Home on the Range

We are home. We had a great visit and got to spend a lot of time with Mamabel. She is still holding her own and has actually seemed to improve over the past week. Don't get me wrong, she is still dying but the timing is any body's guess. She is eating and drinking -good things. Her blood pressure is still soaring -bad thing. She is coherent and talkative during her awake moments -good thing. She is weak, tired, and in pain during her awake moments -bad thing.

Just to tell you how crazy the weekend/week was --here's the way things went. My sister drove in from Louisiana on Friday to assess the situation and hopefully give me some clarity about when/if we should head that way. By Saturday morning, the news wasn't good but we decided that we would wait for "the call" to come over the next few days because we didn't want the kids to see her swollen and struggling to breathe. Then by Saturday afternoon, it seemed that we were looking at hours. We assumed we would never make it in time to see her but that it would be best to head down there on Sunday morning and be with the family.

THEN...then, then, then...I get a call from my Mom saying "Mamabel is waiting for you." Come again? What do you mean she's waiting for me? Apparently, as she slipped in and out of consciousness, she asked if I was there. They told her we were coming soon and she asked, "Can I go home when she gets here?" ugh. My grandmother is a lot of things. Two came to mind: precious followed IMMEDIATELY by bull-headed!

I wanted them to tell her that I was on my way and that I was gonna kick her right in her tail when I got there for putting me in such a predicament. The way I saw it, if I didn't get there asap, it would be my fault that she was laying there in agony. And once I did get there, it would be my fault if she went ahead and died. Either way, we were prepared to be disinherited. :-)

Ten hours later, the time it took to pack six people and drive, we arrived "home." Tim took the first load in and then came back and whispered "they're all standing at the door." I was glad for the warning as I walked in to one of the most surreal moments of my life. Tim was right. My Dad, sister, brother, sister-in-law, uncle, aunt, cousin, aunt on my mother's side, and my mom were all there. I crossed back and forth hugging family before going into the room to see Mamabel. To say it was a heavy moment doesn't even touch it!

Continued in the next post...