The first thing I am going to blog about is Nana falling. In August 2016 (I think it was) Nana was going upstairs to her bedroom one night to go to bed. Her toe got hung up on the rug on the first landing and she fell. She kinda rolled like a ball down the stairs, and landed on all fours. She remembers yelling, "RJ, I have fallen," and then she blacked out. She broke her neck and a bone in her back. She had surgery to fuse her neck back together and was in intensive care for several weeks. She then progressed to a nursing home where they did physical therapy on her for several months. It truly is a miracle how far she has recovered. She is now at home. She is in a wheelchair and has to have assistance with a lot of things but it is amazing how she is progressing. The physical therapists still come out to do her therapy and Tim (Mark's brother) works with her when they are not there. She is now standing a little by herself.
While she was in the hospital, her family was with her constantly. When she moved to the nursing home, they stayed with her until she went to sleep at night, and then they left (they were not allowed to stay overnight). I would feel so sorry for Mark because he was the only one with a full time job. And he would have to get off work and drive over 25 miles to stay with her. He usually stayed two or three evenings a week, and then a couple of shifts on the weekend. I am so happy she is home. She doesn't remember anything from the time she passed out until she was in the nursing home. It is such a wonder that she is 87 years old and has recovered from a broken neck. God is so good to us.
Nana came home from the nursing home in November, which was happy, but we lost my Aunt Dorotha.
Old pic
She became bedridden but was still so cheerful when I visited. Martha, Kevin, and I went to see her a few weeks before she passed, and she had gone down a lot. She still tried to be cheerful and carry on a conversation, but I was the only one able to understand a lot of what she said. It was so sad.
Martha and I were so heartbroken when she passed. She was alone at the nursing home, and was gone when they checked on her. What a horrible way to die. It just breaks our hearts!!
We only had a graveside service for her and she was buried next to Mamaw and Papaw up on a hill in Pigeon Forge ( Dad's family grew up in Seviervillle) Martha, Kevin and I sang, and then Kevin spoke. Mary and her family sang after that and we all sang a song to end the service. It was achingly beautiful. It was so cold, that it was hard to be out there for long. The wind whipped around on that hill and it felt like ice. I had not worn a coat because I am so hot natured. Kevin had a wool coat besides his regular suit coat, so he let me wear the wool coat. I was snug as a bug in a rug. I could not have stood the wind otherwise.
Dorotha never married, and lived most of her life in Roam, GA. She was a nurse for the workers at a box manufacturing plant (I think). She loved to read romance books, and had hundreds and hundreds of them. She usually had a cheerful personality, and traveled a lot when she was younger.
While I am on sad subjects, I will go ahead and blog about Silas. Silas was Mark's sister's son. He was the cutest thing ever growing up, and he and Andrew hung out together a few times. When he was in high school, for some reason his mom transferred him to the school where she was working. It is the school she, Mark, and Tim graduated from as well. But, it is now considered a rough school. To make a long story short, Silas somehow got in with the wrong crowd, and got addicted to pain killers. He ended up in jail several times and had gotten out recently. He was in rehabilitation in Nashville before he was to be released to come home for good. He had spent Thanksgiving with his family here and had gone back.
One night before Christmas, he went out while at the rehabilitation center (I think they had to be in at a certain time). When he came back, he was sick and throwing up. The next morning, he didn't get up, and when they went to check on him, he was passed away. I don't know any of the details or if anything I am writing is right. I just know it is completely, unbelievably heartwrenching!!!
Mark called me at work one day, and said, "Susan, I have some very bad news." I thought he had lost his job, but I couldn't understand because he had just gotten a bonus for being a good employee. Then he said, "Silas committed suicide." It was so hard to take and keep from falling apart at work. The truth is, we don't really know what happened, but it isn't our business anyways. All I know is that it felt unbearable to walk beside that casket and see that young, nice looking man. Tami and I hugged and just bawled!! It was heartbreaking. Ryan and I stayed for the funeral and I watched as Tami received the guests. She cried the whole time and kept her hand on his chest a lot of the time. He has two little kids. Such a sad time for them. My heart aches for little kids that hurt.
Ok, now for some good news. Ryan made straight A's for his first semester in college. I seriously think he should be taking harder subjects, but he thinks he knows what he wants to do. I am really proud of him, tho. He has had a job last semester at the college working with the recycling. He had to flatten boxes and collect coke cans from the recycling bins. Next semester, he is supposed to start working in the office as well. I am so happy about that. I love that he will be getting that experience.
Haley is doing well in school too. Her teacher called Nikki to tell her Haley is so far ahead, she was going to try to advance her to first grade. There are some type of lesson they do in cognitive skills. In kindergarten the go thru lesson seven. Haley is on lesson seventeen. She ended up not being able to skip a grade because all the first grade classes were full. I am glad it didn't work out. I would much rather Haley be at the top of her kindergarten class than at the bottom of the first grade class. It will keep her confidence up to work well.
Haley can read so good. She and Mason spent the night with us a couple weekends ago and she read, "Are You My Mother". Mark wanted me to notice how she even changes her voice for the different characters. :) I'm a little sad because now I can't read books to them. If I start to read, she says, "I'll read it" because she loves to read too. I am thrilled she can read so well, but I kinda miss reading to them. Haha
I'm sure there are other things I am forgetting, but if I think of something else, I will edit this post. I am going to do a few more posts from 2016, but this is the random stuff.
I am so thankful Nana is home, and Ryan and Haley are doing so well in school. I pray for their schooling all the time, and it is a blessing for those prayers to be answered.
Till next time...
No comments:
Post a Comment