Even though the real reason I created this Blog was to document our
Alaska trip, which is now over, I kind of enjoy posting stuff. Whether or not anyone will read it remains to be seen.
I figure each day I’ll either pick a photo from my existing collection or take a new picture to post. Since it is pretty early still, I’m using one from my collection. It shows my grandmother (left) and mother (right) on a day trip we took seven years ago to the butterfly exhibit at Brookside Gardens (Montgomery County, Maryland).
I sort of forgot I had this picture. Until the other day when I had to find old pictures to print for Grandma to help with her therapy. Sadly, Grandma had a stroke back on May 27. She is 94 years old. She is doing okay for someone that age who has suffered from a stroke, though. She can still move her arms and legs, and her face was not disfigured, but she is not able to swallow and has to learn how to talk all over again. She can’t read either, which has always been one of her favorite things to do. She didn’t get around that well before the stroke, and now she gets around even less.
She had been living with my Aunt Kathy for the past seven years. Aunt Kathy has done a fabulous job taking care of her for all those years. But, because of her current condition, unless she improves dramatically, Grandma won’t be going home. She is still in a hospital now, but will soon be moved to an acute care facility.
It was tough to hear about while away in Alaska, which is why I never mentioned it here before. I was quite torn about whether to stay or come home. I knew if Grandma could talk, she’d tell me to stay.
When I did go see her on June 8, she actually said “hi” when I walked into the room. That was the first thing she’d said since the stroke. She’s getting therapy and trying to talk, but it will take time. It is awful to see her like that.
Know what is neat about this picture? I did have a print made to show to Grandma. When she saw it, she smiled and pointed at herself. She was trying hard to say something, but it wouldn’t come out. And I couldn’t think of what she was trying to say. On the way home, it hit me. The shirt she is wearing in the photo is the same shirt she was wearing when I went to see her on Sunday.
Not a very happy post today, but that’s how life is. Keep my Grandma in your thoughts and prayers.
