Well, on Thursday, March 6, 2008 we did get the results I was hoping for. They switched my Grandmother to Oxyfast (generic name Oxycodone) and that did just the trick. OK, she was much more comfortable, but when we went to see her she was unconscious; she remained this way until her death on Friday, March 7, 2008 at 3:16AM. This was the first time I have ever seen a loved one die over a period of a week and it was surreal; I am not saying I enjoyed this by any stretch of the imagination, but it was weird.
I know my Grandmother loved me, it was obvious even as she was dying. I feel that in every visit she recognized me and acknowledged my presence in some way. On Thursday, even though she remained unconscious, she would either raise her eyebrows or squeeze my hand ever so lightly acknowledging or responding to the anecdotal stories I'd recall from my childhood. On several occasions the nurses would come in to encourage me and my family to continue to pray over her and tell those silly anecdotal stories because, as they put it, the hearing is the last thing to go.
My mother, sister and I arrived at the hospital at around 9:00AM on Thursday. We stayed by her side until around 9:00PM, several hours after my uncle arrived. At about 5:45Pm she began to moan an move her arms in the air as if to tell us that she was going. The nurses came in to support us and just said, "It's a part of the process." It wasn't much help and as I watched the suffering it appeared to me that pain was the cause of the writhing so I asked for more Oxyfast to be administered. This helped to calm her down again.
When the writhing began I made a quick call to my uncle to inform him that it appeared that she was going fast, the nurses called him too to confirm my suspicions; he arrived around 30 minutes later. We stayed together comforting her for several hours, then around 9:00PM my uncle decided to stay with her through the night and allow us to go home and get some rest. We decided to get some rest and return at 3:00AM on Friday. Like clockwork we got up at 3:00AM and as we were headed out the door my uncle called... She passed away.
I know my Grandmother loved me, it was obvious even as she was dying. I feel that in every visit she recognized me and acknowledged my presence in some way. On Thursday, even though she remained unconscious, she would either raise her eyebrows or squeeze my hand ever so lightly acknowledging or responding to the anecdotal stories I'd recall from my childhood. On several occasions the nurses would come in to encourage me and my family to continue to pray over her and tell those silly anecdotal stories because, as they put it, the hearing is the last thing to go.
My mother, sister and I arrived at the hospital at around 9:00AM on Thursday. We stayed by her side until around 9:00PM, several hours after my uncle arrived. At about 5:45Pm she began to moan an move her arms in the air as if to tell us that she was going. The nurses came in to support us and just said, "It's a part of the process." It wasn't much help and as I watched the suffering it appeared to me that pain was the cause of the writhing so I asked for more Oxyfast to be administered. This helped to calm her down again.
When the writhing began I made a quick call to my uncle to inform him that it appeared that she was going fast, the nurses called him too to confirm my suspicions; he arrived around 30 minutes later. We stayed together comforting her for several hours, then around 9:00PM my uncle decided to stay with her through the night and allow us to go home and get some rest. We decided to get some rest and return at 3:00AM on Friday. Like clockwork we got up at 3:00AM and as we were headed out the door my uncle called... She passed away.
2 comments:
Peace to you, my friend. Death sucks, but I'm glad you were back here in time to say goodbye. :)
Thanks. I looked for you at NS, but then realized that you do not go there anymore. BTW A.L. is the one that brought me there and I credit you for cornering him to help straighten out the mess. Peace be with you also!
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