My Grandma

[thegiraffe]

I don't even know where to begin here.

My parents are rushing down to Tampa (about an hour and a half away) right now. My Grandma isn't in very good shape at all. She's so fragile, yet so strong.

She has spent the last three weeks in the hospital, mostly in ICU. She's home now, but fainting a lot and fading fast. My grandpa can't get her up, and she doesn't want to take her medicine.

[backstory: She's 69. She has rheumatoid arthritis, had lung cancer about....4 years ago and had 1/3 of her lung removed. She had a blood clot in her leg the day I graduated high school (4.5 years ago). She fell about 2 years ago and her leg literally exploded. They had to do a skin graft from her thigh to her calf, and we didn't know if she was going to make it, or keep her leg (she did both). She has arrythmia (what she was in the hospital for this time - her heart rate reached 224). She suffered what we think was a mild stroke like a year and a half ago. Basically, she's a fighter.]

This may be the end.

If you pray, please pray hard. Although I know it's inevitable at some point, I can't imagine life without her. She's the strongest person I know, physically and mentally. The burdens she's carried her entire life and the excruciating pain she deals with on a daily basis just astounds me.

I love her SO much. I guess at this point I (selfishly) want her to live long enough to see all of her kids and grandkids again. I'm sure that if she continues the downward spiral, my aunts, uncles, and cousins will be down too.

Please just pray for comfort, healing, strength....the doctors. I don't know what else to say.

Thanks.

[Saydrah]

:hug: I lost the strongest person in my life- my godmother- in 2006. I know how you are feeling right now, and I am sending the most positive thoughts I have for a quick and complete recovery.

[blas]

Hugs and prayers headed your way!

[protege]

*hugs*

After watching my grandmother's health deteriorate for the past year (she's 91), I know what it's like. She was in near-perfect health, and was still independent until recently. Then she fell in her house, had to give up driving...and spiraled down from there. Her mind, is literally like Swiss cheese--some days she has no clue what's going on, yet she's fine most days. Her mental problems have been made worse, because she's moved twice in the past year; first to a small apartment, and then to the assisted-living center. Believe me, I know *exactly* how you feel :hugs:

[Toujin]

Last year, my great-aunt Norma died at age 92, after her health took sudden downward spiral. Before that she was living in a really nice retirement condo, and didn't need much help. But after spending some time in the hospital, she became so weak that my grandma wound up taking care of her during her final days (she was my maternal grandma's oldest sister). Her bed was placed in my grandma's living room, and since Norma was one of those people who'd put others before herself, she thought that she was being a burden on my grandma.

I also saw my paternal grandmother's health spiral downward over a number of years. She used to go places with us when we'd come visit her in Massachussets, but her osteoporosis eventually took it's toll, and her mind started to go. It eventually got to the point where she was basically confined to her apartment (she lived in a fourplex), and only noticed my dad when we came over. What was really sad, though, was that one of her caretakers actually took moeny and other valuables from her without her knowing.

I hope your grandma gets better, TG.

[justZu]

hugs and prayers for you, your grandma and your whole family. :hug:

[Boozy]

I'm so sorry about your grandma, honey. I am keeping you and your family in my thoughts.

[thegiraffe]

Thanks you guys for your thoughts and prayers.

I just got a text from my dad:

"we just saw her - rescue was loading her when we arrived. they are taking her to a CAT scan for her head. She hit it when she fell. Temp of 103.5. She is awake, but we cannot understand her. More later."

So....we'll see.

It's all in God's hands now.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Again, I'm not a particularly religious person, but I will keep you, your family, and your grandma in my thoughts and wish you all well no matter what happens.

My one living grandmother is 89 and is living with my aunt and uncle in North Carolina. When grandpa died their house in Florida became too much for her to take care of, and we think Alzheimer's may be beginning to set in.

My other grandmother died in August 2006 and had been in a nursing home for some time. She too had Alzheimers and couldn't be on her own, and before she died she had a string of medical problems that landed her in the hospital several times.

[thegiraffe]

Thank you all so much for your thoughts/prayers. My family and I appreciate it so much.

Here's the lowdown that I have (as of late last night)

She has pneumonia that's more severe than last time she was in the hospital (i.e. really really bad). She also has a DVT (deep vein thrombosis) blood clot in her left leg, which is not the one she has the skin graft on. She had a really really low blood pressure of 74/45, but that was stabilized last night to 124/58. Her fever is down (don't know what temp), and she seems to be more comfortable.

However, my parents still can't understand her, which suggests a couple of things to me:

1. she hit her head when she fell, causing some sort of brain/head trauma (the CAT scan will tell us more about that when we get the results)

2. She had a mild stroke (transient ischemic attack - TIA), which we think she's had before. A stroke can of course affect speech and cognition, but because they can't understand her, it's hard to understand if cognition is affected. It can also cause a loss of consciousness, which would be consistent with the symptoms she's been having.

So...it's a wait-and-see game right now. I would fast about it today, but I'm getting over being REALLY sick and not eating really at all for two days, so that would knock me flat on my face - especially having to work 8 hours today. If I was healthy I would though.

That's how much she means to me. Well, I can't even begin to explain how much she means to me.

For those of you who like to pray by name, my grandmother's name is Pansy. Yes, I'm serious. It's really a fitting name for such an amazingly beautiful person (her middle name is Bonita, coincidentally enough). And if you think about it, please add Margie and Susan to your prayers. They're my dad's sisters. They're up in Pennsylvania and Virginia, respectively. Susan seems to be taking it better than Margie, but she's also the harder sister to read.

Thank you so so so much. I can't even begin to explain how much your support means.

[sportsmom]

Good thoughts headed your way.

Focus on the positive, some things have been diagnosed, her BP is better and the temp is coming down. Those are good things, stay positive and you'll get through it.

Take care of yourself, too. You will be no help to anyone if you're still sick, so make sure to take time for yourself.

[Becks]

: prayers and happy thoughts :