A Farewell Letter...

Yesterday you fell and broke your hip... this was only the latest incident of many in the past few years. You were taken to the hospital and the WONDERFUL Dr. Dan Canfield operated on you with the knowledge that there were many risks with your heart and kidneys but taking the risk anyway knowing that there was really no other option. You made it through the surgery just fine and woke up this morning just as feisty as ever. The hospital staff took some vitals and did some testing and found that your heart and kidneys were only getting worse and that your body was slowly shutting itself down. The doctors informed us that at most you had 2-3 days.

I was fortunate to have been able to spend some time with you yesterday. As Dawson and I sat there next to your bed before surgery you kept saying how "beautiful his big brown eyes" were and "where had his hair gone?..." and you played some patty cake with him... he brightened up your not so happy day and I believe that he enjoyed it just as much as you did.

Today was a different story altogether. I woke up to a story that things had gone well and that you were back to your ornery self and that you had even recognized my dad when he first walked into the room stating that he was your youngest son to the nurse. Which was a good thing since your mind has been unclear for some time now. I later received a phone call from my mother to inform me that doctors were giving you at most a few more days. I decided that I would drop Dawson off at Lisa's house (THANKS LISA BTW!) and head over thinking that this may be my last chance to see you. It was a good thing I did... I met you at the hospital at 4pm sat there and cried for a bit watching you struggle to breathe. The nurse came in and checked your vitals they couldn't even find a blood pressure and your 2-3 days instantly turned into hours. At that moment I couldn't help but get up and walk over to grab your hand I couldn't convince myself to get up even for a little snack. As much as Aletha wanted to be there she couldn't so I brought a letter from her to read to you... you wouldn't wake up so I decided to read it to you anyway but couldn't get through it so my dad took it and slowly through broken words started and finished what I could not. I held your hand until the end (8:15pm) and even longer still... it was so difficult to let it go. I ran my fingers through your hair and gave you a kiss on the forehead. You were no longer there, the color of your skin told me that. I said I loved you and slowly left the room thinking that you must be having a wonderful reunion with your husband that you lost so long ago. I know you are happy now and you will always be remembered as a wonderful grandmother. I LOVE YOU GRANDMA!!