MIA

Sorry I've been MIA over the last few days.  But it's kind of been a whirlwind for myself & my family.  As I posted last week my Gran went in to the hospital and was awaiting open heart surgery to replace a valve in her heart.

Her surgery was postponed a couple of times - primarily in order to give her a time to rest, prepare, and let her kidneys get back to a normal functioning state before they could perform the surgery.
On Friday I took the train up to Olympia to meet up with my mom & aunt...I think they were happy to have some fresh blood around, to lighten things up as much as possible and bring some humor.  Honestly, it was surreal seeing my Gran hooked up to monitors & IV's - heck it was weird seeing her in a hospital in general (she's never had any hospital stays with the exception of having her children...and she's 81!).  But it was good to be there with my family & be able to support my mom & aunt.
Saturday brought a chance to get away to my Gran's cabin in Ocean Shores - a beloved respite for us all.  So after checking on Gran in the morning & meeting her nurse, we made our way west.

A blessing while Gran was in the hospital was how responsive she was even in her sedated state - she'd wiggle her toes for me, open her eyes for us, smile & nod in agreement or raise her eyebrows in disapproval.  My stubborn, tough Norwegian Gran was still in there no matter what!

Monday was an extremely long day - and brought with it so many emotions.  Started the morning off bickering with mom (it's usually how we handle stressful situations in the beginning), visiting Gran, dealing with my mom's psychotic sister (I do not claim her as family after this entire situation) who tried every way she could to try & distract us from Gran, laughed & played cards with my family, anxiously waiting for updates from surgery (we only got 3 the whole time..grr), and then listening to Gran's cardiac surgeon talk about how it all went & what to expect and/or be prepared for.
But Tuesday morning brought good signs of recovery for Gran - which is great news!

So thanks for all the thoughts & prayers! They are so appreciated!  We're probably looking at a long recovery, but regardless we probably have more time with Gran now!

<3