Typically I do not like to get too personal regarding my family, however, I think everyone can learn the importance of being in love and staying true to what you believe. I am currently running my business from across the country in Michigan which is easy to do, well besides why I came here. This blog is about my best friend and most amazing person I know, My Grandmother.
Just a quick one liner about our relationship is that there isn’t a day that goes by that I do not talk to her so this is what brings me to Michigan today.
About a week ago, I received a phone call from my mother saying I needed to get home immediately because out of no where we may only have a short time to spend with my grandmother. A shocking surprise I know because yes she has been sick and weak over the past few years but the doctors put her on all kinds of meds, put her through numerous heart and lung surgeries, and still did not see what was found the night she went into the hospital last week.
My family rushed her into the emergency room because they thought she had a stroke since she couldn’t move the right side of her body. While in the hospital the doctors took tests and found lung cancer and a mass on her brain. After a few days of tests, they realized that mass was also cancer in the brain and they would need to take immediate care of this. I, of course, came home immediately because it is so hard hearing from other family members and truly understand how serious this may be. We were in the hospital with her for 2 days then finally after seeing a neurosurgeon, oncologist, radiology oncologist, a primary doctor, and about 12 nurses, and at least 10 other members of their teams, we were told she could have outpatient radiation treatment.
We had no idea what this treatment was but today actually was her first treatment. She got full brain radiation which takes only about 10 minutes a day for 10 days. Today she was a trooper and walked better than ever out of her appointment. She is so strong and has the best heart and spirit. After being told she may lose her hair she goes, “Well you gotta do, what you gotta do and as long as it makes me better that is fine. I just want to be with my husband so he doesn’t worry”.
I have been taking care of her for the last 5 days morning in night with hardly any sleep. She goes through pain at all hours of the day but when she is strong, she is a fighter. We aren’t sure what is going to come out of this treatment but we hope for the best. The doctors all had different opinions on her and this was the general consensus so I just hope their best interest was at heart for her.
This brings me to the “Golden Anniversary”. Coming up on November 9th is my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. An anniversary where especially now a days is absolutely unheard of. Right before my grandmother was told she had options to get better, all she asked of the doctors were to send her home and let her be with her husband. All she talks about to fight through this is being by his side and fighting the biggest fight of her life with him. Not many people say that true love exists but I have had the opportunity to be partly raised by this amazing couple and truly they are the most caring, loving, adorable couple in the world. It is so hard seeing both of them in so much pain trying to figure out why and how this happened to her. There are so many unanswered questions that will never be answered. Every day when we return from the doctors, he asks me to tell him everything the doctor says. I tell him the truth but it never seems like enough because there is always that question in the back of everyone’s mind…”how long will she have” or “will this get rid of it completely”?
Right now all we can do is pray and hope that our prayers are heard and she gets through this. I will not leave her side until she is better and neither will he. All the pain and suffering she goes through now, she knows will amount to something better and get her back on her feet. Helping her laugh again, walk again, joke again, and play video poker at the casino again.
Every one has problems and couples bicker from time to time but when it comes down to it, you either love someone so much you could not live a day without them or you don’t. It is important to truly think, “can I spend the rest of my life with this person, take care of them truly to death do us part, throughout anything at all”… I hope everyone that marries sees this in their spouse because it is a beautiful thing to witness. My grandparents are a true inspiration to life and love. I know that I love my husband more than anything and hope we live long enough and beyond our Golden Anniversary just as my grandparents will.
So for anyone who reads this please just add her to your prayers at night. She deserves to get through this fight of her life.
Thank you so much!
Desi