Granny

As soon as we got back to Chicago from Michigan, my Mom took my Grandma to the hospital. She hadn't been able to hold down food for a few days and was very confused. We thought she would get an i.v. and come home, boy were we wrong. She went in late Thursday night, by Friday, they had found a mass in her brain. On Saturday (the 4th of July), we found out that there were several masses in her brain as well as her lungs. Matt's parents took the kids overnight so that we could be with my Mom when she found out (she had been working all day) and then go with her to the hospital. We actually had a great night visiting with Grandma. She was so sweet and completely knew who we were, but she was so confused and said the most hilarious things. She was laughing with us, which was nice to see. I know it sounds so bad that we were laughing so hard our stomachs hurt the next day, but what are you going to do, sit there and cry? If these are our last memories with her, I'd rather they be laughing than crying. We spent a lot of time at the hospital and it was really nice to be able to do something rather than sit on the phone and cry. I brought Lily to see her one day. Kids are not usually allowed on the oncology floor, but the nurses said they would make an exception since we were flying home the next day. We had a great day there. We washed Granny's hair and got her all cleaned up. She felt like a million bucks. Lily was OBSESSED with her teeth. "Why are they in a cup? How did they fall out? Will they grow back? When?? Where do pretend teeth come from? Can I get some?" It was crazy. They had a volunteer playing piano and Lily did ballet throughout the hallway. I think she should be a hospital volunteer and spread her Lily joy. My great uncle Jim (Grandma's brother) came to visit too. He and Lily colored together and he helped her stay in the lines.

When Granny's hair dried, I curled it for her. The only thing she wanted then was to go home. Aunt Barbara brought Grandpa up and they were happy to see each other. Granny finally got solid food that day. She was so happy, but ended up feeding half of it to Grandpa.

She got a biopsy of her lung and got to go home the following Friday. Sadly, she has stage 4 lung cancer that has spread to her brain. All she can do is have radiation treatments to shrink the tumors in her brain and hopefully keep her comfortable. She's at home, which is where she wants to be. I pray for my family because I know this is so hard on them. I hope they can get through this together. My uncle David and his wife Samantha had Granny's 15th grandchild in the same hospital on the day she got out. She got to see her new grandson before she was discharged. So, I guess the moral is that life goes on, right?

Some of the funny things she said that I want to remember:

Calling a bunch of people Marty (we have no one named Marty in our family)

Saying that there were parties in the hallway during the night. "There are some drinks in the fridge. They're left over from the party."

Mid-sentence, she shouted, "CHICKEN OF THE SEA!!"

Telling the nurse that she should watch out for Matt. "He's going to try to smuggle that dvd player on the plane" (he was flying to LA the next day).