Auntie Nanelle was and still is such a big part of me. She’s been there for me ever since I was born. She’s like my second mom. Every day after school for 6 and a half years, I would come to the McClowry’s house. No matter what she was doing, she would always stop and say, “Hi Emma! How was school?” I felt so special hearing that. She would make me dinner most nights, help me with my homework all the time, and just made everything super fun.
I think I’m pretty lucky that I’ve never had to deal with anything like this before, but that just made the situation even more heartbreaking. I was definitely not prepared for walking into the hospital room on that Thursday afternoon. I was in complete shock when I saw her and everyone crowded around her with tears in their eyes. I had no idea that things had gotten so bad so fast. But things did not get easier. On February 13th, we all went through something that no one should ever have to deal with. We dealt with the unimaginable. And that’s why I wrote a poem called “The Unimaginable”, because everything that’s happened in the past month has been so scary and so hard to believe. My poem is dedicated to Auntie Nanelle because I miss her so much and love her in a way that I can’t explain.
The Unimaginable
Silence
But the beat of the machine
Tears running down all of our cheeks
Under our blue hospital masks
We all crowd around her
Praying for a miracle
Desperately hoping she will be okay
Hugs from all corners of the room
Whispers in each others' ears
Everyone knowing we are there for each other
But it's hard to see
That anything good can come out of this
When everything seems so dark
We walk out of the heartbreaking hospital room
Thinking that it's all too much to handle
So we walk into the waiting room
And realize we haven't seen the worst of it
But we all know we can do this
That everyone is in the same boat
No matter who you are
We are in this together
She would want us to celebrate her
Remember her forever and ever
Even if she won't be here for it
We think about her every day
Missing her in a way that's unimaginable
But we all love her so much
And we will get through this
Even if it seems so far away
- Emma Eltzroth Age 13
Emma playing 'Halo' May 2020 - It makes her think of Auntie Nanelle in heaven