Latest Update

I got a call from my mother today. She was calling to give me the latest information on my grandmother. And now, here I am passing it along to you. I figure that some of you would be interested, and at least one of you have asked about her...

My relatives were trying to find out what was going on with Nanny's sleeping, she only woke up occasionally and only for brief periods, and they were talking to doctors and trying to get her checked into a hospital.

I knew this, and that she had been admitted to a hospital, since shortly after the last update. However, since that was all there was to it, I didn't bother posting it since it didn't really tell us anything.

Today Mom called to give me the latest, and it isn't very good...

Apparently Nanny fell out of bed while in the hospital. Actually, since noone saw it happen we don't know if she fell out of bed or if she fell while trying to get out of bed for some reason. With how groggy she was before the fall, and how much worse she is after the fall, she can't really tell us what happened.

What we do know is that when she fell she broke her hip. So now, in addition to the problems she was already having, she has a broken hip, is in a cast and traction, and she is "drugged up" for the pain and what not. And there appears to be some complications from the break. (Anytime someone breaks a hip there can be complications, but they are almost guaranteed for someone who just turned 95.)

While we were talking Mom made it clear that she wasn't just calling to give me the information. She was also calling to give me a chance to prepare for the inevitable. Nanny has had a good life but it is coming to an end. The doctors feel that she doesn't have much time left. I don't want to lose her, but I don't want her to suffer.

Nanny has always been a strong woman. She lived on her own right up to her 95th birthday when all this started. She has lived to see her grandchildren growup and have children of their own. She has watched her great-grandchildren grow up and get married, starting families of their own. But she also buried her husband, her son (my father), her brother, and at least two grandchildren who died of childhood illnesses. And throughout all of it, the good and the bad, she has kept going and stayed strong.

I know she is still strong and will stay or go on her terms. Her body may be failing, but I believe her spirit never will.

I am glad that I got to see her when I was up in August and again in December. She was just as lively as she ever was. In fact she was more lively at 94 than a lot of people 25 years younger.

My friends who are reading this, and those who aren't, I wish you could have met Nanny and gotten to know her. (I have not given up hope, but I also want to prepare myself.)

I will let you know when I get any more news. You can rest assured that there will be at least one more update.

However it turns out, she will always be with me. A person is never truly gone as long as someone remembers.

... and there is always hope.