shoulda, coulda, woulda

[i know i am behind on content but am going to skip the middle for now.]

so i shoulda known.

i woulda if i had given it a moment's thought, but i didn't.

it coulda been obvious to anyone [else].

but its me. and i didn't so there you go. ma calls as i am waiting to disembark the plane for our celebration of life (we aren't calling this the anniversary of almost dying and it isn't really about my birthday) to say they are waiting in the bar and would i like a drink. being an idiot still somehow full of niavete in spite of everything, i say sure and figure they are trying a new approach to waiting for checked bags.

i meet them and say the flight was good. Rol's stomach is upset (this comes out b/c i brought pastries from Long Island-more on that later) and how are you Mom? Rol says, 'well, actually, i am alright but' and does the Johnny Carson hand thing...

long story short- Grandma just admitted to the hospital. nothing critical. just has a blood oxygen saturation incompatible with life. doh. so we have a drink and collect the bags and go to see Grandma at Vanderbilt. somehow not surprised and also amused on varying levels by my true gut level reaction (well, of course she is, it is so 'us').

so Grandma went in for a recheck and was supposed to have pulmonary function testing. but after the nurse took her sats, she said, 'maybe we should go back and talk to Dr. Miller first.' she was running at 88% max at sea level. next thing you know she is in a private room, has had like 12 tests and is on O2 flowby.

her comment--'you know, my vision got a lot better after they gave me my treatment (5 minutes straight O2 if i understand correctly).'

if things go well and the tests don't show anything, she will be transferred to our old friend Stallworth for pulmonary rehab in a few days and will probably also go on chronic O2 supplementation. so far, she is in fairly good spirits though she was a mess initially.

quite humorously, Dr. Miller was surprised by her emotionality, thinking it was unusual for her. when Mom told me that, i had a hard time stopping laughing. my Grandma is many things and being mercurial is one of her specialities!

soon we will be off for a Celebration of Life as today marks the 1 year anniversary of Mom's accident. it should be very affirming though we are uncertain how we will need to change plans now that Grandma is in hospital. watch for pictures and stories!

with love we ask you all to truly enjoy this day. take time to appreciate the little things, to smile at a stranger, to pay someone else's highway toll, to commit a random act of kindness, to call a loved one just to say you care!