We’re Safe, we’re ok!

Thanks for those of you emailing me asking how we’re doing in NC!

We live in Central NC and only got bad rain and wind Friday, we didn’t even lose power!

(we have a generator so we would have been ok if it happened)

BUT we still had a stressful week, I mentioned in my Saturday post that we were trying to transfer grandma to a local hospice HOUSE, which meant switching hospice services too, by Wednesday they said she didn’t qualify- what the heck would?? dying?? no… not eating? no… not getting out of bed, on morphine! no…… by Thurday the hospice nurse and social worker came out again and said they’d try again because now she WOULD probably qualify! so Friday morning we were told she DID qualify, BUT they didn’t have a bed. I told the nurse I felt like we’d miss the boat on this, she may not even make it thru the night and the nurse agreed.

Friday afternoon Dan went over there to be there for the weekend and I went too in a different car and stayed there a few hours, Dan prayed over his mom and him and I reminisced about his childhood and we talked like it was a 3 way conversation… at night I went home to sleep and told Dan to call me if ANYTHING happened in the middle of the night, at home Bjorn even slept on our couch instead of going home to sleep. Saturday morning I woke up and got my coffee and went over there again, it was around 8, Dan said a nurse was supposed to be there at 7 but she didn’t come yet, she called a bit later, saying she was tied up with an emergency, BUT the hospice house DID have a bed available and ready in the afternoon so she’s arrange pickup and then she said she didn’t need to come over since grandma was switching services, I then said grandpa is not well at all, not eating and not talking and hardly moving, can only sit on the side of the bed or sleep, so she said she’d come over. Dan and I could hear grandma’s shallow breathing and wondered if she’d even make to the afternoon, a bit later the nurse came and we met at the door and talked about the transfer etc. and Dan walked by the bedroom door and then said, I think she just passed away! The nurse got in and called time of death at 8.56 am Saturday. Then asked about family that needs to come, so I called Bjorn and the kids came over a bit later.

Dan sat down with grandpa and said “grandma just passed away”, he had a staring look on his face, we also said “Gloria died” and after a few times of saying it, you could see the gears turning in his head and he lowered his head, it got my husband really choked up.

The nurse cleaned up grandma and suggested we get grandpa to sit on the walker and move him in there to say goodbye, once he was in there, the nurse asking him if he wanted to hold grandma’s hand, again this staring look on his face, then the nurse grabbed his right hand and put in grandma’s hand and then he raised his head and looked at grandma and put his other hand on her and lowered his head, still without saying a word, but those actions showed he knew what happened, he’s a retired pathologist btw.

The kids came and Bjorn staying in the room with us a bit, the girls took a quick peek but didn’t want to look too much, Anja cried because I cried.

The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day! Dan said he saw two doves outside the window!

The nurse called the funeral home and they came a bit later, by then we had wheeled grandpa back to his bed in the living room and asked him if he wanted to sit on the walker or in bed, after while he pointed to the bed, so we put him to bed and he fell asleep. Soon after that the funeral home people came, it shocked me a bit with how official they were in suits and saying condolences. He took a quick peek at grandpa and not until later did the first guy admit he was confused when he saw grandpa breathing…..no, wrong person, at least not yet….

After they took grandma away, we all prayed together as a family outside in the sunshine- again such a beautiful day!

Dan and I talked about the whole week, how WE wanted grandma moved to not die at home in their house but really God’s timing was perfect, Dan and I were there, we called the kids over, grandpa got to say goodbye and a neighbor who was close friends with grandma did too! So it was a Blessing that the UNC house didn’t have a space…..

I don’t think we’ll have any sort of service, probably just cremate and pay for that, we’re the only family and grandma has outlived all her friends except the neighbor who already came and said goodbye.

Grandma is with Jesus in heaven now in a new heavenly body!