~ MY GRANNY ~

Daddy, Granny, Mama
Mother's Day '08

'Her children will rise up and call her blessed....'

~ Proverbs 31:28

Last night (Monday), my 95 year old Grandmother was taken back to the Emergency Room at the hospital down the road from the nursing home where she lives. Some of you may recall that she was just sent there on Sunday morning by the nursing home staff. This time, though, it was Granny who insisted on going. That, in and of itself, had me a little concerned. OK, a lot more than a little.

You see, Granny has never been one to go to the doctor unless it was absolutely necessary and, even then, sometimes you still have to prod her to help convince her she really needs to go. She certainly would not make an unnecessary trip late at night when my parents, and other family members, would be notified that she was going and would have to travel almost an hour to meet her there.

However, Granny has not been herself for quite some time. I wrote the following about that in May, in a FLASHBACK FRIDAY POST about Mother's Day. Here is an excerpt:

'...it has been extremely difficult and sad to watch as her once very beautiful human body has really started to deteriorate, her mind has begun to fade and, bit by bit, she is losing all of her glorious memories she used to enjoy sharing with us each and every time we would see her. I can remember she LOVED to tell us stories about when she was a little girl. Her mind would wander back in time as she would recount how different (and better!) things were back in the day.'

When I spoke with my dad this morning, he said that Granny is now in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital. She has been diagnosed with a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) and a pressure sore on her back, which the nursing home staff has been treating for a while but without much success. She is quite sick from all of it and is Septic, meaning she has a severe bacterial infection in her bloodstream - like what I get when I have an infection in my port - though her's is probably caused by the UTI and/or the pressure sore. This is quite serious for anyone but particularly for someone elderly and weak.

I have not seen my sweet Granny in quite some time. She has been in the nursing home and, as you know, I have been homebound and bedridden due to my illness. I want so badly to be by her side during all of this, but it is dangerous for me to go inside a hospital right now because my immune system is so weakened. I could get really sick. I may decide to risk it depending on how things progress.

Regardless of how things go, I am really at peace with my relationship with my Grandmother and with how things sit right now between Granny and me. A couple of years ago, I wrote her a really long letter telling her just how much I loved her and Papa (my grandfather who passed away almost 24 years ago after a valiant fight with colon cancer). I also thanked her for the significant influence she and Papa had on my life and the lives of my two younger siblings, as we were growing up. They lived next door to us the entire time we were growing up and saw to it that we went to church every Sunday and Wednesday. I honestly don't think the three of us would be the people we are today if it weren't for the influence of our grandparents living right next door and making sure we were in church. (Granny continued living in that same house, which she and Papa built back in the 1940's, until my dad and his brothers literally made her move out once she was no longer able to care for herself AND someone tried to break in on her in the middle of the night while she was sleeping....and she didn't hear a thing.)

Now, please don't get me wrong! It is literally breaking my heart in two to know that I may never get to touch her sweet face, hold her soft hand OR tell her that I love her just one more time while we are still here in this temporary place we call home. However, I know in my heart that Granny knows I love her and that I appreciate the difference she has made in my life. I also know that Granny knows and loves Jesus and soon will be sitting at His feet, holding hands with Papa.

That thought makes me happy and may have to do until I see her again there in Heaven. What a GLORIOUS day that will be!

Here's a beautiful song I'd like to dedicate to Granny. Every time I hear it, it reminds me of her.

Please continue to keep my Granny in your thoughts and prayers. Please pray that she feels better soon and that she not suffer. Please pray for the Lord's will to be done. We would greatly appreciate it. Thanks so much.

Blessings,

Teresa

P.S. This afternoon (Thursday), the doctors said that due to the severity of the infection, my grandmother's heart became very 'sick' from it. There is nothing else they can do for her, so all treatment has been discontinued and it is just a matter of time. For my prayer warriors, I'd like to ask you to please pray she does not suffer and please keep our entire family in your prayers as we all deal with this very difficult situation. Thanks so much.