In case some of you were wondering where I've been for the past three weeks or so, allow me to share a story with you. A story of a beautiful person I had the privilege of knowing.
My grandmother Edith was born in May 1921. She had a troubled childhood, and was abandoned by her mother when she was about six. Her father raised her and her two brothers (she had a sister who died in infancy), and at the age of 17 she married a man five years her senior. Nevertheless, they were happy, and raised seven great children. One of those children was my mother. I was born in 1988, when my grandma was 67. It could be said I was her favorite grandchild, and she often told stories of how she and my grandpa would babysit me and my sister when I was really young.
My grandmother was blessed with good health for most of her life, and you could usually find her outside working in the garden or tending to her chickens or dogs, well into her 80's. My grandfather died in 2005 at the age of 88, and my grandmother was left on her own. She began developing heart problems and suffered some heart palpitations in around 2008, but recovered. The doctor said she had the heart strength of someone thirty years younger than her. After another spell, she was forced to move in with my aunt, who cared for her, and everything was fine for a while.
But about three weeks ago, my grandma suffered a massive heart attack. The doctors were forced to put a pacemaker in her to save her life, but she was left bedridden. Numerous members of the family (me included) took turns watching over her. She grew progressively worse, and started slurring her speech--the doctors said she was having mini-strokes, because her heart was too weak to pump blood to her brain. She fell into a coma around the beginning of this month, and her last word anybody could understand was "peace". At about 10PM Eastern time yesterday, she passed away, surrounded by her family.
Goodbye, Mamaw. Enjoy your mansion...
Topic: My leave of absence: or, RIP "Mammaw" (1921-2014) (Read 1347 times)