Grandma Update

On Saturday, we all went to visit Grandma.

(Well, all of us except Blondechick, who is still in Europe with her choir.  But we got to Skype with her on the road trip home, though, which was exciting--the first time we've done that since she's been there.  She's having a ball, and she was excited about the ministry that they were having, but after two weeks, she's starting to miss home.  Ten days to go!)

Grandma is declining.  She's had a couple seizures, from the new tumors, apparently, and she's on anti-seizure meds, which wipe her out.  She's tired and has trouble staying awake when she has visitors.  When she speaks, it's very hard to understand her.  Her left side is weak, and she has trouble sitting up straight, so she's having a lot of back pain from leaning over to the right.

She's been unable to continue with therapy, and due to her prognosis, she's been reclassified as a hospice patient.  She has been able to stay in the same facility, though, which is a blessing.  She's getting excellent care there.  My father-in-law stays with her during the day.  He can usually get her to eat more than the staff has time for, but she's having difficulty swallowing and is eating less and less.

They have really appreciated all the visitors from their church, Church of the Resurrection--our former church, and Light of Christ's "mother" church.  Someone usually brings them communion on Sundays or more often.  Two weeks ago, we brought it to them when we visited on a Sunday afternoon; B17 brought his guitar and played a couple of worship tunes for our little communion service, and Grandma raised a hand and worshiped along with us.

This time, her eyes lit up when we came in and she asked B17 if he had brought his guitar.  She said something about school to me and again to one of the kids.  But after we left, and Eirik's brother returned to her room to get something he had left there, she told him, "I didn't know who any of those kids were."

We've spent some wonderful hours in the past few weeks with my brother-in-law, his wife and our niece, and with my father-in-law, all of us processing what is happening far too quickly.  It feels right and good to talk and pull together. This is not easy, but it is pulling us all closer, and as difficult as this is, and as hard as it is to know how to pray, we sense God at work.