Improving!

Internet access has been quite elusive here in AZ so I have been writing in word and waiting until I have a minute of stolen wifi to post. I wrote this Sunday night but wasn't able to publish it until now.

I arrived here in sunny and warm cloudy and cool Phoenix right on schedule this afternoon and was promptly picked up by my Uncle Mike and we drove straight to the hospital to see my grandfather. Besides being happy to have his family here supporting him, and thrilled that I remembered to bring not only one but two jars of peaches, Grandpa Conrad looked GOOD. His condition is stabilizing thanks to some new medications, and we're told that he may even be able to go home as soon as Tuesday. He's now on just 2 liters of oxygen compared to the 5 that he was on yesterday and his blood pressure has returned to a normal level. His appetite is also improving and he is starting to get up and move about with the help of a walker. His heart function is still poor due to the severe blockage and is not expected to improve but these other improvements have bought him some time for now.

I had been preparing myself to say goodbye to my dear Grandpa Conrad all week but it seems that he has other plans. His spirits are great and his positive attitude has inspired us all. He's hopeful that he'll be able to come home this week and be well enough to start playing his banjo and singing with the band again. I hope so too but the rest of us need to remain realistic and focused on day to day goals. Both my mom and my aunt were here all day today and will be again tomorrow. We plan to talk with the doctors and the hospital social worker tomorrow to make some plans for the rest of the week and beyond. When he comes home he will likely be on oxygen and using a walker. Not sure how that's going to work out with the four steps going into their home (Once he's inside it's all one level), but I'm sure we'll work something out. Grandma Dee is very happy to have her girls (as she calls us) here to support her, but this hospitalization has been especially hard on her. Her stress level is through the roof and she has become quite flustered and forgetful. This morning she thought she misplaced her medications and frantically called my mom and aunt who were on another floor of the hospital. The pills were found safe and sound but stuff like this keeps happening. She becomes confused when discussing expectations for my grandfather and goes between thinking that he'll make a full recovery to questioning if the doctors are saying that he may be released so that he can die at home. Realistically it will be something in between, we just don't know yet.

My aunt will go home tomorrow night and will be back in time for me to leave next weekend and my Mom is flying back home Wednesday afternoon. I will be here until Saturday and have big plans to get the house organized for Grandpa's homecoming and for life without us around 24/7. Tomorrow I hope to plan a menu for the week ahead and buy all the groceries to make several ready to heat meals to put in the freezer so Grandma won't have to worry about food along with caring for Grandpa once we all go back home. Plus if he does come home on Tuesday, our outings will most likely be limited to just me running out to get the essentials, and Grandma's well deserved hair appointment Friday morning.

Tomorrow night the three of us girls have decided to take Grandma to play Bingo to help get her mind off of what's wrong and have a little fun. Speaking of fun, tonight after we got back from the hospital, we played cards and had a good old giggle fest laughing about the funny things Grandma says and joking around the way only a family as close as ours can. If this is really the last family get-together, I want to make the most of it with both my grandmother and grandfather.