I arrived at Loving Residence about 945am and she was already sound asleep in her room. I talked to the staff who said she had been up at the table earlier in the morning for breakfast but had not really eaten anything. So I just entered her room and pulled up a chair alongside her bed. I also noticed the furniture had been rearranged from my visit prior so instead of her bed being in the corner the headboard is centered along the far wall and the bed sticks out into the middle of the room which I imagine makes it easier to assist her since both sides of the bed are now accessible.
After taking a seat I just put my hand on Grandma's hand, which was grasping the rail as usual. And I just spoke softly to see if she would awaken but she was pretty sound asleep. I just sat their for an hour or so and held her hand which she seemed to enjoy as she would grasp it tightly, probably appreciating the warmth of my hands compared to hers.
Closer to 11am she suddenly woke up, and opened her eyes and looked at me surprised but not saying anything. I just introduced myself saying "Hello Grandma, it's Rip, your grandson, the son of your daughter Nancy, do you remember Nancy? Her picture is over there on the wall." And I pointed to the framed picture on the wall with the card that says Nancy Hackett.
Grandma didn't even bother to look at the wall but just kind of laughed and said "There's a lot of pictures on that wall but yes I remember Nancy."
I asked if she remembered Nancy's visit in the weeks prior and she nodded her head and said yes.
I then named off my brothers and sister and she responded to the names as being familiar. She asked what I was doing and where I was living so I gave her a basic explanation that I had just moved to Minneapolis after finishing nursing school to which she nodded.
"Can I get you anything Grandma, something to eat or drink?"
"Ohh.. how about a glass of juice? They sure have good juice here."
I went to the kitchen and filled a half cup of juice with a straw and brought it back to the room. Grandma didn't want to sit up to drink it but took periodic sips through the straw.
Prior to my visit I had been specifically asked by Liberty to send her greetings from her and her family and tell Grandma about their work in Harlowton. So I pulled down some of the pictures of Sage and Phoenix which were taped up on the wall and showed them to her, explaining these were some of her great grandchildren now living in Harlowton! Her eyes lit up a bit in surprise and she took hold of the photos and looked at them for several minutes.
"What a beautiful girl Sage is" she said.
I told her that Liberty and her husband are working on opening a restaurant in Harlowton and she said "Gee-whiz! Can you imagine that?!" And she seemed to be interested in hearing more so I filled her in on some of the basic details.
"They're naming the restaurant Cafe Chinook, like the wind."
"Well there's plenty of that in Harlow" she remarked and laughed, a weak laugh given her physical state but still a laugh.
I then explained to her that Liberty and her family wanted to visit her but are unable to because of their commitments at home, but they wanted me to send their love and tell you thank you for everything, and that they miss and love you.
She paused for a moment and got kind of teary eyed and then said "Well, bless their hearts" which she repeated a few times. She then thanked me for coming to visit her, making it sound like it must be something hard for me to do.
"No Grandma, it's really no problem. You used to take care of me when I was a little kid, how could I not come visit you?"
"I used to take care of you?!" She looked at me and paused again and took a hard look at me, wondering how that could be possible. "Time sure changes things doesn't it?" She again chuckled to herself.
At that point, after about 20 minutes of conversation I could see the fatigue set in again in her eyes and she fell back to sleep. So I sat with her, holding her cold hand, for another ten minutes or so and then quietly exited.
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