The Trials of Old Age

Richelle, the trooper that she is, has been very busy taking care of Grandma MacKay the last couple days - and I'm sure she will be for the next few weeks. Last Thursday (6/12) Grandma fell while exiting the elevator in the house, and broke her left arm up high by the shoulder. Unfortunately, no one was home at the time and she lay on the floor in terrible pain for two hours praying for help before she was found. Her prayers were definitely answered, as the circumstances were a little miraculous. One of her little great-grandchildren living next door, little 2-year old Emery, found her. She has never come over by herself before, and we're not even sure how she was able to get into the house seeing as she's still so small and we're not sure how she was able to get the doors open. Grandma told her to go get her dad, which she promptly did - she keep tugging at him saying, "Grama, home, Grama, home." He couldn't understand what she wanted, and finally said "show me," after which he followed her next door and found grandma.

Grandma was blessed to have only broken her left arm, though getting around has now become very difficult for her since she can't use the arm for getting up out of chairs, or for steadying herself while walking. Richelle has been acting as a primary care-giver since then - she's so very caring, and I know shes doing it out of pure love for grandma, but I can still tell that it's taking its toll on her too - she's hesitant to leave for any extended period of time (it's a blessing that she isn't taking summer classes), and so has been pretty much tethered to home since then. But grandma, if you're reading this, you're worth it . . . like I said, you don't need to feel bad unless you fell on purpose, which I'm pretty sure you didn't.

Changing topics (and switching grandparents), this past Saturday (6/14), Karl, Christi, Leslie, Steve, and I went up to my aunt Connie's to see my grandpa (Grandpa Lee). He'd been a little under the weather last week, and so he'd been brought up to Ogden (from Mesquite, NV) for a doctor's visit. He's doing much better now - the doctor had given him a z-pack to fight off what I assume was a sinus infection, and noted that he needed more fluids and iron. He was looking a pretty good, though it's getting harder for him to get around (he quipped about needing a new set of legs, and also applying for a license to be translated . . . his sense of humor is still solidly intact). We had a nice visit, and he really is looking pretty good.