So now, I'm going to move on to my grandma, Katie Simeroth. Like the rest of my family, she was a wonderful, hard working, & stubborn (at times) woman!
Granny, as we called her, grew up in Denver, Colorado and was one of nine children in their family. She faced some hardships in her younger life because her father was a very angry man sometimes, and actually we think he may have suffered from bipolar disorder. Her mother died when she was in her young adult years and her dad then remarried, but she dealt with that adjustment very well. She also had to deal with my grandpa being away in the military for training with the Air Force. He came home one weekend before Christmas, they were married and had a two day honeymoon, then they moved to Florida where my grandpa was stationed. They had five kids, including my mom and were married for fifty years in January 2008, a month before she passed away. The picture above is my grandma, grandpa, aunt Genny (the older kid), and my mom (the baby).
As you all know, my grandma passed away on February 21, 2008. I'm sure you all know the story, but again, I'm recording this more for my own benefit than for you guys. I remember that week so well. It was right at the end of my three day weekend at home for President's Day and we got a phone call at our house on Sunday night at about 10:30. I remember thinking that it was odd that we would get a call that late and immediately the thought that popped into my head was that something was wrong with Grandma...Barnes. Well, after they got off the phone, my dad came to see if I was awake, which I was, and he said that Granny had a stroke and was in the ICU in Oklahoma City. Granny Simeroth, not my grandma Barnes. Mom was crying in the living room when I got out of bed and she told me the real story. It wasn't just a simple stroke, Mom said that she had a hemorrhagic stroke and she was bleeding into her brain at the brainstem. Granny was unconscious and was only breathing because of a ventilator. She would die once they took her off the ventilator and the family knew that was what she would want, so they were going to turn off the ventilator the next morning. I was shocked. It had never crossed my mind that Granny could die now. I knew she was not as well as she once was, but I didn't know that she had been having mini-strokes and problems. I just couldn't believe that Granny was going to die.We decided that Mom, Dad, and Nate were going to drive to OKC the next morning and that I should drive back to Springfield then too. I did NOT want to go back to school. All I wanted was to see Granny before she died and be with my family, but I had to take a test on that Wednesday. I was miserable when I came back to school. I was just trying to go through the motions, figure out a way to get out of there as quick as possible, and trying
not to cry all the time. I can think of instances when all I could do was lay on the ground in my room with the door shut and cry my eyes out. I was crying to God to give me peace and comfort and help me to get through all this. They turned off Granny's ventilator on Monday after my parents got there, but Granny was still breathing. I kept in constant contact with my family about Granny and they told me when her breathing started to slow and become more labored on Tuesday afternoon. I had to talk with all my teachers to try and get class and clinicals worked out so I could go to OKC as soon as possible and they weren't quite understanding or wanting to let me go, but they let me leave Wednesday mid morning after taking my test. I immediately left to go to Oklahoma City and drove as fast as I thought I could get away with and it actually went by pretty quick. I got to the hospital that afternoon and Grandma was in their End of Life room. Most of the family was there or had been there and were just sitting in that room on the couch and chairs just talking and trying to get through this. I remember Granny laying there in bed and just looking like she was straining for every breath, but otherwise she looked just the same as always. My godmother, aunt, Mom, and myself decided to clean Granny up and give her a bath. I felt like that was finally something I could do to help my family. So we got her all cleaned up and she seemed calmer already and her breathing had periods where she would just stop breathing altogether. We all floated in and out of the room and the waiting room down the hall, but Papa only left when we were cleaning her, then came right back. Mom came and got everyone out of the waiting room when Granny's breathing started to slow even more and we knew it wouldn't be much longer. We all said the Rosary prayer, read some Psalms, and parts of the Gospels and New Testament. It was so meaningful for our family to all be together when the time came and she went very peacefully. I almost didn't believe it at first because she was breathing and then she just stopped and we all waited to see if she would start again, but she didn't. Granny passed away shortly after midnight on that Thursday and I knew it was by the grace of God that I was able to be there for her and my family. But I know that God also meant for me to be there for myself, because I don't think I could have gotten over it had I not been there.
Granny was a rather stubborn woman at times, like so many in my family and she couldn't keep her nose out of anything. I guess I'm a little like her that way, cause I always like to know what's going on. She loved us grandkids like crazy and definitely spoiled us a little bit, not as much with gifts but she spoiled us by sometimes letting us get away with things (especially me and my brother cause we lived so far away). She was also the nagger of the family and my mom is sometimes a little like that too, but she never let things really bother her too much. She loved to laugh and did it frequently whenever one of us did something stupid, or in making a little jab at someone else. Granny was the Canasta Queen and we always accused her of cheating at that and Dominos, but she would always just laugh and say we were jealous. That's one thing I miss, is Granny's laugh and all her funny comments. She was a tough lady and never gave up trying to do things on her own, even in her last few months when she was mainly using a walker and wheelchair. I loved her so much and it still hurts sometimes to think of all she missed and how suddenly she was gone, but I'm so glad that she never suffered and this is the way she wanted to go. She was tired of not being able to do things on her own and did not want it to get any worse, so this is the way she wanted it and I'm so grateful that the Lord took her to be with Him.
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing these last few posts. They are really personal and I like to read them and learn more about your family even though I know you are writing them for yourself and not just me.
Post a Comment