The Beginning of an End
After spending more time in a hospital on Saturday than I've spent in a hospital in the past 4 years, I never look forward to going. Especially when that trip is to see a family member who was given an official notice 24 hours earlier that estimated she'd only have a few days left.
My grandmother was diagnosed with cancer a few years back. It wasn't a shock to know back then that someday it would get worse and that there'd be little to do about it. I saw my grandparents around easter and my grandmother looked pretty good then. It made the phone calls with updates on Friday quite scary and the ride to Quebec an uneasy one as I didn't know what to expect. At that time the chance of us getting there and her having just passed away was pretty high.
That side of the family is spread all over Canada so we get together for one of two things, those being Weddings and Funerals. The whole family was coming down so I figured it wouldn't be good. But, as we got there her condition had improved as the medication they had given her the day before, which mostly caused her condition to worsen was being flushed out of her system and she was starting to feel better. Still though it's mainly day to day for now to see how things go. I was glad to leave there knowing that things had gotten better than worse but it's still quite apparant that the next time I go down will be for a funeral.
The last time I was in that hospital I was a little kid and my great grandmother was there in pretty much the same situation. I think that was 1993. The hospital looked bigger back then. I remember going to the elevator and kept pushing the buttons to go to the top and then the bottom over and over until someone working there told me to get out. After all, at ten years old the most entertaining part of a hospital is the elevator because God knows the posters they have on the walls are boring as hell and you don't want to read something that sounds educational if you're not in school.
I'm hoping to get to Quebec to see them all at least one more time. I made sure to tell my Grandmother as I left that i'd talk to her soon as she replied from her chair with a small smile, a nod and an "i'll see you" which is as much as a goodbye as i'd ever expect. It was a powerful moment and made it harder to leave knowing the circumstances of what's to come shortly.
My grandmother was diagnosed with cancer a few years back. It wasn't a shock to know back then that someday it would get worse and that there'd be little to do about it. I saw my grandparents around easter and my grandmother looked pretty good then. It made the phone calls with updates on Friday quite scary and the ride to Quebec an uneasy one as I didn't know what to expect. At that time the chance of us getting there and her having just passed away was pretty high.
That side of the family is spread all over Canada so we get together for one of two things, those being Weddings and Funerals. The whole family was coming down so I figured it wouldn't be good. But, as we got there her condition had improved as the medication they had given her the day before, which mostly caused her condition to worsen was being flushed out of her system and she was starting to feel better. Still though it's mainly day to day for now to see how things go. I was glad to leave there knowing that things had gotten better than worse but it's still quite apparant that the next time I go down will be for a funeral.
The last time I was in that hospital I was a little kid and my great grandmother was there in pretty much the same situation. I think that was 1993. The hospital looked bigger back then. I remember going to the elevator and kept pushing the buttons to go to the top and then the bottom over and over until someone working there told me to get out. After all, at ten years old the most entertaining part of a hospital is the elevator because God knows the posters they have on the walls are boring as hell and you don't want to read something that sounds educational if you're not in school.
I'm hoping to get to Quebec to see them all at least one more time. I made sure to tell my Grandmother as I left that i'd talk to her soon as she replied from her chair with a small smile, a nod and an "i'll see you" which is as much as a goodbye as i'd ever expect. It was a powerful moment and made it harder to leave knowing the circumstances of what's to come shortly.
posted by . jdzer0 at
6:14 PM
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