Just when we thought we’d got over all the craziness, my great grandmother died today.
Yes she was 100 years old, she was healthy (despite being borderline deaf and mostly blind), but she was taken suddenly today.
It’s such a huge shock, and it probably wouldn’t have affected me so deeply if it hadn’t happened so close to everything else.
Wouldn’t it be great to be able to choose the time for these things? I guess we’re not given the ability to do that, since we’d probably never choose a time.
Rest in peace now, Gran-Nan. We’ll miss you xx
Sorry for the lack of recent updates – this whole week has been on a completely different track to the last few years so my mind’s a little fucked up.
Work has been kicking my ass lately. I’m getting sick of the fact that my boss doesn’t give two rat’s testicles about his employees. For example, when I left on Friday (because, you know, my GRANDMOTHER DIED), the first thing he asked our payroll lady was a) how long was I going to be away for, and b) what are my leave entitlements in relation to my grandmother passing away. What a fuckwit! How fucking insensitive can you be?!
Then my Dad has a heart attack on Sunday (which I’ll give you an update on in a sec, because that’s a post in it’s own right), I called on Monday (day of the funeral) to say that Dad has had a “massive” (the doctor’s words, not mine) heart attack and I’m not sure of how he’s going right now, and whether I’d be in on Tuesday. He said, “That’s fine, see you tomorrow” and hung up. FUCKWIT.
So anyway, I’m getting myself wound up. Dad went into hospital, as per last post, on Sunday 15th May. He had a stent put in his heart and was in the Intensive Care Unit for a couple of days, before they moved him to a regular ward since he no longer needed the ICU treatment. He was running a bit of a fever on the Wednesday, and obviously this means his body is fighting infection somewhere, so they put him on a drip with some antibiotics.
Well, of course his body is reacting differently at the moment, and he had a severe allergic reaction to the antibiotics, going into anaphylactic shock. He was on the phone to my Mum at the time and said, “Gosh, I don’t feel so good at the moment” – he was shaking all over and couldn’t control it. Mum told him to buzz the nurse, which he did three times before yelling out for help (all the while my Mum’s on the phone listening to all of this – can you imagine how you’d feel? I’d be sick..). They gave him a shot of adrenaline and then a steroid shot to balance everything out. He was fine after that but his muscles were all weak and he felt like he’d run a marathon.
He came home on Friday 20th, and it was so good to have him home. I said the whole time that he’d probably heal better being at home, getting rest, being in his own clothes (rather than the hospital gowns!) and in familiar surrounds. He’s still having a hard time getting around without being completely exhausted – just a walk from the lounge to the kitchen is an effort – but he’s on the road to recovery.
Thanks for all your support, guys – it means a lot to receive messages from around the world with notes of support and well-wishes, sometimes from people you don’t even know and definitely from people who didn’t/don’t know my Nana or my father. The online community, with its few exceptions (there are always a few exceptions!) is a wonderful thing to be a part of.
After my Nana passed away on Friday, I didn’t think anything could get much worse.
This afternoon, my dad had a heart attack.
Thankfully, it wasn’t fatal, but he had to go to the local ER, and then to the General Hospital about an hour away. They did an angiogram and then had to put a stent in his heart to stop the clotting. He went off to hospital around 3:30, and we only just got home from the hospital about 40 minutes ago (11:40pm).
He’s doing well, just a bit light-headed and he is on monitors and everything at the Hospital. Otherwise in good spirits – he’s coherent and was joking about with the nurses. He’ll be there for the next few days, meaning he’ll miss my Nana’s funeral tomorrow afternoon.
Let’s hope things don’t happen in threes in this instance.
I woke up this morning with an absolute feeling of dread and, of course doubting myself, knew that today would be the day I got the call.
I did.
My Nana’s gone. The stubborn, gorgeous, matriarch of my mum’s side of the family is gone. She passed at 9:00am this morning.
I feel… lost. I didn’t spend a heck of a lot of time with her, not like I know many others spend with their grandparents, but every birthday, Christmas and Easter, Mother’s/Father’s Day we’d spend with them. And now she’s gone.
I don’t know what to do next. I’m trying to be a support for my parents but in terms of actually doing anything, I don’t know. This is the first grandparent, first immediate family member that I’ve lost.
Thanks in advance for your support.
Nana – Rest in Peace. No more pain or suffering. We’ll miss you.
