Last Name 1

Samantha Brau

Mrs. Gagne

Practical Writing

Day Month Year

Smiley Flower

Prompt: Something that means something to me

I never realized a silly smiley flower would make me want to help find a cure for

something that kills about 140,000 people a year.

My dad always talks about my grandpa Lawrence as an old stubborn man, and how he

took them on vacations in a motorhome across the whole country. Someone who was so friendly,

that he knew everyone in a 50 mile radius. Anytime dad and grandpa went somewhere they

could never leave on time because there was always someone there he knew and would have to

talk to. A true Minnesota goodbye kind of guy. Then he had a stroke and his life was forever

changed.

I never got to meet my grandpa outside of the hospital setting. We never got to

have a conversation because he was able to talk due to his stroke. Grandpa would always want

to thumb wrestle with my brothers and I. He loved to sing and even though he could only hum,

his favorite song was “You are My Sunshine.” Grandpa loved when we took him on walks

around the halls and when our little legs got tired he would let us sit on his lap and sometimes

even control his wheel chair. He had two smiley face flowers wrapped around the handles. I

would always take them off and play with them pretending they were real. When he was in the
 Last Name 2

presence of family he always had the biggest smile on his face. Seeing everyone laughing and

having fun brought him so much joy.

I remember my parents telling me my grandpa wasn’t doing so good, I just thought that it

meant he had a headache or something minor like that. The next day we went to see him. His

happy, smiley face had perished. I knew something was wrong, but I was seven and naive. I

though that my grandpa would push through and live to see his grandkids grow up.

The next day I walk upstairs ready to go to school. I looked at my mom and dad and they

were both crying. My heart sank. I knew what it was. My grandpa had passed away. They told us

that morning that he did not make it through the night. I was divested. Never again would I be

able to see his smile, sing with him, or let him win at thumb wrestling.

Later that year we celebrated Easter at my grandma's house and she made us easter

baskets and hid them. When I found my basket my eyes teared up, I saw my grandpa's flower

that was on his wheelchair wrapped around the handle of the basket.

Having my grandpa's flower hanging in my room where I can see it everyday means a lot

to me. It reminds me that life is too unpredictable and unfair, that we need to enjoy each day and

not worry so much about the future. Many people lose loved ones due to strokes, including me. I

want to try and help find a cure for strokes or find a way that we can prevent them. We need to

advocate for ealier detection. The faster a stroke victim is treated, the higher the sucess rate.

Seeing families not be able to talk to their loved ones or worse losing someone to this,

makes me want to help people that have this illnesses. I might not be able to find a cure in my

career, but I sure can give it all I have. If I don’t find a cure along the way; restasure I will be
 Last Name 3

helping other’s and their families. That will bring me joy. My grandpa would be so proud of me

bringing people joy and smiles to their face like I did for him.