And because I think she is one of the most interesting people I have ever met, as well as one of the most fun, I thought I would write a bit about her.
She is 93 and has a memory and a personality that are enviable. She is so fun to be with and always make us laugh with her witty comments. She delights in her family and loves good food. And she remembers people and details about them.
She went through chemo and survived cancer in her sixties. Then a few years later she started losing her sight and learned she had glaucoma and cataracts. That is when she stopped driving and began to stay home almost constantly. But she would still read her Bible every night.
Then she began to be afraid to stay at home alone and her daughters started staying the night with her. Eventually she was too blind to cook for herself anymore and they felt it would be dangerous for her to stay alone all day so they started taking turns staying with her during the day as well.
It was during this time that they began to notice some odd behaviors and thought she may be developing dementia. Then her head started to hurt constantly and they took her to the doctor and a CT scan was ordered. The scan revealed a mass that was pressing on the frontal lobe of her brain. The doctors said she was too old for surgery and the family should just keep her medicated until death. Tracy's mother and her sister would not accept that as an answer and pushed for surgery.
After the surgery she was sent home and was recovering well. Then she began to have symptoms of mini-strokes on her left side and was in pain again. They immediately took her to the hospital and it was revealed that oxygen was penetrating the surgical site and getting into her brain, (apparently this causes stroke like activity). So, she had a second surgery to repair the site.
She is fully recovered now and when we visit she is sometimes shaking rugs and often washes the dishes. She takes all of her glass and porcelain out of the china cabinets about once a month and washes it, then puts it back with no help. And she also washes the windows.
All blind. (I find this so interesting and inspiring because she can't see the dust or dirt on the glass but she is fastidious and disciplined and wants to be a good steward of the things the Lord has blessed her with).
Usually when we go to visit she is sitting on the couch and we do have to talk a bit louder than normal since she is a bit deaf but wears a hearing aid.
And she is always happy to see us.
She is the only grandmother Tracy or I have left alive and we enjoy hearing her tell us about the Great depression or family long passed on. Sometimes she gets spirited about a Bible doctrine she believes or politics or how parents don't discipline their children but she always ends with a laugh. And she tells us regularly how she is longing for heaven.
I really regret not spending more time with her over the years. Not getting to know her better or discussing the Bible with her more often. She has so much wisdom and such a loving, joyful spirit.
Trying to make up for lost time in relationships has really brought home to me that it takes time to build a strong relationship. I want to cram as much as I can into the time I have but sometimes you just can't do that. Sometimes you just have to walk through life together for relationships to form.
I am so glad that Tracy loves his grandmother the way he does and that he wants to make time for her. An old woman sitting alone in her house with no visitors but her children and occasionally a grandchild. No one from the church she attended for 30 years ever visits and many of her friends are dead.
She can't see and won't go anywhere but to the doctor.
Ever.
Yet she is joyful and fun and caring and thoughtful and asks about people when they visit.
She is an inspiration to me and I am so glad my daughters are getting to know her better and to spend time with her.
Two scriptures come to my mind when I think of her:
Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Job 13:15
and
A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.
Proverbs 17:22
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