family emergency

March 10: "Next up, the Space Race century in April. I will make the 100-mile cutoff this year. :)"

March 17: "Next up is Space Race on April 6th. 100 miles, baby."

April 2: "Now, really, sincerely...next up--Space Race!"

Now, here we are on April 3rd, and guess what?

I'm not doing Space Race.

Oh, obviously I wanted to...but I'm going to be driving to Wisconsin instead. I won't get into the details, but my grandma had complications after what she thought was going to be a routine surgery last week, and has been in and out of the hospital since. Now they're saying she may not make it very much longer, and are advising family that want to see her to make the trip now. I thought about putting it off until Monday, but then we would be running into the MS150 at the end of the trip. Besides, this lady has been at every major and minor milestone of my entire life, and has been the beloved center of our family for 3 generations...I don't want to look back and have to say that I missed out on spending time with her in her last days because I wanted to do a 100-mile bike ride.

We're hitting the road early tomorrow morning, so I don't know when I'll be back here again. Internet access on the trip and in my hometown is a bit iffy, since small towns in WI aren't exactly on the bleeding edge of technology. Most likely, it will be sometime late next week. In the meantime, if you're so inclined, please keep my grandma in your thoughts and prayers. She's a great, sweet soul, and this world will be a lesser place without her.

Song: This Woman's Work (right-click, save as)

Deep breaths, girl. Doctors aren't always right.

Several years ago my dad went into the hospital, and the doctors told mom on two seperate occasions that she should start looking at funeral arrangements.
Last night dad and I were chatting about the hockey playoffs.

thanks for the encouragement, J. And my grandpa had the same kind of story as your dad when I was in HS...he had some strokes and a heart attack, they were agonizing about taking him off life support in the ICU, but then he recovered and lived 11 more years.

I want to believe that she'll pull through the same way, but this one of those need-a-miracle situations. In addition to the strokes, she's also been diagnosed with cancer in a couple major organs, discovered during the surgery. Even if she survives the current crisis, we're looking at a hard road ahead.

So even while continuing to hope like hell that the doctors are being cautiously pessimistic, that's why I find myself writing histrionic comments from a motel room in Kansas. :) I'm going to see her tomorrow, tell her how much I love her, and help her in every way I possibly can for the next few days whether they are some of her last, or just another week in a long, full life. As long as I have the means and the time, it's the least I can do.