For over a year now I have had the privilege of going over to my Grandmas house and giving her baths and getting to know her better than I ever had before. We have spent hours talking and talking about who knows what. Laughing at each other when I would spray water all over her myself and all over the bathroom because the hose had gotten away from me. Her telling me all about what she did that day which most of the time included going over to Walgreens and how they all know her so well there. When I was pregnant she would tell me each week how excited she was for me and how big my belly was getting, but that I wasn’t just getting fat but there was definitely a baby in there. Her telling me time again how we are getting oh so good at baths and how fast we are at them. Stories of the funny things Kaydence did and how she just plain loves that girl, even when she tells her just what to do, and especially when she tells her just what to do. When I was younger I remember leaving her house and each time I would shout “love you Grandma” her reply was always “see you later.” My family is very open and we tell each other “love you” just about every time we talk on the phone and see each other, but not always GG,
not until I started giving her Baths. One day I said it again as I was leaving and she said it back. Since then she has said it every time and sometimes she will even say it first. I can’t describe to you how much I LOVE this woman. There is something about serving a person that makes your love for them grow so strong. She is always thinking of others, she makes you feel so important.
On November 28th Nog and I went over to her house to help her put on a new toilet lid she had
gotten. We had both known this seat was coming for about a week now and we were really excited to open it up for her to use it. Haha look at us getting all excited about a toilet seat. Well Nog got it all ready for her, we said our goodbyes and then we were off. The next night I got a call for my Mom. Grandma had used her new toilet lid and while getting up she went for her chair but didn’t quite make it and slid to the ground. Only one side of her body works since her stroke 6 years ago so she tried as hard as she could to get up but her body would not allow her to. My
Grandma is diabetic so for 24 hours there she was on the ground trying her best to scoot herself into her bedroom to a phone. She only got so far till she could not move any longer. So she slept there on the ground, cold and coughing up blood from all the stress. My Uncle Keith found her a full 24 hours after this had happened. I was doing laundry when Mom called and told me this and I thought I might die. I was so afraid that the day before might be the last time
I would see her as herself. I hurried as fast as I could and went down to her house. When I turned the corner I saw the ambulance and my heart dropped. She was already in the ambulance and ready to be taken to the hospital. She looked so bloody and scratched up. There was nothing I could do and I felt horrible. What if I would have just stayed there a little longer after she used the new toilet and made sure everything was fine this wouldn’t have happened. And Grandma being Grandma says “Andi don’t cry I just fell and now they are taking care of me, I’m okay, don’t cry everything’s okay.” I followed her in the ambulance to the hospital and just hours after she
was already cracking jokes and being so positive. We came home that night sick, thinking of what she has been through hearing her phone ring and ring, wondering if anyone was going to come and find her. Her poor body with cuts and soars from pushing herself for hours trying to get help, no food or water for 24 hours, coughing up blood, freezing, sleeping on the wood floor. And there she was minimizing everything that she had just gone through saying, “This isn’t that bad, I’ve had worse.” Can you see why I LOVE this woman? And now I’m thinking how can I just let her go back into that lonely house all by herself? This could easily happen again and I could
not bare to think of it, something has to change. We thought a lot about it and made some calls. We knew without a doubt that we want her in our home. As I was saying my prayers I felt that she needs us and that we need her. We went to visit her the next day, we told her of all our plans and to please think about it. Later that day Laree and I went to visit again. Laree said “so GG what do you think of moving in with Annie and Nog?” She said “Yeah, I think that would be good.” I am So thrilled! And so folks I get to have GG in my home in hopes that she will soon call it her home too. I feel so blessed to have this home that I can share with her, this extra bedroom is calling her name. And best of all I get to be home so I can spend so much time with her. I feel it a privilege to have her here with us and for Koli to grow up having her Great Grandma just in the next room over. They are going to become best buds. Tomorrow we will start moving her things and I can hardly wait!!
We got her these monkeys which have become part of the family. Nog named them George and Francis, fitting for monkeys I thought. She plays with them all the time and chews on their heads. So glad she loves George and Fran. :)
