Visiting grandma

Friday at 5:10, Betsy left straight from work to drive up to Toledo, OHIO to visit with her grandma, Vera Rennhack.  Grandma had taken a bad fall and broken her foot.  She is in a shoe and uses a walker but she isn't supposed to walk around on it very much, if any at all.

She lives in an assisted living community but in her own apartment.  She used to be able to tend to herself, but then in the last 2 years her health has really declined (she is 94 years old) so she or her son, my uncle, Uncle Dick has hired a part time nurse to help grandma at key times of the day.  Deb Lester is her name and she comes over in the morning to get Grandma ready and do breakfast and set out her pills, then at lunch and then again for dinner.  Grandma doesn't really move around so, she has gone to taking naps during the day.

Well, since her fall she was put on hospice.  That was such a surprise to me - it shouldn't have been, for heaven's sake, my grandma is 94 but I just imagine her around forever.  It is hard to think of her passing on.  

Well, on Friday, I had a lot of traffic on my way up to Toledo - I didn't get in until 11:00 pm.  I stayed at the Courtyard Marriott right by her place.  The next morning I went over to Grandma's around 10:30 - I was supposed to come at 10:00 but I over slept until 10:00 so --- oops!!!!

I spent the entire day with grandma.  We talked and shared about all sorts of things.  I asked her a lot of questions about Dick and Judy and their kids and grand kids.  She was getting tired around 12:00 so I went to Bob Evans and brought lunch back to her apartment.  We ate there.  After lunch we called Uncle Dick and Kirstie so grandma could talk to them.  Uncle Dick and I spoke about some photos that Grandma didn't remember giving to me to preserve, and make a history journal of ... that was very upsetting because Uncle Dick accused me of taking them.  Not in my wildest dream.  Here I was getting photos and stories of his mother to preserve them for her posterity (1/2 of which is his) and he's getting mad at me.  UGH!!!!  

Grandma and I continued our little chats for the rest of the day - at times she seemed like she wanted to nap, but she refused when I gave her the option.  I had to leave around 5:30 so I could get back to Louisville.  It was a great visit.  She looked great and acted completely as expected for a 94 year old woman.