Trip to Abilene and the Letter Mm

One week ago we made the trip to Abilene to visit my Nana and Pawpaw.  My grandfather fell almost two months ago and broke his hip, which required hip replacement surgery.  Since then he has been in the hospital, a rehab hospital, and is now receiving rehab while staying at a nursing home.  I feel very bad that it took us this long to go for a visit, but I am so glad that we went. 

The anesthesia from the surgery did quite a number on him and it took many, many weeks for it to exit his body.  His recovery has been very slow, due largely to the fact that he can't eat a whole lot.  He has had a condition for a few years that causes his esophagus to tighten, causing the food that he eats to come right back up.  He has had a procedure before where they stretched out his esophagus.  This helped for a little while, but then the tightness returned.  They cannot do this procedure again at this point, because he should not go back under anesthesia.  Not being able to eat has caused him to be extremely week and frail.  He has lost over 40 pounds since his fall!       

It was wonderful to spend some time with him.  He was quiter than usual, but seemed to enjoy watching the twins run around his room, playing with everything they could get their hands on.  Despite his drastic change in appearance, his loving personality was still very much present.  He hugged on me and told me several times that he loved me.  When I asked him if he was eating, he stuck out his tongue, which made me laugh.  We talked for a bit about the strange rash we both experienced while students at ACU.  He jokingly said that we were probably the only two people in the history of the university that had the crazy rash.  Brooklyn has asked about Pawpaw every single day since he fell.  She always wants me to show her his picture on my cell phone.  She was so excited to go and visit, but once we were there, she was a bit nervous.  She sat back and observed, while Tayden was all about giving Pawpaw love.  It is extremely hard to see someone who was always in motion, be slowed down by age, illness, and injury.  My pawpaw was the king of list making, and I am pretty sure that is where I got my illness haha!  I intend to make him a list to motivate him to start eating and get better. 

I still am a bit confused about aging.  We start our lives completely helpless and dependent on others, then reach a great span of years where most of us are independent and self-sufficient.  You would think that the progression would be for our independence to grow as we age, but that is not the case.  We will all reach a time, if we are fortunate to live that long, where we are once again completely helpless and dependent on others.  Instead of our journey going in a continuous upward motion, it is more of a circle, where we find ourselves right back where we started.  I am not sure for the purpose of this season.   

I ask for your prayers for my grandfather, my grandmother - who is being a wonderful caregiver and encourager each and every day, my mom and aunt - who make frequent trips to Abilene to check on their father and help their mother, my uncle - who is there on a daily basis, and for all of the grandchildren and great grandchildren who want so badly to see their Pawpaw return back to his strong, comical self.  He is in a great deal of pain, due to a more recent fall, so please pray specifically for his pain to subside and for him to start eating, and eating, and eating.

While in Abilene we were able to eat at Town Crier.  The twins loved playing with the red jello cubes (one of my childhood favorites) and smeared them all over the booth.  As we got up to leave it looked like a crime scene.  We walked around the Mall of Abilene and of course got some Coastal Cookies.  We were able to visit with my grandmother for a bit and see some of her wonderful artwork.  She is SO talented!!!  She is such a strong lady, continuing to face each day with a smile on her face - doing all that she can to help her husband get better.  We love you Nana and are praying for you!!!

Last week we covered the letter Mm and focused on:  monkey, moose, mouse, and motorcycle.    

Visiting Pawpaw

Checking on Pawpaw

I LOVE this picture!!!!

hiding

She found a flag

Hugs from Lolly

Another picture I will always cherish

Playing with Nana

Monkey mask

moo