Sorry it has been over a month since we posted last. March was a pretty busy
month for the both of us. I will highlight some of the moments we shared in
this posting.
On March 9th we were given word that health of my grandmother, Grace M.
Weigand, was deteriorating rapidly and she probably wasn't going to make it
through the weekend. Libby and I had already planned to fly to
Mississippi the next
morning for a shower she would be hosting for one of her friends later that
day. However, instead of hosting a shower, she and I were picked up at the
airport by my parents and we drove up to
Pittsburgh,
PA as fast as we could to
hopefully see my grandmother before she passed away. We ate lunch in
Tennessee, dinner in
Kentucky, and drove on through the night
passing each state with a sigh of relief as we were that much closer to seeing
her.
I personally drove about half of the trip up there. It must have been pure adrenaline
that kept me awake since I only got about a hour and a half of sleep while
traveling. One hour flight and sixteen and a half hours on the road later, we
made it to the hospital where my grandmother was staying at 4:30AM. We all
jumped out of the car as fast as we could with what little energy we had and
ran through the hospital being led by my aunt to her room. She was in a much
more deteriorating state than I could have ever imagined.
Twenty-four hours earlier, my grandfather agreed to let the hospital put her
on a morphine drip. It's purpose, of course, was only to ease the dying
process. Sadly, the morphine put her in an almost comatose state. Her organs
were shutting down and she didn't have much life left in her, but she was a
fighter. She at least stayed alive long enough for us to get there and see her
one last time. My dad was first at her side when we entered the room, being
that she is his mother. Gently awaking her, she opened her eyes and you could
tell she struggled with what little strength she had to smile the best she
could. He leaned in close and gave her a kiss, at which, under diminutive
breath, she spoke a few words to him.
I was next in line to be able to come to her bedside. Somehow she was able
to pull enough strength together and give me a slight smile and wanted to tell
me something. Even though what she said was barely audible, I understood it and
will never forget it. Sorry to say I will not be posting what she said on here.
However, I will tell you that she did mention something about Libby which is
amazing because she only has met Libby once before last summer. She absolutely
loved and adored Libby with all her southern charm and beautiful looks (much as
I do, I might add). Libby came her bedside after me. Although my grandmother
didn't say anything to Libby, she did grab her hand for a long period time with
quite a firm grip for someone who is dying. My guess is that was her way of
letting her know how much she loved and adored her.
The doctors came in later that morning and were amazed to see my grandmother
still alive. They told us there is no way she would make it another twenty-four
hours being in the state she was. Well, my grandmother always had a way of
proving everyone wrong, even in death. She actually made it another forty-eight
hours almost exactly to the hour from that moment. With her passing around 7AM
on Tuesday, March 13th, she left behind her husband of 59 years, 5 children,
and 10 grandchildren. She will always be loved and missed greatly.
Grace M. Weigand
ON a more positive note, later in March, Libby and I had the opportunity to
celebrate our nephew's 4th birthday party superhero style. Our nephew had
several of his friends and family members over for a Space Jump Super Hero
Party. Nothing brings joy to someone than to see the happiness in a child's
face as they play. We all had a lot of fun watching the kids play and hanging
out with old friends and family and getting to meet new people all in the mix.
Between awesome food and delicious cake, nobody left the party unhappy. It was
fun to be around family again with something positive to celebrate.
The next evening we had the fun opportunity to have dinner with Libby's mom and
sister and Newk's; one of our favorite places to eat. It was nice to catch up
on how things are going and get to just relax eating good food with good
company. We talked about all different types of subjects matter from jobs, to
family, and Libby's sister's baby on the way. I personally learned something
from that conversation; babies are a lot more expensive than I thought... and
that's even BEFORE they are born! Well, anyways, the fun had to end
unfortunately as after we ate we were dropped off at the airport to return home
to
Texas.
Our newphew and neice enjoying his new ride he got on his birthday
