Grandmother, Granddaddy & A Whirlwind Trip to Knoxville

Last Thursday I got word that Grandmother had been readmitted to the hospital. I, of course, was concerned and started praying, waiting to hear what was going on.  I woke up Friday thinking about Grandmother and grabbed my Ipod to quickly check for an update email that Mom had promised.  There wasn't one, so I decided to give her a call.  It was 7:20, but as soon as she answered the phone, I could tell that I woke her up.  She told me that they had been at the hospital in the middle of the night because Grandmother had coded twice and that she was going back to the hospital and would call and give me an update. 

I really wanted to hop in the car to Knoxville (though I didn't look forward to the car ride by myself with the two kiddos), but Mom encouraged me to wait and see.  She and I had planned a trip to Knoxville for later in the month since Grandmother and Granddaddy hadn't seen Sarah yet, but I was now worried that I had waited too long.  So I printed the packing checklist for myself and the kids, started the laundry and waited. After naptime I finished the laundry and brought our bags up from the basement, still not sure if I would be going to Knoxville or not. I had phone conversations with Mom, Aunt Suzi and Mary, but still couldn't decide what to do.  I finally asked Brian to call the ICU nurses and get his take on the situation. He called me back from the airport in Houston, where he was for a fellowship interview, and told me "I hope I'm wrong, but I don't expect her to make it through the night."

I knew then that I needed to go to Knoxville, for myself, for the family, for Grandmother and (hopefully) for her to see Sarah.  Brian suggested that we hit the road after he got home around 12:30 and drive through the night to Knoville. Thankfully he was able to catch an earlier flight and got home around 10:30.  Brian repacked, we loaded the car and Brian drove us to Knoxville while the kids and I slept. After Sarah woke up and wanted to eat a mere 20 minutes from Nana and Granddad's house (boo!), we pulled in just after 3:30.

As soon as I was up the next morning, I called over to G & G's house and found out that Grandmother had made it through the night and was doing somewhat better. Hallelujah! Expecting that she wouldn't be awake, we didn't take Sarah to the hospital with us for the first visit.  Instead, we left both kids with Nana and Granddad. We got into the room about 10:30 and her eyes were open!  We held her hand and talked to her, and she responded occasionally with nods to our conversation. After about 10 minutes the nurse came by and asked us to leave, since visiting hours were long over for the morning, so we started to say our "goodbyes" to Grandmother. At this, she got visibly agitated, grabbed onto my hand even harder, and tried to sit up. Brian used his doctor voice and told her that she needed to rest, and rest was an important part of the healing process. With that, and reassurances from the rest of us, she finally settled down and mouthed "ok".  After Mary prayed over her, we went back to the waiting room to chat with Uncle Joe, Aunt Suzi, Mary and John Little.

Brian and I went back to Nana and Granddad's for lunch and naps. Sarah only took a short nap, so I packed her into the car and went over to G&G's house to see the rest of the family that was in town. It was so wonderful to see so many aunts, uncles and cousins! Sarah, of course, was the star of the show for a while and stayed awake most of the afternoon and evening, soaking up the attention.  I had originally planned on taking Sarah to the hospital that afternoon to try and see Grandmother, since she had been somewhat alert that morning, but decided against it since so many other family members were trying to fit into the 4:30-5:00 visiting time.  I was relieved about my decision when we heard that Grandmother had tested positive for MRSA and they were handing out gowns and gloves to the family towards the end of the visiting hours.

Brian and Nathan came over before dinner, bringing along more food that Carroll had fixed for the family.  We had a really nice dinner and afterwards Brian and Nathan snuck off with Granddaddy to his office to look at and chat about guns and other topics.

Nathan got excited about one of the books he spotted in the office...

... of course! It was the classic "Evidence that Demands a Verdict."  Nathan always enjoys some light reading before bed!

Because of Grandmother's MRSA status, Brian and I regretfully decided that we weren't going to try to bring Sarah to see Grandmother Sunday morning. Then right at bedtime we got the exciting news that the lab had mixed up the results and Grandmother WASN'T MRSA positive! Hooray, Operation Smuggle Sarah was still on!

Since Brian was hoping to speak to Grandmother's physicians during morning rounds on Sunday, he hopped up and headed to the hospital around 8:00. I followed later on with Sarah, making it there for the 9:15-10:00 visiting time. I carried Sarah in my new ring sling and tossed the tail over Sarah's head so you couldn't see her at all.  Brian walked me to the room without anyone stopping us or saying anything!

Grandmother was definitely less aware then the day before, but as I held Sarah near her, she turned her head and just stared and stared at her! I stayed in the room with them for only about 5 minutes, then snuck her back out into the waiting room. Brian and I both ended up staying and visiting with family until after 11:00. Brian got a chance to talk to Grandmother's critical care physician, which was excellent. Kristin also offered to hold Sarah while we went on a short "date" down to the hospital cafeteria.

After lunch and a nap for Sarah in the pack-n-play, I drove us both over again to G&G's house. I had a great visit with Kristin and also Uncle Joe while Granddaddy took a nap. Since Brian and I had decided that we would drive home that evening, and because both my visits with Grandmother were pretty brief, I wanted to see her again during the 4:30-5:00 visiting time. And if I could get Sarah back in, that would be a bonus.

Once again, I just walked back in to the unit with Sarah in the sling. Grandmother was asleep when we got into the room, but she was wheezing and the nurse brought the resperatory therapist in to check her. They woke her up and checked on her for a little bit. I saw a nurse outside of the room notice me and say "Ohhh, a baby!" and knew for sure that I wasn't fooling anyone. Then our nurse turned to me and said "Babies really aren't allowed in the unit." I asked her that since she was already there, could I show her to Grandmother for minute before we took her back to the waiting room, and the nurse agreed. This time Grandmother was more alert and again did not want to take her eyes off Sarah.  I told Grandmother for some added incentive to get better, that I would be back with the kids when she in a room where we could legally get them in to see her and we would also get some pictures with her and Sarah once her make-up was freshly done!   After a few minutes, Kristin took Sarah back to the waiting room and I got to stay for the remainder of the visiting time talking to her and holding her hand.  Uncle Jim later told me that as I held Sarah out for Grandmother and was talking to her, our nurse started crying!

That afternoon, back at Nana and Granddad's house, Nathan got to see his Uncle David for the first time in months!  Sarah and I made it back for dinner, then we packed the kids up and hit the road back to Winston-Salem.  This time, thankfully, Sarah didn't wake up at all on the trip and we made it back home just before midnight.  The whole family was pretty wiped out from the trip and a couple of crazy days, but I'm SO SO glad that we made the trip and were able to see Grandmother and the rest of the family.  And I'm SO THANKFUL to report that Grandmother continues to improve at an astonishing rate.  She is now in a step-down room from the ICU and hopefully within a few days will be in a private hospital room.

I also have more pictures from the trip, but those are going to have to wait for another night!