A Miracle Witnessed................ .......(More Nursing Home Drama)

01-24-2013 at 09:37 PM 

Once we were allowed to visit my grandmother we learned there were several residents who were in quarantine with the flu. Apparently it was getting around the nursing home. I was happy to resume my normal routine that included visiting my grandmother on a daily basis. I was sad and there was a void during these two weeks and I didn’t want to allow myself to imagine that this is what it will be like once my grandmother is gone but I couldn’t help myself and I didn’t like the feeling. I knew then that I had to make the best of the time we have left together.

We took it one day at a time. On the first day back at the home we went in full force. I, my mother, and my aunt visited her morning noon and night talking to her, feeding her seltzer water through a straw and soft ice cream little by little. Still, her eyes were closed the entire time and we rarely heard a word come out of her mouth.

Day two, she spoke a few more words sporadically but sometimes we couldn’t understand her because of weakness. Her blood pressure was low and she wasn’t eating anything but the ice cream, protein shakes, and seltzer water that we brought her. If we took the straw away from her mouth she would pucker up if she wanted more and when we stopped feeding her ice cream she would open her mouth for more. She would start to stir and show signs of agitation or anxiousness. We continued to speak to her and play her favorite music. We knew she was dancing inside.

That evening I sat by her bedside reading my book, “To Heaven and Back” by Dr. Mary Neal. It’s a true story about a surgeon who had a kayaking accident and died and almost went to heaven and her recollection of her near death experience. I noticed out of the corner of my eye my grandmother lifting her right arm into the air extending her hand palm up as if she were reaching out to someone. She mumbled, “You’re an angel.” Hearing her say these words was no surprise because she often tells the staff and anyone who crosses her path with assistance that they are an angel but witnessing her lifting her arm into the air like this was a bit strange. Considering the book I was reading I immediately assumed she was talking to a spirit that I could not see. It all fell into place when I saw her the next day.

Day three, my mother and I walked into her wing and noticed she wasn’t in her room. We stepped into the nursing station area looking for my grandmother who would often lay in a recliner. She was nowhere to be seen. The only other place she could have been was in the dining room because it was dinner time but considering the condition she was in the last time we saw her the night before she couldn’t possibly be in the dining room having a meal. She was too weak to sit up and could barely keep her eyes open. We stepped into the dining room where a nurse’s aid pointed her out to us. Our mouths dropped, I kid you not, when we saw her sitting in her wheelchair with a glass of juice in her hand! Her eyes were open and she was smiling. My mother and I looked at each other in disbelief. How could this be? We felt like we have witnessed a miracle.

A very simple explanation immediately came to mind. I verbalized my theory and may have seemed a little crazy to some but to others’ they were in agreement. The combination of being able to rejoin society in the nursing home and all of the love that we gave nursing her back to health brought her back to life. A life at least worth living for the short time she may have left. It was a miracle and divine intervention that I believe took place during the last three days. It reminded me of the movie with Robert DeNiro, one of my favorite senior actors, Awakenings where the seniors “came back to life” because of a drug that was given to them.

Since this happened a few days ago my grandmother has become stronger yet her blood pressure is still low and is still believe to be in the last stage of life. Ending on a good note we are very blessed to have my grandmother back and thank God for that. I will continue to visit her every day.

One thing she never lost during the three days she was being nursed back to health was her sense of humor. Any chance she built up enough energy to talk she would occasionally slip out in a mumble and in a hoarse voice, “shuffle off to buffalo”.