Good news from the Grandma department: After her knee surgery back in January, she is progressing well. Her doctor said her healing ability was akin to someone much younger than her 91 years. She does physical therapy every day and has a positive attitude. At her nursing home, you can see what a great relationship she has with the nurses and staff. Part of the reason is that she is one of the few residents that is mentally astute. The rest of it is her charm--from the funny things she says (both intentional and unintentional) to the fact that she appreciates and compliments the workers.Recently, the nursing home cut back on daily newspapers. They used to give each resident a paper but to save money they are now ordering just one copy for each floor. Grandma says that she only reads two parts of the paper: the obituaries and the comics. As funny as that combination is, it makes sense. She wants to be informed if anyone she knows has died, but doesn't want to read the negative news stories that comprise the rest of the paper.
Most of you know I had all 4 grandparents until I was 28, when Gram's husband died. Today I still have 3 grandparents living. I have great childhood memories of time spent at their homes, often running around with my cousins. Sadly, my other 2 grandparents are not as sharp as Gram. My maternal grandmother, Nana, has moderately advanced Alzheimer's and her husband, Papa, has memory loss as well.
Earlier this week, my family moved Nana to the same nursing home as Gram. This is great news because my grandparents have all known one another for over 40 years, and get along well. Gram will be able to help Nana and Papa navigate things since she knows the ropes. She'll enjoy doing that, as long as Papa doesn't drive her crazy by asking the same exact questions over and over.
I saw all of them the other day, and Gram was telling Papa different things. He kept indicating that he didn't hear or understand what she said. She finally laughed and told him, loudly, "Mario, I think you need a hearing aid!"
