So, at the beginning of August I decided I needed a change, and if you know me, my changes come in hair colors....I decided to be bold with this one and go red...it took a lot of getting used to...and a lot of up keep!!!
On August 9th we got a call at our house looking for my mom saying that something was wrong with Grandma Jo and they were waiting for the ambulance to come and pick her up. My dad and I jumped in the car and drove straight to the hospital. (my mom rode in the ambulance) Once we found where they had my grandma in the ER, I had to go and wait in the waiting room. It was too hard for me to see her there on the bed being worked on with such a frightened look on her face. She had had a massive stroke and could no longer talk at that point. They took her into surgery promptly and we were there until about 6am waiting to hear. Once she was in the ICU we were able to go in and see her. She couldn't talk, but there was something about being in that room with her that she let us know that she knew we were in there. The hardest part was meeting with the team of doctors as a family and deciding what the next steps should be, but it was very calming to feel in the room that everyone was on the same page as my mom and her siblings left to talk and make the final decisions. On August 11th we were able to transport my grandma back home and get her in her own bed and have one last family gathering. We all took turns going in and holding her hand. She passed about 10 minutes after the last grandchild left. She had held on for everyone that was coming in from out of state to get there. She went in her very own peaceful way. I honestly don't think that she could have planned it any better. She was such an amazing woman and she has left quite the legacy. What a beautiful reunion was had in heaven as she was able to embrace my grandpa and aunt Jennifer once again!! She is missed every day, but we all can't wait to be with her again!! Love you Grandma Jo!
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| Grandma with Ashley and I, one of my favorite pictures! |
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| With Grandma and the doll she made me...one of her hundreds of porcelain dolls she made |
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| Just Grandma and my doll |
The day after Grandma died was the Relay for Life walk. It is an all night walk around the track at the high school. Our team decided to go on with participating, because we didn't have much else to do while the family was still in the funeral planning stages. Since Johnny and his family had driven up to say goodbye to my grandma, they joined our team as well. It was nice to have so many of us there walking and doing our part in helping find a cure for cancer, and in essence supporting our dad, he is the reason that we relay! Our team ended up making about $650 that we were able to donate, talk about such an amazing feeling! (Being the team captain and a Relay committee member, I failed at getting any pictures of the event)
Another part of August is the good ol' birthday....26!!! It's so crazy to think that I am so old!! I had originally planned to take the day off work, but with the family events, I ended up working. Johnny, his family, mom, dad, Barry, Katie and Jack all met me for lunch at Maple Gardens, yum!! When I got home the family was pretty spread out with all of the other goings on, so Barry and Katie came and picked me up and we went and hit a bucket of balls at the golf course!!
To round out the month of August, Cameron and Tammy welcomed their new little one Eliana! (followed by another trip to Washington for me for a weekend wedding, again, no pictures!)
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