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Gemini Cricket · 01-17-2008, 06:14 PM

Back in California.

An interesting week, indeed.

First off, my grandma is doing better. The pneumonia has cleared up and her lungs seem to be fine. She's still in a state where she isn't very responsive, but her condition is much improved. She will be checking back into her home either tonight or tomorrow.

My trip was amazingly enlightening and relaxing.
I got to catch up with my immediate family and my favorite aunt. She lives in Vancouver now and I haven't talked to her in about 5 years or so.

I found out quickly that my role for this trip was going to be comic relief, so I ran with it. There was so much grief, regret and anger that my only choice was to counter it with humor. I think it worked. My feeling was that in hard times like this, you can either let it destroy you or you can endure it and live on.

My grandma was not responding to anyone when I arrived. When she responded to me and my aunt, the family was convinced that visits from us out-of-towners improved her condition. I told them that it was possible that she was just ignoring everyone and really wanted to sleep.

Something I learned is that when a person comes to from a long coma-like state, the person that emerges isn't necessarily a wide-eyed, kind soul. Sometimes, a person will be exactly as curmudgeonly as they were when they were last seen. My grandma was that way. She woke once to tell everyone that she had a headache and someone should do something about it or else. Hysterical. What I also found out is that a person in that state isn't necessarily forgiving either, being so close to knocking on heaven's door. Trying to jog Nana's memory, we listed off family members to see if she remembered them. Her least favorite daughter (a family member who stole from my grandma and was a starring character at my grandfather's funeral fiasco) was intentionally 'forgotten' by my grandma. She said she didn't have a daughter named Vera. But all signs pointed to the fact that she knew her but just didn't acknowledge her. Very, very telling.

Anyway, all seems to be back to normal for now.

I will continue about this trip in another thread. Something stunningly revealing happened to me that I'd like to share. But as it has little to do with Nana, I'll start another discussion about it. And, as I am battling the time change and the fact that I have to go to work tomorrow, I'm kinda worn out at the moment.

Thanks for all the kudos and support sent my grandma's way. It worked.

01-17-2008, 06:14 PM	#62
Gemini Cricket ... Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 13,244	Back in California. An interesting week, indeed. First off, my grandma is doing better. The pneumonia has cleared up and her lungs seem to be fine. She's still in a state where she isn't very responsive, but her condition is much improved. She will be checking back into her home either tonight or tomorrow. My trip was amazingly enlightening and relaxing. I got to catch up with my immediate family and my favorite aunt. She lives in Vancouver now and I haven't talked to her in about 5 years or so. I found out quickly that my role for this trip was going to be comic relief, so I ran with it. There was so much grief, regret and anger that my only choice was to counter it with humor. I think it worked. My feeling was that in hard times like this, you can either let it destroy you or you can endure it and live on. My grandma was not responding to anyone when I arrived. When she responded to me and my aunt, the family was convinced that visits from us out-of-towners improved her condition. I told them that it was possible that she was just ignoring everyone and really wanted to sleep. Something I learned is that when a person comes to from a long coma-like state, the person that emerges isn't necessarily a wide-eyed, kind soul. Sometimes, a person will be exactly as curmudgeonly as they were when they were last seen. My grandma was that way. She woke once to tell everyone that she had a headache and someone should do something about it or else. Hysterical. What I also found out is that a person in that state isn't necessarily forgiving either, being so close to knocking on heaven's door. Trying to jog Nana's memory, we listed off family members to see if she remembered them. Her least favorite daughter (a family member who stole from my grandma and was a starring character at my grandfather's funeral fiasco) was intentionally 'forgotten' by my grandma. She said she didn't have a daughter named Vera. But all signs pointed to the fact that she knew her but just didn't acknowledge her. Very, very telling. Anyway, all seems to be back to normal for now. I will continue about this trip in another thread. Something stunningly revealing happened to me that I'd like to share. But as it has little to do with Nana, I'll start another discussion about it. And, as I am battling the time change and the fact that I have to go to work tomorrow, I'm kinda worn out at the moment. Thanks for all the kudos and support sent my grandma's way. It worked.
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