Strap On the Armor

Meet my grandma. She's almost 88 years old and the most stubborn, hard-headed, soft-hearted, amazing woman I know. My childhood is filled with memories of her - staying at her house, her cooking, paper dolls, walks on the railroad tracks, picnics under the apple tree, walking me to school. As I got older, she came to every band concert, track meet, football game and church event. Then as I had children, she's come to their events. She never skips a beat.

That is, until her heart started skipping beats. A couple of years ago, she had a really rough patch and had to have a pacemaker put in. The recovery was tough, but she did it. Mind you, this is a woman who also defeated breast cancer. She's a fighter. But last week, she fell. And even as tough as she is, bones at 88 aren't quite as tough as her spirit. She broke her leg, and today, something happens that I'm not prepared for. We're moving her into a skilled nursing facility (aka a nursing home) to rehab. She can't walk. She can't do anything. She's just not herself.

The last few days, I've gone to the hospital to sit with her in the evenings, and I leave crying. Her spirit is crushed. Her own mother spent the last decade of her life in a nursing home. And when my grandpa broke his hip, the six or so weeks he spent in one was the beginning of his end. Cancer took his body, but that place took his spirit, and he never recovered. I know she is worried the same thing will happen to her. She's lost her independence, her ability to drive, she didn't get to come to Elena's birthday party, she might miss my cousin's baby shower. She's just sunk. If anyone can fight their way back from injury, it's her. But will she?

At the same time, I'm going to meet with our son's immunologist today to discuss our game plan. Insurance notified us Friday that they will NOT be paying for Cale's ongoing treatment for his hypogammoglobulenemia (say that three times real fast). His B-Cells are lower than ever (this component of the red cells makes antibodies to fight infection - he has nearly none). He's back on antibiotics and a steroid. He can't go into flu season unprotected. Last time, we had to involve the insurance commissioner and a congressman. This time, we may have to go to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, a former Kansan. Our son CANNOT lose this battle.

Sounds like I'd better get my armor on. It's going to be a day of battle.