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MY STORY

        As a rebellious teenager, I was always looking for a way to shock my parents; so one day, I threatened my dad that I was going to start eating a vegan diet. Of course, my dad gave me exactly what a wanted: a reaction. In fact, both of my parents told me that they “would not allow [me] to go vegan because it is so easy to become malnourished.” Upon entering college, I still had that lingering desire to become a vegan. To my delight, a vegan advocate on the infamous Clemson University library bridge handed me a pamphlet titled “Compassionate Choices: Making a Difference for Animals.” After reading through the pamphlet, I started researching more about veganism and the implications it could have on my life. What started as a casual interest, however, quickly became a movement near and dear to my heart as I began to see the implications that veganism could have on my entire family. 

By Callie Nickles

        When my father called me on November 11, 2014, I could barely breathe. “Sweetheart,” he lamented, “I’m afraid it’s not about Pop this time. It’s about Nana.” The shock from my grandmother’s sudden death left a scar that I’m afraid will never heal. She was fun, lively, loving, and caring; but above all, she embraced life with the best laugh and the biggest smile. Once I began to imagine life without this amazing woman, I understood that the road to my family’s recovery from her unexpected stroke would be long and treacherous. When I asked my dad why this happened, he told me that my grandmother had a heart disease called angina. To treat it, my grandmother took a medication that thinned her blood to prevent clots and alleviate the stress from her heart. This medication, however, caused her blood to become too thin and as a result, she developed two hematomas in the back of her brain. The blood from these hematomas put pressure on the brain stem, eventually 

Grandmother, Nancy Nickles in her home place (Nickles).

causing her entire nervous system to shut down. This news shocked me because for a month before her death, I had been researching the health benefits of veganism and discovered that many people ate a vegan diet as a natural treatment and prevention of angina (McCarty, 469) as well as other age-related diseases (459). Though I could not prevent my grandmother’s death, I am now discovering that eating a healthy vegan diet should be prescribed more often as a natural treatment and prevention of age-related symptoms such as cancer, arthritis, and cardiovascular diseases. 

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