A Quick Trip Home

Mother's Day weekend we made a quick trip home to see our families. The big purpose for the trip was to see my grandfather. We got to my mom's on Thursday evening around 11:00. We let the kids sleep in on Friday morning while Kevin and his dad cut my mom's grass and finished the yard work at my grandparents' home. My mom worked till lunch and we headed to the hospital that afternoon. We had a three hour visit with my grandfather. The minute we went through the hospital room door, my grandmother asked Kevin to shave my grandfather's face. Papaw had a nasogastric tube in his nose, so it was hard to work around that tube. Papaw has pretty much wanted to be left alone, so I wasn't sure how this was going to go. However, he let Kevin shave him without fussing at Kevin.

My Papaw is 86 years old. He will be 87 in October. He has been healthy for the most part all his life. He has always been a hard worker. Even after he retired, he continued to preach. Until just a few years ago, he has always been strong. I guess I have continued with that picture in my mind all this time. So, seeing my Papaw on Friday was a little difficult. I think the dementia is the hardest thing to comprehend. It's just not him. I had to read between the lines to understand what he was trying to say. It's like he can't put his thoughts into words anymore. He watched the kids a lot while we were there. He held my hand and kissed me on the cheek even though the tube was between us. We are still waiting to hear the official word on the report from the mass and lymph nodes they sent off for testing. Grannie says that they told her there was a trace in his lymph nodes. However, I think this is one of those things where it's there or it's not. Thursday evening, this week, they moved him to the hospital in the town where my grandparents and mother live. He is receiving physical therapy to help get him ready to come back home in about 2 weeks. He won't start chemo for another 4-6 weeks. Hopefully, if they give him chemo, it will be something he can take by mouth. I have heard that there's a type of chemo for colon cancer taken by mouth that doesn't make the patient nauseated and lose their hair.

We stayed at my mom's till Saturday. After lunch, we went to Kevin's grandmother's where we visited his family for the rest of the evening. Kevin's mom cooked dinner and brought it to Mamaw's. It was a great visit. The kids even sat in the same room with Mamaw's dog Charlie, a Boston Terrier. Mamaw had no idea we were coming, so when we stepped thru the door, she was shocked. I think it made her Mother's Day weekend a great one! We spent the night at Kevin's parents. We took Kevin's mom to lunch at the local catfish house on Sunday for her Mother's Day lunch. All of their kids and their families were there to celebrate the day with her.

We had a great weekend with our family. The kids are ready to go back to spend more time with everyone. It won't be long till July!