Love and Death
First off for those that know I went to visit my Grandpa in the hospital next week. He is back at home. He’s doing somewhat better but not back to where he was.
When I was sixteen years old, my uncle died from cancer. I was in high school and had classes the day of the burial. Because I didn’t want to take a final (perfect attendance), I stayed for a class and I ended up showing up late to the burial. Family means everything to me. I grew up surrounded by my cousins and aunts & uncles and my grandparents. When I found out my grandpa was in the hospital on Wednesday, I debated going right away or waiting until the weekend so I could work. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t wait. What if this was my last chance. I have always made sure that when I go home (parents’ house) that I see my grandparents and always kiss them and tell them I love them before I leave. I know they’re old, I know they’re in bad health, I know that next time I go up might be for their funeral.
The other reason I needed to go up was the stress in my mom’s voice. She was being stretched so thin. My grandma is wheel chair bound after a stroke paralyzed her left side and needs help to do almost everything. Grandpa has been her caregiver, but with him in the hospital, the duty fell on my mom. She is the oldest and she was a nurse. She's retired but she takes care of my niece and nephew during the week. She and my father bought a new house and are working on moving into it. She was relieved by my aunts for a few hours a day.
My three year old and I headed up on Thursday. 4 hours in a car with a toddler with a DVD player. We stopped at the hospital first and then had to track down my mom for a key to the house. She moved around a lot so she was hard to find. During my visit, I helped with dishes and some laundry as much as I could. On Friday night, my girl and I went to visit Grandpa and were planning on going out to the Farm (Grandma & Grandpa’s house) after. My girl was being a spaz and after lying down at the end of the hospital bed promptly fell asleep. It was 6:30 pm. So, I sat and visited with Grandpa for an hour and then took the girl back to my parents’ house. (she continued to sleep) On Saturday, it rained and Grandpa was due to go home. I packed the girl in the car and we went to pick him up, so Mom wouldn’t have to take Grandma out in the rain. When we got there, the nurse just needed to remove his IV. He’s on blood thinners. She didn’t wear gloves!!! She got my Grandpa’s blood all over her. What was she thinking?! When his bandage was soaked I asked another nurse to change it. She didn’t wear gloves either!!!! Apparently these ladies haven’t been around for the past 20 years. Dumb a**es! So I got him home and stuck around for a while, talking to Mom and Doug (my uncle’s best friend). Then I took the girl back to the house. My Dad has been working third shift and had Saturday night off. The first night we stayed he left at 9 pm and didn’t get home until 1 pm. Pretty much the same deal the second night. So with Dad home, we called my brother and ordered pizza. No, he doesn’t work at the pizza place. We invited him to join us for pizza. The following day we waited for Mom to come home. She finally did around 1 and we left about 2. We drove through hail, though my girl can’t confirm that fact since she slept the majority of the way home (Thank you).
But we made it home. We were able to be with the people who helped form who I’ve become and mean the world to me. All things considered I hope never to miss the important things for the trivial stuff.
First off for those that know I went to visit my Grandpa in the hospital next week. He is back at home. He’s doing somewhat better but not back to where he was.
When I was sixteen years old, my uncle died from cancer. I was in high school and had classes the day of the burial. Because I didn’t want to take a final (perfect attendance), I stayed for a class and I ended up showing up late to the burial. Family means everything to me. I grew up surrounded by my cousins and aunts & uncles and my grandparents. When I found out my grandpa was in the hospital on Wednesday, I debated going right away or waiting until the weekend so I could work. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t wait. What if this was my last chance. I have always made sure that when I go home (parents’ house) that I see my grandparents and always kiss them and tell them I love them before I leave. I know they’re old, I know they’re in bad health, I know that next time I go up might be for their funeral.
The other reason I needed to go up was the stress in my mom’s voice. She was being stretched so thin. My grandma is wheel chair bound after a stroke paralyzed her left side and needs help to do almost everything. Grandpa has been her caregiver, but with him in the hospital, the duty fell on my mom. She is the oldest and she was a nurse. She's retired but she takes care of my niece and nephew during the week. She and my father bought a new house and are working on moving into it. She was relieved by my aunts for a few hours a day.
My three year old and I headed up on Thursday. 4 hours in a car with a toddler with a DVD player. We stopped at the hospital first and then had to track down my mom for a key to the house. She moved around a lot so she was hard to find. During my visit, I helped with dishes and some laundry as much as I could. On Friday night, my girl and I went to visit Grandpa and were planning on going out to the Farm (Grandma & Grandpa’s house) after. My girl was being a spaz and after lying down at the end of the hospital bed promptly fell asleep. It was 6:30 pm. So, I sat and visited with Grandpa for an hour and then took the girl back to my parents’ house. (she continued to sleep) On Saturday, it rained and Grandpa was due to go home. I packed the girl in the car and we went to pick him up, so Mom wouldn’t have to take Grandma out in the rain. When we got there, the nurse just needed to remove his IV. He’s on blood thinners. She didn’t wear gloves!!! She got my Grandpa’s blood all over her. What was she thinking?! When his bandage was soaked I asked another nurse to change it. She didn’t wear gloves either!!!! Apparently these ladies haven’t been around for the past 20 years. Dumb a**es! So I got him home and stuck around for a while, talking to Mom and Doug (my uncle’s best friend). Then I took the girl back to the house. My Dad has been working third shift and had Saturday night off. The first night we stayed he left at 9 pm and didn’t get home until 1 pm. Pretty much the same deal the second night. So with Dad home, we called my brother and ordered pizza. No, he doesn’t work at the pizza place. We invited him to join us for pizza. The following day we waited for Mom to come home. She finally did around 1 and we left about 2. We drove through hail, though my girl can’t confirm that fact since she slept the majority of the way home (Thank you).
But we made it home. We were able to be with the people who helped form who I’ve become and mean the world to me. All things considered I hope never to miss the important things for the trivial stuff.
posted by Amanda @ 7:19 PM
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