On Wednesday morning, on my way to work, Phil ping'ed me to let me know that something had happened. Something bad had happened. I called my dad right away:
"Your Granny has fallen and probably broken her hip. Joe and Mrs. Daniell are calling for an ambulance."
"If you go to Texas Daddy, I'm going too."
Kim was as sympathetic as ever when I told her that I might need to leave right away. Robin was sweet as could be and told me that she'd keep me and Granny in her prayers. By mid-afternoon, Mom, Dad, and I were on our way.
It was the middle of the night when we got in. We went straight to Granny's room at Covenant Lakeside. Dad and I stayed with her through the night. I got a few hours of fitful sleep. We met with the doctors as they came by making their rounds. It was a simple break, a simple fix. "Femoral endo prosthesis". Such a benign name. It sounds like something you catch at summer camp. "The whole thing shouldn't take more than 40 or 45 minutes."
When we were finally relieved, I went back to Shere's and helped her with her computer. Well, "overhauled" would be more accurate. We updated her system and productivity apps, got her off of AOL, cleaned off all the junk and adware, set up Outlook, got her addressbook sync'ing, and set up her WLAN. It was hours' work on her slow little laptop.
Just about then, my dad woke up. It was time for supper, but I just couldn't face going to a resto. I opted for staying home with my book and a nice hot bath. Later, I scavenged in the kitchen and stir-fried up a mess of mushrooms, peppers, and onions with some egg to bind it all together. I think I put down my book about nine.
Dad awakened me about six. "Do you want to come with me to see the doctors when they make their rounds? We leave in half an hour." I jumped up, dressed, and headed downstairs to rustle up some breakfast. Armed with an egg sandwich we hit the bricks at 6:29.
We got to the hospital just a little too late. The doctors had been there before us. Granny made Daddy sign her consent forms. She kept heckling everyone and refusing anything for the pain. The stream of visitors continued.
About noon-thirty, an orderly in scrubs came down to take her to be prepped. Dad and I walked up with her gurney. Mom, Shere, and John arrived shortly thereafter. We met with Dr. Sardella the anesthesiologist and Dr. Scioli the orthopedist. They seemed very optimistic, but naturally warned us that no procedure is never without risks, especially for someone who's midway through her 94th year.
They wheeled her away, and we hightailed it over to the barbecue pit for lunch. When we got back, Gerald was there waiting. Dr Scioli came in after we'd had time to catch up. He couldn't have been more pleased with the results. We should all go downstairs and wait for her in her regular room.
With a sigh of relief, we all trudged back downstairs. I decided that things were well enough in hand that I could fly back Saturday and hopefully get a real sea trial in on Gracie. With Phil's help, we got things scheduled. The boys would have their tennis lesson rescheduled yet again, but they'd get to meet their new home instead.
Mom and I went out and brought some supper back to Dad and then took me back to the Dickeys's to rest. I took a nice bath and then discovered that all Hell'd broken loose. I spent the next hour and a half rescheduling my airline flight and jawing with USAA about the boat loan. By the time I was walking downstairs to get a drink of water, Shere was on her way up with my folded laundry.
We talked a bit, she loaded me up with pecans, and I proceeded to settle back in at her laptop's keyboard. I answered some questions, got her wireless card working, and got her on Flickr. Just as I was heading upstairs to get some sleep, Mom called that she was on her way there with Cort and Stan.
I slept for about half an hour and then tried for about the same. Eventually, I gathered up all my luggage and trundled downstairs. I might as well relieve Dad at the hospital and give my bed to Stan and Cortney.
The drive here was thrilling. It had been sleeting all night, and everything was covered in half an inch of ice. I think our max speed was 20 m.p.h.
Dad looked exhausted when I crossed paths with him. It was about half past one. I'll be here now until someone comes to take my place in the morning. At 10:45 I'll be on a plane headed home. Hopefully, I won't need to come back for a little while.
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