Oy.

[camwyn]

My grandmother- my father's mother- just passed away today. This morning, a little before noon, I think. She'd had MS, and she'd had a stroke, and she'd been making progress of a sort- for quite some time she'd been not remembering people or speaking unless spoken to, but the last time I saw her she asked 'did she bring cookies' when Grandpa managed to get her to comprehend my name. And she even remembered (more or less) the name of the woman who was staying with her and Grandpa to help with medical things.

Then last night she had a respiratory emergency somewhere around 5 PM, and the doctors said there was sepsis involved and got her resting and stuff. And then this morning, around seven, the phone call came in- with words like 'probably not going to last the morning'.

I dunno quite what to say at the moment. I'm glad it's over; the stroke damaged Grandma's personality badly, turning her petulant and leaving her unable to remember that a person who walked out of the room and was standing in the next room over was still there. I don't think she was retaining things from one minute to the next, for a while... I wish I'd known some kind of Buddhist sutra or something to start reciting, something for the liberation of the soul or some such. I mean, we had the Catholic priest in there, and we had the hospital chaplain (I think he was a Presbyterian minister)... funny, the only time I actually got to crying was when the religious stuff was going on. Dunno why...

At any rate, RIP, Grandma. You will be missed.

Comments

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[camwyn]

Thank you, hon. I appreciate it.

[aethereal-girl.livejournal.com]

Baruch dayan emet.

[camwyn]

I recognise the sentiment, but the only word of that sentence that I understood on sight was 'dayan' (though I recognized 'baruch' from a number of prayers, I never learned the translation). Still, I greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[camwyn]

Thank you. I appreciate it.

[branna.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

I'm so sorry you had to lose her, and so sorry that in some ways
you'd lost her before the end actually came. It's so hard, in these sorts of cases, when you mourn the person they were, and the impossible hope that they might have come back to that---and yet are simultaneously relieved that they are free of the person they'd become.

[camwyn]

yeah... I don't know how my mom's going to take it when her father dies. He's got Alzheimer's, and he's at the stage where things like 'standing unassisted' are almost beyond him. She's been praying that God take him soon, but even so... well, we'll see.

Thank you, though.

[sdelmonte]

My deepest condolences. May you know no more sorrow.

[camwyn]

Thank you, Alex. I appreciate it.

[just-the-ash.livejournal.com]

Jijang-bosal
Jijang-bosal
Jijang-bosal

[camwyn]

*looks up phrase on Web*

Oh... thank you so much, hon. Thank you.

[blackraven9.livejournal.com]

Sorry about your Grandmother.
Best wishes

[camwyn]

Thank you, Blackraven.

[zou.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[camwyn]

Thank you...

[batyatoon]

*hugs*

May you and yours be comforted among the other mourners of the world.

[camwyn]

Thank you, Batya. I appreciate it.

[quintus.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear about that. I'll be thinking of you and yours.

[camwyn]

Thanks, man. That helps...

[chaos-wrangler.livejournal.com]

*Hugs* & *sympathy* from me & G (we've both dealt with similar situations). Feel free to call on us anytime for anything we can do - time, space away from there, whatever you need.

[camwyn]

Thank you, honey. I'll remember that.

[ocean-song.livejournal.com]

Oh honey. I am SOOOOOO sorry. And we were just talking about her Sunday night. That is weird. I havent read my friends list until just now. Please call me if you need anything. I will think of her and light a candle in my heart, for her spirits release and ease in transition. I will send her metta during my meditations and toss in a few hail mary's as well. Let me know if there's anything else that would help. Be good to yourself. Family stuff is weird and gets all magnified in times of grief and loss.

**huge hugs**

[camwyn]

Thanks, Mermaid. I'm very glad of it.