I went to visit my Grandpa in the hospital the other day. I really don't visit even a fraction as much as I should. He's been in and out for various reasons, and this is just a bad infection now. A couple of years ago he got hit with both the flu and pneumonia at the same time, and has been on oxygen ever since. But when I went to see him the other day, despite his dry wit and sense of humor being completely intact, I've never seen him look so frail. We had a very nice chitchat.
My Grandma has Alzheimer's. Last summer at Grandpa's 90th birthday party, she had no idea who I was. That didn't bother me at all, in fact I thought it was sweet. She was meeting both me and Sophie for the first time. Dad says that it's only a matter of time before the disease starts shutting down involuntary portions of her brain like breathing or swallowing. Well, after I went to see Grandpa, I drove the 15 or so minutes down to their retirement neighborhood to visit her in her room in the alzheimer's unit. She was asleep in her chair, and I didn't want to wake her up.
I've been emotionally edgy lately. The Iraq war and its daily batch of fresh baked American corpses has been effecting me greatly lately. I was feeling particularly agitated and angry and upset the other day after listening to the latest news on NPR on my way home from class. I couldn't take any more and switched stations where I heard an unfamiliar song: Death Cab For Cutie's beautifully simple "I Will Follow You Into The Dark"
It made me think about Grandpa's heart break as he talked about Grandma and how she sometimes doesn't even recognize him, and I thought about how Dad told me that the first one to die will be cremated and have the ashes placed in the casket when other passes so that they can always be together.
I don't cry often, but I did at that point.
My Grandma has Alzheimer's. Last summer at Grandpa's 90th birthday party, she had no idea who I was. That didn't bother me at all, in fact I thought it was sweet. She was meeting both me and Sophie for the first time. Dad says that it's only a matter of time before the disease starts shutting down involuntary portions of her brain like breathing or swallowing. Well, after I went to see Grandpa, I drove the 15 or so minutes down to their retirement neighborhood to visit her in her room in the alzheimer's unit. She was asleep in her chair, and I didn't want to wake her up.
I've been emotionally edgy lately. The Iraq war and its daily batch of fresh baked American corpses has been effecting me greatly lately. I was feeling particularly agitated and angry and upset the other day after listening to the latest news on NPR on my way home from class. I couldn't take any more and switched stations where I heard an unfamiliar song: Death Cab For Cutie's beautifully simple "I Will Follow You Into The Dark"
If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied,
illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs.
If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark.
It made me think about Grandpa's heart break as he talked about Grandma and how she sometimes doesn't even recognize him, and I thought about how Dad told me that the first one to die will be cremated and have the ashes placed in the casket when other passes so that they can always be together.
I don't cry often, but I did at that point.
posted by Grover at 5/28/2007 09:53:00 PM
2 Comments:
my grandma is going down hill too. I don't know how to handle it but you're not alone.
andy iknow its hard i lost my grandpa to the same thing 10 yrs ago he was 83 and the grandma health went down hill she past a yr later i just lost my mom in jan at the age of 64 to emphazmia sad things friends arent always there when u can use them but with the ages of your granparents just think this way its a blessing they lived this long of life and hope tbey dont suffer any more then they have to
and btw no andy not always so nice
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