Member-only story
Growing up without a Dad
It’s been 15 years since I lost my dad. I was 11 years old, turning 12. I didn’t fully understand what was happening, but I knew something bad was happening. My dad passed away from Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, after a 7-year battle. I guess I was too young to understand what cancer was, let alone Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
For those of you who may not know, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of cancer that begins in your lymphatic system. Your lymphatic system is part of the body’s germ-fighting immune system. White blood cells in Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma grow abnormally and can form tumors throughout the body.
On the 12th of January 2007, I didn’t realise that my life had just changed forever; that’s because I didn’t actually understand what was happening. On the day of his burial, it was manic, people were at our house; my mum was running around like a headless chicken cooking and speaking to people.
It was after that did I realise certain things that were occurring in my life were because I didn’t have a father figure in my life. However, I never used that as an excuse. I hated talking about my dad passing away; it was just weird for me. I remember fighting in primary school because somebody said something about my dad. After that, it was the constant sympathetic head tilt when people asked about my father.
