Before this whole pandemic situation started I had two grandparents left, both on my father’s side. My grandfather was still strong at 91 and my grandmother was 89 but had diabetes, pneumonia, and Alzheimer’s.

My family used to visit them every Sunday and we would all have lunch together, spend a couple of hours with our little chit-chats, you know, just the typical bonding moments. Of course, this had to stop when the first lockdown was implemented. I am the eldest of three siblings and I spent two years of my childhood living with my grandparents. This was to help relieve my parents for a little bit when money was difficult to come by. Having done that, I would say we had a really good relationship.

Fast forward to May 2020, my grandmother’s health declined abruptly. We strongly advised for her not to be taken to the hospital, as that may as well be where she contracts the COVID-19 virus. One morning, my grandfather phoned us and he was so worried because his wife wasn’t moving in bed. We rushed to their house and found our grandma’s cold, lifeless body. We couldn’t believe it! The shock felt like a sharp pain in my heart.

I couldn’t imagine how heart-breaking it was for my grandpa losing someone he has spent an eternity with and that left me feeling so sad. We all grieved together and just after three weeks, my grandfather had left us as well. I was at a loss for words, I didn’t know what to think!

While we don’t think they died because of COVID-19, we still blame the pandemic for a lot of reasons –mainly for not letting us spend more time with our loved ones when it mattered the most. Now I don’t have any more grandparents left, but I will cherish all four of them forever. I miss them so much, but what is grief if not love persevering?