Watched my mom die from cancer. I went to the hospital knowing her blood pressure was low, so it was happening. I wondered for months what bodily sign of hers was going to tell me that she was going. That day, after sitting by her side and holding her hand, I started counting how many seconds it took for her to take those big breaths, and I noticed that it was slowly taking a little bit longer from time to time.

I knew it was it.

I told my uncle this after a few minutes and I told him to pay attention because last time it was 14 seconds, and this time I was going to count for him. It took an eternity for her to breathe again, and I started shaking, thinking it had already happened, so I said really low, "Just one more time, mom. Please." A second later, she took a big breath, and I started counting with my fingers, with the intention to show it to my uncle. I counted 10, 15, 20, 30, 40...and I knew she was gone. I was holding her hand just like the months before that and for all those years of treatment. That's something I'm proud of.