Grandma G at 93

Me (far left) and my sisters with our grandmother

August 1980

Yesterday, my grandma G turned 93 and also entered hospice, or so I found out when I got up this morning.  We were up to see her over Easter, but then just before we were up again to celebrate her birthday last weekend, she'd broken her second hip, so she was much worse than when we'd seen her last.

Easter goodbyes

She'd broken her first hip the week before our visit at Thanksgiving, but unlike last year, she isn't having surgery to fix this side.  When we visited her then in the hospital post-op, I wasn't sure I would see her again as she was in grim condition, it was very difficult.  But she hung on, she's a fighter.

She has been suffering from dementia for several years and had been in assisted living near my father/her eldest son for those and until this last fall.  She is in a lot of pain, which is being more actively managed now that she is receiving hospice care, but she was very happy that we came up to celebrate and she loves the kids.  It makes me sad that her children are on such crappy terms (my dad is second of four, spread out from CA to WI, OH, and FL) and that her eventual passing will likely bring even greater discord, if that is possible.  She is a sweet person who has had a tough life and I hope she knows how much we love her and that she is at peace here and on the other side.