Mimi passed away last night. Since March 1st of last year, she was in and out of the hospital, but it wasn't until two days ago that she was finally diagnosed. They said it was cancer. My brother and I knew nothing of treatments, of plans; we only knew that we finally had a name for the thing that gave her bad days sometimes, and at other times let her have good ones.
My mother, who was staying with her yesterday, told us that it was definitely a good day. She was sitting up, breathing fine, eating dinner. She wasn't gasping for air like she sometimes had to. The doctors said that her heart just...stopped. We're all very thankful that she went so peacefully, without pain.
Our family is beginning arrangements. If the snowstorm of the century doesn't blow through like the weathermen promised, we plan to have the funeral on Sunday.
2010 is turning out to be a year of deaths already. First a friend from church passed away in a car accident as a young man just out of his teen years, and now Mimi. The beautiful thing about it is, we know that both our grandmother and our friend have gone somewhere wonderful. We miss them already, and can't wait to see them again. Really, we'll just have to wait. Some of us more impatiently than others.
Showing posts with label Mimi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mimi. Show all posts
Friday, January 29, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
She Emerges Triumphant
Hallelujah! Mimi goes home today!
She has made me laugh so many times throughout this ordeal. She's very honest around me, I must say! And with her nurses, as well. She told one that she looked tired, to which the nurse replied that Mimi had told her that multpile times. "Well, I meant no offense," she said. Then, today, she got sarcastic with the nurse that was taking her for a walk. "This is good for you," the nurse told her. "Oh, well, everything is. Everything's good for me." The nurse didn't catch the sideways sarcasm. I laughed from my chair.
Of course, none of this is meant to make her sound mean at all. She just gets discouraged from the situation, but I try to keep her positive, and it works. We''ve definitely come closer through this time.
I'm very excited for her to be home, and she's looking forward to it too.
She has made me laugh so many times throughout this ordeal. She's very honest around me, I must say! And with her nurses, as well. She told one that she looked tired, to which the nurse replied that Mimi had told her that multpile times. "Well, I meant no offense," she said. Then, today, she got sarcastic with the nurse that was taking her for a walk. "This is good for you," the nurse told her. "Oh, well, everything is. Everything's good for me." The nurse didn't catch the sideways sarcasm. I laughed from my chair.
Of course, none of this is meant to make her sound mean at all. She just gets discouraged from the situation, but I try to keep her positive, and it works. We''ve definitely come closer through this time.
I'm very excited for her to be home, and she's looking forward to it too.
Friday, December 25, 2009
It's December 25th And I'm Looking Forward To Christmas
I'll get more excerpts to you soon, but today, we shall take a break to discuss Christmas instead. Christmas cannot be ignored!
Things have gone pretty close to normal today as far as Christmas goes; my family gathered at one grandparents' house for breakfast (Mom's side of the family) and the other for lunch and probably supper (Dad's side). There's one crucial difference from the norm that makes this year feel off: Mimi is in the hospital.
Mimi is my mother's mother. She got sick this year on March 1st, and hasn't been back to normal since. It started with fluid in her lungs, and since then she's had good days and bad days. She has been back and forth from home to the hospital again, and even when she is home, someone else has to be there with her at all times to keep an eye on her and Papaw.
Mimi has five children, and only two of them stay with her regularly. One of the other girls barely does anything, another only pitches in by staying with Papaw when Mimi's in the hospital, and the 'boy' helps out by taking care of Papaw's cows, land, farm equipment, and whatever other outdoor work is needed.
Sometimes, this arrangement is fine. Other times, it feels like a real pain, as selfish as that may sound. My mom is one of the two that stays with Mimi and Papaw constantly, and her husband and three children miss her. The house just doesn't run smoothly without her around, and even if it did, it doesn't feel the same without her. However, we all understand why all this work is necessary, and we do our best to make do.
I've stayed with Mimi more recently (up until Christmas Eve, which was the night she was admitted back into the hospital). Many times up until now, she's been overcome with sadness and self-pity about her predicament, which I definitely can't blame her for. She can't walk to the bathroom without losing her breath, and she doesn't enjoy the breathing treatments that she has to do at least once every day. She told me that she wishes that she could make food and do other things for people for Christmas, but that she "just isn't worth anything these days". It's rough on her, that's for sure. I reminded her that she's surrounded by people who love her and who will take care of things like that. I also pointed out that she raised all of her children to be capable of those things, that she had done a good job. She did smile at that. "Yes, I did raise them to be able to do things," she said.
I've noticed that her outlook is improving a lot. Lately, she seems happier much more often. Even though she's in the hospital today, she seems to be in good spirits. She talked to everyone gathered at her house via phone this morning. We set aside a lot of the presents, and we aren't going to open them until she's back.
Then we'll have Christmas all over again, for her.
Things have gone pretty close to normal today as far as Christmas goes; my family gathered at one grandparents' house for breakfast (Mom's side of the family) and the other for lunch and probably supper (Dad's side). There's one crucial difference from the norm that makes this year feel off: Mimi is in the hospital.
Mimi is my mother's mother. She got sick this year on March 1st, and hasn't been back to normal since. It started with fluid in her lungs, and since then she's had good days and bad days. She has been back and forth from home to the hospital again, and even when she is home, someone else has to be there with her at all times to keep an eye on her and Papaw.
Mimi has five children, and only two of them stay with her regularly. One of the other girls barely does anything, another only pitches in by staying with Papaw when Mimi's in the hospital, and the 'boy' helps out by taking care of Papaw's cows, land, farm equipment, and whatever other outdoor work is needed.
Sometimes, this arrangement is fine. Other times, it feels like a real pain, as selfish as that may sound. My mom is one of the two that stays with Mimi and Papaw constantly, and her husband and three children miss her. The house just doesn't run smoothly without her around, and even if it did, it doesn't feel the same without her. However, we all understand why all this work is necessary, and we do our best to make do.
I've stayed with Mimi more recently (up until Christmas Eve, which was the night she was admitted back into the hospital). Many times up until now, she's been overcome with sadness and self-pity about her predicament, which I definitely can't blame her for. She can't walk to the bathroom without losing her breath, and she doesn't enjoy the breathing treatments that she has to do at least once every day. She told me that she wishes that she could make food and do other things for people for Christmas, but that she "just isn't worth anything these days". It's rough on her, that's for sure. I reminded her that she's surrounded by people who love her and who will take care of things like that. I also pointed out that she raised all of her children to be capable of those things, that she had done a good job. She did smile at that. "Yes, I did raise them to be able to do things," she said.
I've noticed that her outlook is improving a lot. Lately, she seems happier much more often. Even though she's in the hospital today, she seems to be in good spirits. She talked to everyone gathered at her house via phone this morning. We set aside a lot of the presents, and we aren't going to open them until she's back.
Then we'll have Christmas all over again, for her.
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