I had read something a friend of mine from school had wrote on the loss of her Mother. Courtney, you are a very courageous woman and you touched my heart and soul.Thank you for sharing your story with me. It gave me the courage that I needed to help heal my pain that I have been feeling these past years.
(I had lost my GRANDFATHER at the age of 13 to CANCER so I know how it can affect the lives of many.) That is why I had to write this about my GRANDMOTHER. On the 19th of this MONTH she will be gone 15 years. Yet, I know that she is still around even though I cannot see nor touch her. My children were only 21 and 5 months old when we lost her. I keep her alive by not only speaking of her but by passing the values she taught me down to them and by: NEVER FORGETTING WHERE I CAME FROM.
My grandmother was born in 1926 on May 14, 1945 she married and became a mother.(We just called her Nanny). She never thought that 50 years to that day, we would be sharing the same ANNIVERSARY. (But on May 14, 1995, she was on the front row on the hill when I married my husband of the past 18years. Never knowing how much this would mean to me just a few years later.) Her favorite saying was I'll do it tomorrow but tomorrow never came for her....IN MEMORY OF YOU NANNY!!!!!
Not long before I had my son we found out that her KIDNEYS were failing, she had bad toxins in her body that were not getting removed, and she would have to be taking DIALYSIS (where they take the blood out of her body by a machine, run it through removing all the toxins, and then return the blood back to her body.) She was there for the birth of my son and I was so BLESSED.
Three days a week she had to go to Beaumont for this kind of treatment. Once my son was born, he would take the trip with us. There was a variety of different people there that were sharing the same disease, and you made friends easily. I treasured those times and never missed a day of bringing her. One of My Nanny's nurse's happened to have been Ginger Bagget (it was good to see a familiar face at times.) The other visitors to the center loved this kind hearted little lady and they nicknamed her the CANDY LADY!! You see, everyday before we got to the center we would stop by the Wal-Greens that was right down the road and buy Brach's candies by the pound. My Nanny had a CANDY BAG that we would keep all of her candy in and she always remembered who liked what candy. She always made sure their FAVORITE candy was in the bag before we would leave Wal-Green's. Her face would brighten up as we walked in the door because she knew she was going to bring a smile to many faces.
My husband, son, mother and NANNY were blessed to be there for the birth of my daughter in May 1997. Due to preganancy, my wedding ring would not fit on my finger. My NANNY took hers off of her hand (where it had been for over 50 years) and let me where it. My family lived in her house with her so we got to see and treasure the moments with her everday. Yet, to this day I remember when she left the last time and when GOD took her away.
One night my husband and I were woke up by NANNY. The last time I remember seeing her in the house, she was in her wheel-chair under the door opening between the kitchen and the room where I had lost my PAW-PAW in 1987. I could immediately see something was wrong. While my husband went to get my Aunt who lived behind us, I noticed her gown and that it was covered with blood. (She had been bleeding internally and the HOME HEALTH lady that had been there a few hours earlier had not noticed this like they should/would have been able to do). When my aunt got there, we called 911. After getting her to the hospital, we were told that she had been bleeding for sometime and had lost quite a bit of blood. She'd had bleeding ulcers before and unknown to us, one of them started bleeding again. We were told they could go in and cauterize it and that she would get better. THE WHOLE FAMILY(8 kids in all) WHO WAS AT THE HOSPITAL BY THIS TIME BELIEVED AND PRAYED FOR THIS.
What comes next still breaks my heart because I never thought this soon we would be parted.
After having this procedure done, my NANNY was moved to ICU, where she would never return from. The whole family (siblings and grandkids ) had basically been camping out in the waiting room. You knew that we were there. We also helped out other people's families that were also in the ICU wating room with us. Like if someone went to the store, they would ask if anyone at all needed anything. If someone went to get a burger or something to eat from the cafeteria, they would ask did anyone need something to eat. After NANNY had been in ICU for a few days, the doctors came to us with good news. Nanny was getting better and as soon as they had her back on solid foods, they would be moving her out of ICU and into a private room. My NANNY didn't go to church as everyone says you should do, but she did believe in GOD and JESUS and always tried to live like she was supposed to. On that day one of my great-aunts (who was her sister-in-law) had just happened to of come to the hospital to check on her and used HOLY water and prayer for her. There had been family members that left the hospital when they heard the good news. Some went to get something to eat while others had went home to take baths and change clothes.
My mother, Aunt FATSO and I were in the room with NANNY when she took her lost breath. Her little body was so weak and frail from all that she had been through that when they went to hook her up for her dialysis treatment, her body could not take it and she drifted off. But before she was gone, I slipped her wedding ring off my finger and placed it back where it belonged and said: THANKS, I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER AND LOVE YOU...... I know she knew I had done this because I felt her squeeze my hand back and then quickly she was gone.
While my mom and my aunt tried to get in touch with the other family members to let them know the said news, I called my husband at home with my babies. At first he did not believe me because just a few hours earlier, I had called to let him know she was doing OK. Yet, I always remembered hearing that you get better before it is your time to go. I learned this the hard way when my husband finally realized what I was speaking is the truth. I could hear the PAIN in his voice when he said "I AM ON MY WAY THERE." When his brother brought him to me at the hospital, I hugged him so hard that I thought I had hurt him.
Later that evening once we had made it home and I had both of my babies with me, my husband told me something that I make sure to remember and live by. (He didn't want to say anything before and wanted and prayed for the best.) But the last words my NANNY had spoken to him were:
"PRUITT, I AM LEAVING HERE FOR THE LAST TIME TONIGHT AND WILL NOT BE BACK. YOU MAKE SURE YOU TAKE CARE OF KK AND MY BABIES. DO YOU HEAR ME?? DO WE HAVE A PACT?"
As he kissed her frail cheek as they wheeled her away his answer was:
"I PROMISE YOU THIS NANNY UNTIL MY DYING DAY."
I still miss her to this day and sometimes it is hard to bear. That is why I had to write this story and also with you, I had to share.
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