and hugs and in that moment you could tell how much she had missed him too. 

That heartbreaking moment

 Here I am, continuing my daily observations. We just recently visited my uncles doctor. Everything's going well with his health however a few things came up. The doctor asked him about his daughters and my uncle froze. They haven't called him, like usual, but it's starting to hit him a lot harder. The doctor tried getting him to talk, as did I, but nothing came out. It was as if the cat had eaten his tongue. A few seconds, maybe minutes passed by and still nothing, but then his eyes started watering. My heart broke so I reached out to hug him. Then  I thought to myself, how is someone capable of going years without talking to their father ? From personal experience, not speaking to my dad for a few hours is heart-breaking. Now imagine going years without speaking a word or hearing from him, God awful. After the doctors visit we went home. He continued his daily routine, but not a word came out. You could tell his head was full of confusion and thoughts. Then out of the blue he started sobbing tears. Following that, he started talking amongst him. I got closer to him and tried understanding what he was saying. It was really difficult, but I got something out of it. It went something like this, "i don't understand why my own daughters don't call me and ask how I'm doing. I never did anything to them. Just because I'm sick or crazy or whatever doesn't mean they have to stop loving me. You never give up on family." 

Introductiòn

  We started this project about a month ago, based on observations. Mr. Reid gave us the option to chose whatever we wanted to observe, whether it was an object or a person. I decided to observe my uncle, who's 39 years old. He was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia and an incurable depression. He's crazy alright, but he was once married and actually has 2 older daughters. Those of which never give him a call or worry about his well- being of course. He currently lives with me and is always here, so observing him won't be a problem. I'll be observing him every other day, around 4:20 pm. My decision was influenced by the way he acts, which is something completely different every other day. I was never fully aware of my uncle's nature and his way of being, until we started this observation project. I always thought he was a normal human being, just like the rest of us. I finally came to the realization that he's a bit different and I became more cautious, paying closer attention to his actions. 

  The first two days of observing there wasn't much being done, but then on the third day it began. He started off by looking into space and then all of a sudden came the giggles and the loud chatters. It went on for a good ten minutes and then the giggling transitioned into complete silence. Then he made his way to the kitchen and grabbed a snack or two. He returned to the couch, in which he spends his days, and watched tv. Being that he's always sitting on that one couch I came to a conclusion. The couch must be a way of comfort for him, where he's himself, doing peculiar things. 

  Paying attention to little things like these give me the opportunity to get to know my uncle a lot better and observing him is a greater advantage. 

   

  (He obviously doesn't know I took this)