The Great Mind We Lost

By: Jarely Cabading

He was a father, brother, and a grandpa who is a lovable man who loved spending time with his family and wouldn’t trade them for anyone in the world. One day everything changed, my grandpa Claro got in a bad car accident back in 2017, which ultimately led to losing his memory.

Amnesia got to him after that crash and he ended up not remembering anyone in our family.

Amnesia is a form of memory loss that can happen to anyone. It can be caused by head and brain injuries, certain drugs, alcohol, old age, or traumatic events.

He lost his memory from a bad car accident and when he had a stroke.

I have memories but not enough of them. My favorite thing about my grandpa was his smile. He was always so happy to see all of his grandkids together and it was fulfilling to witness his happiness.

There are many things I regret before he lost his memory and before he passed. At the time when I was younger I thought I had enough time to spend with my grandparents but as I got older I realized I was too late.

I spent so much time with my cousins because I wasn’t thinking about life. I was just too busy trying to have fun. I didn’t worry about spending time with the grandparents, aunts, or my parents.

My cousin Ayana who lived with my grandpa basically her whole life, spent more time with him then all the other grandkids. She got to experience the way he would be in life.

“I recognize him as a very happy person but as time went on, a lot of stuff happened between our family and he just became so grumpy and just didn’t look so happy,” said Ayana.

Our aunts and uncles had problems with each other which our grandpa wasn’t very happy about. He basically wanted the family together and can’t let anything get in between them, but the siblings didn’t try.

Ayana grew up with tons of memories with Claro since she basically grew up with him. These memories of hers are one of the reasons why she is herself today.

Since our family is the type to have alcohol at a party grandpa decided to take shots he got really drunk and spoke about his feelings. “I love you guys. I want you guys to stay together and love each other,” said Grandpa.

Another memory Ayana would cherish is Grandpa and Grandma trying out everything she bakes. She grew up baking as a kid and everyone in the family loved them especially her macarons.

“Grandpa would always ask when the macarons would be done when I didn't even start yet and he would be the first one to eat it when they’re finished,” said Ayana.

Those are the ones she remembers because they both have something to do with things that she loves, which is baking and family.

My other cousin Juneeann also had a hard time dealing with it and has some words to say about his loss of memories.

Juneeann mentions that Claro was “A very caring family oriented person, a type of person to go to if you’re struggling and he wouldn’t judge you.”

She looked up to him basically throughout her whole life because the way he was with family is the reason why she is herself today when it involves family.

From her perspective when he lost his memory was that he wasn’t the same anymore. “He didn’t remember any of us such as personal connections with one another, didn’t remember names which was hard for him.”

There are many things Juneeann would tell him if he was right in front of her right now. She wants him to know how much of an impact he made in her life.

“You are one of my biggest inspirations in terms of who I wanna be when I grow up, I wanna be great like you and even though you are not here, you died being loved and to this day you still are.”

One last memory that is forever cherished and memorable by this person is a child of grandpa. My uncle June who is the second youngest out of the 9 kids.

He to this day still visits their grave every week and has a talk with them.

His favorite memory that he will forever remember is when grandpa told him about America. Grandpa was working in the US while his family was living in the Philippines.

June was very young when he left to work in America and he says “seeing him for the first time was the best moment when he held me and put me on his lap and talked to me about America and why he was there, he was doing it for our future.”

If grandpa never worked in the military or never came to the US no one in our family would have been here today. Our uncles and aunts would be having a hard life.

Me, Ayana, and Juneeann were the three youngest girls that can remember grandpa and have lots of memories with him.

We learned that we need to spend more time with loved ones because we never know what will happen in life.

Grandpa left this world without remembering most of us. Rest in Peace.