I am sitting here with my grandmother. She has been away from home 4 weeks today; 2 weeks in the hospital, then 2 weeks in a skilled nursing facility. She has been to death’s door, looked it in the face, and returned to us stronger than ever. We get to keep her for a while longer. She has “shocked” (his word) her doctor, and amazed her family. She has given us inspiration and joy.
Barring unforseen problems, she will be able to go home on Wednesday! Her home. To live alone once again. Just as she has done. It has been her dream to be able to live at home until the “upper taker” (her word) comes to get her.
The doctor tells me that the obstruction in her small intestine will most likely happen again, and if/when it does, she might not survive. We are not going to let that dampen our thankfulness or curb our joy for Mom’s recovery.
I have heard doctors talk about something called the “step down” process. When a person reaches a certain stage in life, and certain health challenges arrive, then that person may not be able to recover to their ‘pre-crisis’ level of health. Hence, a ‘step down’. A friend of mine asked me about how my 96 year old grandmother was doing. He said to me, “Now you realize, she is not going to get much better.” Weeeellllll, she has not only recovered to her ‘pre-illnes’ level, she truthfully appears to be stronger!
I told Mom, that I was writing this blog about her and asked her if there was anything she had to say to any of you who might be facing serious illness. She immediately replied, “Thank God and count blessings and not pain.” Yep. That’s Mom.
When the Family Has Cancer 