A Daring Adventure

"Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing."
Helen Keller

I believe this is how Grandma (my MIL) lives her life. She never stops to fret about her ailments or think about her limitations. She's always ready for the next adventure. The boys love this about her, she's playful, takes risks, and always gives it her best. Her most recent adventure, a trip to Portugal and Spain with Grandpa has taken an unfortunate turn. Grandma is in the hospital with a terrible headache, so we've told the boys. What we haven't told them is Grandma had a brain hemorrhage and is in a hospital about 5000 miles away....and now it's an abyss of unknowns. So many details, some simple, some not so simple but these details help fill in the gaps to what feels totally out of control. There are no heroes in an event like this, we simply do what we can.

• cancel airline tickets, reserve for a later return flight


• cancel their newspaper delivery


• contact health insurance and her primary care doctor to alert them of her current status


• contact travel insurance, to clarify terms of coverage


• prepare for Medivac (air transportation back to the states)


• prepare for daddy's trip to go assist grandma and grandpa with their return

and so on, and so on......



And so my artful Thursday has taken on a somber mood...making a memory book for grandma. This project has actually gone on through the weekend,



involving the boys in letter writing and artwork for it. I wanted to include photos of the boys, our family, something to remind her we are all with her, maybe not by her side physically but by her side in spirit.























I kept it simple. Not knowing what her current cognitive status is, or if she's visually/perceptually impaired, I thought simplest would be easiest to process. Most importantly letting her know that we are...

Believing
trusting,
waiting,
hoping,
praying for her recovery.