After work last Wednesday, I went to my Grandma's. I called her around 6PM to let her know I was on my way and to make sure she already ate dinner. To my surprise she hadn't eaten dinner yet, so I stopped at Jersey Mike's to get her favorite cheesesteak for her. Once I got to her house, she already had the table set and a glass of ice cold water for me. We ate and I told her about my exciting day at work. We watched TV after I was done with the dishes. She let me control the remote, so we watched The Big Bang Theory. Judging by her laughs, I think she enjoyed the show as much as I did. My Uncle Mike came over close to 8PM and him, Grandma and I went to the hospital to visit Uncle Don.
Don was still in ICU, so he had his own private room. He had a breathing apparatus on so it was hard to see his face. Plus, he was hooked up to multiple machines and tubes. When Uncle Mike announced "Hey Don, look who came to see you. It's Lauren!" It was difficult to tell if he opened his eyes, but he made a few grunting noises of acknowledgement. I squeezed his hand and told him to "Hang in there." He seemed pretty out of it the entire time though. Nurse Luke was in every few minutes checking on Don, adjusting fluids, administering shots, etc. Grandma stood on one side of Don while Mike stood on the other. I sat in a chair by the door most of our visit. We stayed for just over two hours. To pass the time, I told Mike about my job and how exciting contracts are. We also talked about the Disney Marathon I just finished. As far as Don's status the nurse said they were waiting for a bed to open at a different hospital so that they could transfer him and run tests to see if he is a candidate for certain type of heart surgery.
By the time we got back to Grandma's, we said goodbye to Mike, and I put my PJ's on. I was super tired, but I stayed up and watched the news with Grandma for a little while. Before I headed to bed, I told her I'd be leaving at 6:45AM in the morning.
I woke up Thursday morning feeling like shit with a killer headache and a runny nose. I had a feeling I would get sick because my grandma was sick and all the germs at the hospital, but I didn't think I would get sick that quickly. My Grandma was already awake eating toast and drinking coffee at the table when I woke up. We ate together and she seemed a little offended when I told her I didn't want to read the paper. I felt a little bad rushing to leave on time because I didn't plan on her being up in the morning to spend time with.
While trying to survive at work feeling like crap, I found out that Uncle Don took turn for the worst overnight and the nurses said the next few days will be "crucial". This turn of events meant that he was no longer even a candidate for the tests they originally planned to run. At this point, we were not expecting a miracle, we were hoping he didn't suffer.
Around 4AM on Saturday, January 14th, 2017, Don passed away. He had two bad heart valves and in the end his heart failed. He was only 62 years old. Even though deep down I prepared myself for his passing, it still made me emotional. He spent just over four weeks in the hospital. I'm thankful he is no longer suffering. It also hurts my heart to see my Grandma go through the pain of losing someone again. I know it's been a tough time for my dad as well, but I'm inspired by the love he shows my Grandma (his mom). I hate that I saw him on his death bed because that is not how I wish to remember him. At the moment, I'm feeling emotionally numb.
