Details then Thoughts on my Grandma Wright

Details:

My Grandma is back in the hospital. She turned 90 on September 6. The night before her birthday party she fell and broke her arm. The party went on anyway. She wasn't going to let it get her down. That's just how she is. She lives in a little town in Montana. Libby, MT. I can't remember her living anywhere else. She is my father's mother. They took her to the hospital. A very little hospital. It was Memorial Day weekend. There weren't any Orthopedic doctors there. They put her arm in a sling, gave her pain medication and told her to come back on Tuesday. On Tuesday they took her in. They were concerned about her heart due to high blood pressure issues and a conflicting EKG from two years ago. My aunt and uncle brought her to Spokane. Bigger hospital. Better services. Apparently she had had a "small" heart attack approximately two weeks prior to the fall that broke her arm. It was probably when she wasn't feeling well one Sunday, stayed the whole day in bed, went on with life when Monday came. The doctor found a clogged artery and put a shunt in. It's a minor procedure. That was Thursday. She had surgery on her arm on Saturday. I visited her a few times and she went home Monday. My dad called me tonight to let me know that Grandma was back in the hospital. My Uncle Paul, who moved in a month or so ago to take care of her, noticed her slurred speech this morning. He took her to the hospital in Libby. They suggested a stroke. Blood is "collecting" somewhere in her heart. Her heart could be failing.

Thoughts:

While my Grandma was in the hospital I had a phone conversation with my dad. At one point he said, "This could be the beginning of the end." I knew he could be very right. It's not really something you care to truly admit but she is 90 and has been as healthy as a horse most of her life. While I was getting ready for bed I was thinking of her and wondering how she was. I was thinking of something she told me when I was leaving the hospital after visiting her. She said, "You take care of my little namesake." I have thought of this several times. It led my thoughts to Norah and the challenges that she has to face with PWS. If I get to see my Grandma before she passes, at whatever point that might be, I want to ask her to send angels to watch over Norah. (Now that I write it it sounds a little silly.) I want her to tell my Granddad that I love him. I have such a firm faith in my knowledge of what happens in life after this one.

I was thinking of a time when I was staying with her as a child. I had these really terrifying nightmares for a few years and my father was the only one who could pray them away so I could go back to sleep. My dad wasn't there. I woke my Grandma up. She prayed with me and helped comfort me when I was very frightened.

My Granddad passed away in 2001. He had poor health and in the end it was a blessing. I know he was made whole again. I know my Grandma will be too. When Colin and I arrived in Libby for the funeral I first walked over to my Grandma and held her. I wanted to comfort her but in turn it was her that comforted me. In her embrace I felt her burden of caring for my Granddad lifted. I felt her faith in her knowledge that he was well again. That he was healthy and that her knowledge of their Eternal Marriage was certain. They had been married over 50 years.

My Grandma is the epitome of a practical, thrifty, make-it-do or do without woman. She wastes nothing, uses up everything and makes everything from scratch. Her Salmon Quiche was so tasty. She is a master seamstress and could sit and crochet a doille (sp?) in about an hour before her eyesight became too bad. She can probably do it by feel still.

She made me a double wedding ring quilt, at my request, for Colin and I when we were married. She said it was the last hand quilted quilt that she would do. It was just getting to be too hard to see what she was doing. I keep it on our bed always. I don't let my kids climb around on it. I will sometimes look at it very closely and follow the stitches around. I am so amazed at how even and precise they are. It is also hand pieced from scraps of fabric she has kept for a very long time. Some pieces are very dated and some are more modern. It is very bright just like the clothes she would sew for herself. My quilt is a masterpiece. Someday I hope to pass it on to one of my kids. Maybe Grandma's little namesake. Norah Jane.

I love you Grandma!