Thankful for this moment . . .
Hey folks,
What a week.
As I write this I’m sitting in a crowded hospital room in Worcester, Massachusetts listening to the slow, labored breathing of Violet Fiore, my Grandmother.
Gram’s never going to leave this room.
At least not the way she did when she got here.
Every breath she takes is a mile on the road to the end of her life.
And sometime in the next day or so she’s going to come to the end of that road.
As I told my Aunt this afternoon, this is “Sad” but not “Tragic.”
Gram is 80 years old. And she’s lived a good life.
She’s laughed, she’s cried, she’s fought, she’s suffered indescribable pain and fantastic joy.
She’s raised two strong daughters, survived an alcoholic husband and put up with more heart ache and setbacks than anyone deserved.
And right now . . . right now she’s doped up on Morphine, surrounded by family and breathing her way to the end.
And me? I’m . . . happy.
Not because Gram is dying (she’s been a huge part of my life . . . the only Grandparent I ever really knew and a huge influence on who I am today.)
But because I’m able to be here.
Because I was able to drop everything, hop a cross country flight and just be here to watch her go . . .
To give my Mom a hug as she cries . . .
To be a “Rock” for my tiny little family.
And not have to worry about a “job” or a “boss” or anything like that.
Can’t even say how thankful I am for that.
To me, that’s freedom.
Please forgive me if you try to get in touch over the next few days and I don’t
answer.
Much love.
Chris
P.S. My favorite thing I’ve made up in a long time:
“It’s great when friends become family. It’s even better when family become friends.”
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Chris Morris January 15th
Hey Chris,
My heart goes out to you man! I know how you feel. My grandmother was in pain and fought with it for years before deciding to have a surgery done to help her live out the rest of her life pain free.
The surgery went well and she was on her way to recovery and everyone would go visit her daily encouraging her so she could make a speedy recovery and come home.
I remember driving to the hospital that day and getting there to see my grandmother resting in her bed. Sleeping was good for her because she was in a lot of pain from surgery. So I let her sleep.
I wouldn’t guess 10 minutes after me sitting down in the seat next to her bedside, grandma suffered a massive heart attack. She made a sound I will never forget.
As I turned to see what that sound was, all I saw was a scared look on her face. I couldn’t help but panic as I ran into the hall begging a nurse to help my grandmother.
My heart raced so fast that I went pale and the staff rushed me into the Emergency Room because I was having trouble breathing. As I lay in the bed attached to monitors, I couldn’t help but think about my grandmother and how I would rather die than have her go.
I begged the Doctors to please let me go back and be with her and I was grateful they did. She was able to be revived and she did suffer some damage, her memory was not the same and you could tell that something was ‘different’ about her.
Over the next couple of days she had more trouble and the doctors made us face that difficult decision.
Now grandma doesn’t have any more pain.
God Bless you and your family Chris…Thank you for sharing your story with me.
Norman January 17th
Sorry for your loss. Happy for your gains, insights and understanding.
You radiate strength, buddy.
N.
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