My Papaw

So it's been 15 days since I posted the first new post on this blog. I said that I was going to post once a week, but obviously that hasn't been the case yet. I do have a reason though.

For the past 2 years, my grandfather's liver has been slowly fading. I visited my grandparents on Christmas, and directly before christmas dinner we had to send him to the hospital. He had been napping, and was unable to respond to us. He was awake, but he had no idea what was happening around him. After having him walk around for a bit, we sent him to the hospital. This hadn't been the first time he had to go there, bt it had been one of the worse. It was the first time that I had seen him react that way.

Over the next month and a half, my grandfather spent 3 weeks in the hospital. They would give him blood, and clean out his system. But it was inevitable, his liver was failing, along with his kidneys.

My grandfather went to the hospital again 2 weeks ago, and spent an entire week in the hospital. During this time his liver & kidneys failed entirely and we thought we were going to lose him on the Saturday, Feb 6th. Instead he is still alive, although he is now home with hospice. He doesn't have much longer here on Earth, and we have all been visiting him and my grandmother in Mississippi for the past 2 weeks. I did make it home for 3 days, and came back.

It is amazing, how strong my grandfather is. He is a joker, and has never stopped joking, even in the face of hardship and death. He has always been a kind, loving person, the kind that would give you the shirt off his back. He has been a role model in my life, and will always be. The love he has shown my grandmother has been nothing but true and pure, and they have been married for 52 years. They have the kind of marriage that other people talk about wishing they had, and the kind others quote as examples of what marriage should be. Even now 52 years later, they are still best friends, and this is obvious in the way they interact.

Now with his death looming, the love he gave has really come back in spades. He is visited constantly by all sorts. Including the pharmacist that did his medicine for the past 10 years. Almost the entire day, people are in and out, and they are constantly being given support, and food (and the food is delicious). The nurses and doctors at the hospital have all been amazed by him, and have even visited after he has gotten out of the hospital. It is amazing that he has lived since last Saturday, even with no liver or kidney function.

The nurses and doctors have also all said that I have an amazing family, and it is true even though I might not get along with my mother half the time. We are a strong family, but it is only because we have strong roots, my grandparents. It is sad that it is in his death that I remember how strong the family is. My dad and my uncle have been by his side non-stop. In fact, after waking up one night and seeing my dad/uncle watching him sleep, he (jokingly) called them Vultures. My Aunt came from Colorado for 2 weeks, and has been the kitchen queen, along with another aunt. I have been running errands as much as I can for them everybody. My aunt who is a kindergarten teacher had me work on a project she didn't have time to do last week. I drew a bunch of animal faces for a parade the kids were having, something to do with the book The Mittens.

We are lucky. We are lucky that we had him in our lives. We are lucky that we got to see him another week. We are lucky that he has not had pain (except for some mild discomfort) and the he has been relatively happy and joking. Many people do not get this and for that we are lucky.

He is my Papaw, and I will miss him. But I know he will be watching, and I hope that in 50 years when I'm sick and dying, that my family thinks of me the same way we all think about him. That I can love the way that he has loved; that I can make a difference the way that he has made a difference. Perhaps, when I see him next, he will see what I have accomplished in my life, and be as proud as I am him.

"Love is stronger than death even though it can't stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can't separate people from love. It can't take away our memories either. In the end, life is stronger than death."