My Princess

This is "My Princess" on her 80th Birthday (10/4/08)

Anyone that actually "knows" me knows that "my princess" was my nickname for my wonderful grandmother. I moved her from NY to PA in June of 2007. She was 78 at the time & was unable to care for herself anymore. Early signs of dementia were rearing their ugly heads & I begged her to come live with me. She finally broke down & aggreed & I high-tailed it to NY to pack her up & move her here before she had a chance to change her mind. My grandfather had been in a nursing home for several years at that point & there was no way I would be able to care for him at home, so I was making arrangements to transfer him to a nursing home in PA. On June 16th of 2007 my grandmother & I (along with my uncle & my kids) made the 6 hour drive from NY to my house. When my husband & I bought our home it came with a seperate smaller house on the property & this is where my grandmother would live. She wanted to have her own place & that was ok with me since I was right next door & could check on her several times a day. I never realized the process & all the paperwork that goes in to transferring a patient in a nursing home from one state to another & a month later we were still no closer to getting my grandfather here with us. I kept in touch with the administrator of the nursing home in NY & on the 24th of July she called to tell me that my grandfather was not doing well. The morning (very early) of the 25th ~ I once again packed up my grandmother & headed back to NY (picked my mother up along the way). We spent 7 hours with my grandfather ~ thanking him for everything, recalling fond memories, etc, etc. I'm sure the nurses all thought I was a bit looney when I climbed into bed with my "Poppy" & held him in my arms for the last hour of his life, but I knew it was what he would have done if the shoe had been on the other foot (I've worked in Nursing for 18 years & never saw anyone climb into the bed with their loved one). I guess this is a good place to tell you that I was raised by my grandparents & they were my world. So, funeral in NY ~ had my grandfather brought back to PA , another funeral here... in February of 2008 I called 911 for my grandmother (I thought she had taken a stroke). She spent 20 days in the hospital ~ no stroke on admittance , but her coratid artery on the left was 98% blocked! Surgery on March 5th (my mothers birthday) ~ she had a stroke on the operating table & after fighting with hospital staff that I could provide MUCH better care for her at home I was finally able to take her home on the 16th of March. My husband (although he sometimes drives me crazy) is an amazing man ! I basically had to move out of my house & into my grandmothers because she now required 24 hour care. Our days were NOT easy & I struggled with the fact that she no longer knew who I was most days. On one of her "good" days we came up with a code, so that even if she couldn't remember my name she would know that she was loved by me & that she was somewhere safe. When she would get that far away look in her eyes, I would hug her & call her "My Princess" & she would say "thank-you for loving me, whoever you are". "My Princess" was our code & it worked until the day she died. My Princess went to be with her Prince (aka my grandfather) on November 13th 2008 (& yes ~ I climbed into bed with her & held her in my arms) & I miss her like crazy ! Tomorrow will be 2 months & I've been thinking of her all day, so I thought I would share a little bit of "our story" with all of you. Somehow, I feel better now ~ not great, but better...