Yesterday in Muddling Through As Best I Can

We made a trip into Louisiana yesterday. I haven’t been in years but it was a necessary one. Right before Brad’s wedding Dec 20, we received word that mother in law was in the hospital. She has been diagnosed with stage 4 lung and bone cancer. Due to overall health issues she is unable to have chemotherapy. She is declining rapidly so Brad, his new wife and daughter and I went to see her while we could.. My eldest son Brandon couldn’t get off work to go, and my youngest son Brian has strep throat and didn’t want to take a chance on making his grandmother sicker.
The drive for me was bittersweet. I spent a lot of time in the areas we drove through in my growing up years. Family vacations were largely spent on Toledo Bend lake with relatives, camping fishing and swimming. We passed that and several other locations where I have fond childhood memories on the way.
About an hour after we crossed the state line, Brad received a text that his wife’s grandmother was in the hospital in Alexandria and had suffered a stroke.
We stopped in Alexandria and the news was not good. Her grandmother, Ms. Peggy, is not showing any brain activity. The family is waiting for her out of state daughters to arrive before making any decisions about removing life support.
We continued on to Olla, Louisiana where My M-I-L, Mary, is hospitalized. She was sleeping when we arrived, but woke later and we were able to have a very nice visit. She met Brad’s new family and was just crazy over Sienna. In fact, most of the visit was spent with Sienna in bed with her, hugging and snuggling like she’d known Mary her whole little life. I was a little concerned that it would be too tiring for Mary, but she really seemed to be loving it, so I let it be.
Mary’s prognosis is also not hopeful, so I’m very glad that at least one of the grandchildren were able to go see her. Hopefully, Brandon and Brian will be able to do the same soon. The doctors of course won’t give a time frame, but said she could have either days or weeks left, that there’s really no way to say for sure.
I feel saddened that my boys are losing their only grandparent for all intents and purposes. Their biological grandfather lives in California and has no interest in meeting them, they only ever knew my father as their “Paw Paw” and he died five years ago. My mother passed in 1990, well before they were born. Mary hasn’t always been the easiest person to be around, but she is still their grandmother and I remember how I felt when my grandmothers passed. They were a huge part of my life and I still miss them so I know this is painful for my boys and my daughter in law. Having lost their mother so young, they know how to deal with it better than I ever wanted them to, but I still wish I could shield them from it.
We made it home to Texas a little after 1 am and got some sleep. Now to start the new day.

Last updated January 07, 2015