Brian's grandma passed away unexpectedly on Monday late afternoon. She watched Carter for us 3 days a week, still worked 5 days a week part time, walked everyday and babysat her 7 great grandchildren at least once a week, attended church every Sunday and fed the homeless afterwards. She was the backbone of our family and I don't know how we'll go on without her. I know that as time goes on this will be easier, but right now I just can't get past the pain of losing her.
She was such a special person and I'm going to miss her so much. I'm also worried about Carter. He loved her so much and was always so excited when I would drop him off for the day. I knew that I could walk out the door for work and know that he was safe and well taken care of. I'm going to miss our talks before work everyday. I made an effort to get to her house right when she was getting home from work so that we would have 15-20 minutes to talk about the things that were going on in our lives each day. Many days I can remember running out of her house at the last possible minute and trying not to be late for work because Grammy and I got caught up talking.
Brian is holding up as well as can be expected and at times I think better than I am. I told him on Monday night after she passed that I always felt like she never thought of me as "just married to Brian", but rather as one of her own grandchildren. He told me that she loved me so much.
It's all just so sudden. She was supposed to watch Carter last Friday and called early in the day to cancel because she wasn't feeling well and needed to go to the Dr. I called her that afternoon on my way to work to check on her and make sure she didn't need anything. She said she had Bronchitis and she was feeling okay, but didn't want to get Carter sick. She was sad because it was warm out and she wanted to take Carter for a walk. I told her there would be plenty of warm days. She was concerned about who was watching "her baby" and was okay with it when I told her that my Mom was in town and able to stay an extra day to take care of him. She said we would still have my birthday dinner on Sunday and I told her I understood if she didn't feel up to it and we could do it another day. I told her I loved her and to get some rest. I'm glad we had that conversation because I didn't know it would be the last time that we spoke. She called Brian's dad on Sunday to cancel dinner because she still wasn't feeling well. Then she called him again on Monday to say she couldn't watch Carter because they had to take her to the hospital. They drained 1.5 liters of fluid off of her lungs. She sat up in bed and said she was feeling much better. She was laughing and joking with everyone. They decided to admit her and keep her for observation. When they moved her from her ER stretcher to her hospital bed she coded and they tried to save her but they couldn't.
I can't wrap my head around it. I'm worried about everyone in the family because she was so loved. I'm especially sad for her husband of almost 60 years because he is lost without her. I can't even begin to imagine the level of pain that he is feeling. Please pray for our family tomorrow as we attend her memorial service and burial. It's going to be such a tough day. And please keep Brian's grandpa in your thoughts in the coming days as he copes with the loss of his wife.
Re: Please pray for my family
Mom to Lily Gayle 4.25.06 Charlotte Kathleen 3.27.09 Samuel Thomas ~8.4.12~
Elijah Matthew - 5/3/07 ~ Adalyn Rosemary - 3/23/11
*Photos by Kacy Cierley*
Tyler Anthony arrived on 9.21.09
The Chronicles of Justin and Tyler